Hurricane Katrina taught us a difficult lesson about the damage, death, and destruction a massive storm can cause. If there’s one thing we should take from that experience it is that these weather systems are not something to underestimate; you have to be prepared for the worst – especially if you live in storm-prone areas.

Tropical storms can deliver a powerful punch not only to coastal areas, but also to inland locations where high winds and heavy rains can create damage for days after a storm's landfall. Accounts of flooding, tornadoes, and even riptides are all too common from these systems.

Hurricane season typically lasts from June 1 to November 30, but this year two tropical storms, Alberto and Beryl, formed a few weeks before June began and four storms formed before July for the first time since 1851. And that was all before we reached the busy part of hurricane season.

As part of National Preparedness Month, we're highlighting a few of the ideas from the National Hurricane Center's Tropical Cyclone Preparedness Guide and other sources to help you get ready for the storms ahead.

There's an App for That: FEMA has a smartphone app for iPhones, Android devices, and Blackberrys that can help you prepare for natural and manmade disasters. (One of our favorite features from the app is a checklist of items to include in an emergency supply kit.) The American Red Cross also has a great Hurricane App for the iPhone and Android that lets you track storms, prepare your family for bad weather, and locate shelters when needed.

The Great Escape: Learn the evacuation routes for your area in case a storm forces you to move inland. And if storms are imminent, be sure your vehicle has a full tank so you can make the trip in heavy traffic and avoid long lines at the gas station when supplies may be limited or unavailable.

On the Radio: A great investment for anyone living in hurricane prone areas is a radio – especially one that is hand- or battery-powered, or has a battery backup -- that can receive NOAA Weather Radio All Hazards broadcasts and is certified to Public Alert standards. These special radios can provide audio and visual alerts when emergencies warrant and can even wake you up in the middle of the night in dangerous situations.

You Need a Plan: If you live in any coastal region of the United States, you must have a plan for what to do before, during, and after a storm.

There is more information than we can cover in this space, so be sure to check the links below for additional resources.

• National Weather Center Hurricane Preparedness Week
• American Red Cross Hurricane Preparedness Page
• Ready.gov Hurricane Page
• Corporation for National and Community Service Disaster Preparedness Toolkit

 

There’s a saying that goes, “be ready, so you don’t have to get ready.” Every family and workplace needs to have a plan of action to keep everyone safe when the unexpected happens. Sounds like the perfect excuse to discuss National Preparedness Month.
 

AmeriCorps and Senior Corps teams are responding in four Gulf Coast states as Hurricane Isaac moves toward the region.
 

Stephen Packard, 24, could have taken his degree in Economics from the University of Connecticut and found a comfortable desk job. Instead, he opted for a more adventurous path when he joined AmeriCorps NCCC. Never did he imagine he'd one day be working on the front lines of Colorado's biggest wildfire in history, sleeping just feet from the flames.
 

Recent wildfires have threatened communities across Colorado and the Southwest and national service has been working day and night to help put out the flames and support survivors.
 

Earlier this week I traveled to Joplin, Missouri, for a trip I will never forget. The Joplin story is one of a community that that never gave up, that demonstrated steely resolve in the face of tragedy, and that is coming back stronger and better than before. It is also the story of volunteers – 130,000 strong and counting – whose selfless service has lifted up an entire community when it needed it most.
 

Earlier this week, National Service traveled to Missouri to help the community of Joplin mark the one-year anniversary of the tornado that struck the town last year. The response to the destruction has been remarkable - with volunteers traveling from near and far to help rebuild Joplin. On Tuesday, May 22, 2012, thousands of Joplin residents, volunteers, and supporters came together to honor those lost and celebrate the last year's progress.
 

Donations from around the country piled up and volunteers turned out in droves in the days and weeks that followed last year's devastating May 22 tornado in Joplin, MO. City officials estimate that Joplin received donated resources and volunteer hours totaling $17.7 million, the largest amount in Missouri's history and the largest amount ever recorded in FEMA's Region VII.
 

