StormReady

StormReady is a community preparedness program in the United States that encourages government entities and commercial gathering sites to prepare for severe storms. The program, sponsored by the United States National Weather Service, issues recognition to communities and sites across the country that demonstrate severe weather readiness. The program is voluntary, and provides communities with clear-cut advice from a partnership with the local National Weather Service Office, state and local emergency managers, and the media. The program has been credited with saving the lives of more than 50 movie-goers in Van Wert County, Ohio in November 2002. As of June 1, 2011, there were 1,752 StormReady sites in 50 states.

The United States experiences, on average, about 10,000 thunderstorms, 5,000 floods, and 1,000 tornadoes, as well as an average of 2 deadly hurricanes, each year. Some 90% of all presidentially-declared disaster areas are weather-related, leading to around 500 deaths per year and nearly $14 billion in damage.

StormReady was initiated in 1999 in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in an area which has experienced a number of severe tornadoes; there has been at least one tornado in the Tulsa area each year since 1950. Its sponsors saw formal recognition as a way to increase cooperation among the various agencies responsible for disaster preparedness.

The program was originally called StormWise; in 2002, the StormReady logo and name became officially registered trademarks of the National Weather Service. The program has increased its scope at a steady rate ever since. Walt Disney World received the recognition in 2006. The sites in June 2011 comprised 874 counties, 721 communities, 72 universities, 10 Native American tribal nations, 37 commercial sites, and 36 military/government sites.

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