To mark the one-year anniversary of the May 22 Joplin tornado, we'll be featuring a variety of content on the serve.gov blog, including Q&As with those who served in the community, like this one.
 

To mark the one-year anniversary of the May 22 Joplin tornado, we'll be featuring a variety of content on the serve.gov blog, including Q&As with those who served in the community, like this one.
 

To mark the one-year anniversary of the May 22 Joplin tornado, we'll be featuring a variety of content on the serve.gov blog, including Q&As with those who served in the community, like this one.
 

To mark the one-year anniversary of the May 22 Joplin tornado, we'll be featuring a variety of content on the serve.gov blog, including Q&As with those who served in the community, like this one.
 

On a daily basis, the employees of the Federal Emergency Management Agency look into the eyes of disaster survivors and convey a calm strength and compassion to assist them on the road to recovery from disasters. Similarly conveying strength and resolve to make our nation stronger are the thousands of Americans who are part of AmeriCorps and the Corporation for National and Community Service.
 

A new chapter in the history of national service began today with the announcement of a partnership with FEMA to strengthen the nation's ability to respond to and recover from disasters and expand career opportunities for young people. The five-year agreement provides for an additional 1,600 AmeriCorps NCCC members annually to supplement our current NCCC force.
 

Earlier this week, Chief of Program Operations, Idara Nickelson, accompanied Kelly DeGraff, Senior Advisor for Disaster Services on a tour of disaster areas throughout Missouri -- Joplin, Branson, and Kimberling City. Her first time at a disaster site, she snapped the above photo and had this to say:
 

Eight months ago, one of the deadliest tornados in U.S. history touched down in Joplin, Missouri, and took the lives of more than 160 residents and destroyed thousands of homes. The federal response began immediately. Within hours, Federal Emergency Management Agency teams were on the ground to work hand in hand with state and local officials to assist in response and recovery.
 

Just hours after a deadly EF-5 tornado struck Joplin, MO, in May 2011, AmeriCorps members began arriving to help with the recovery efforts. Now Missouri state officials are recognizing the national service volunteers who came to the city's aid after the devastating storm.
 

To those who have lived through devastation as complete as a tornado, every minute following the horror of wind and chaos is a perpetual memorial to the many who did not survive to see the skies run clear again.
 

As residents returned to New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina, a group of young black Catholics from the Archdiocese of New Orleans formed the IMANI Team (IMANI meaning “faith” or “belief” in Swahilli), a youth group from black Catholic parishes and schools that united to serve the African-American community of the archdiocese, to encourage and to help rebuild a sense of spiritual community and renewal across the Crescent City. The efforts by this group of young leaders are being recognized with a 2012 Martin Luther King Drum Major for Service award.
 

Hurricane season is an anxious time for Americans living along the coastal regions of the United States. But when Tropical Storm Lee spread its destruction inland last September, volunteer leaders like Bruce Barney and Sharon Early made a difference in their community's recovery efforts. Their commitment led to their selection as 2012 Martin Luther King Drum Major for Service award recipients.
 

There are all kinds of emergencies out there that we can prepare for. Take a zombie apocalypse for example. That's right, I said z-o-m-b-i-e a-p-o-c-a-l-y-p-s-e. You may laugh now, but when it happens you'll be happy you read this, and hey, maybe you'll even learn a thing or two about how to prepare for arealemergency.
 

In Bastrop, TX, AmeriCorps members are helping to match volunteer and nonprofit agency workers with wildfire survivors who need help with recovery tasks.
 

In December 1985, the United Nations designated the first Monday of October as World Habitat Day. This year, the theme of World Habitat Day is Cities and Climate Change.
 

On April 27, Tuscaloosa, Alabama was on the minds of many Americans, but most didn't realize the damage statewide, especially in the small town of Hackleburg, population 1,500. In a rural area nearly 100 miles away from Birmingham, Hackleburg remains in the shadow of Tuscaloosa but the damage was just as bad, if not worse. The majority of the town was demolished and 17 residents were killed in the storm.
 

As a native of Long Island, the attacks of September 11th, 2001 hit close to home for Tracy Connelly. Loved ones working in the World Trade Center were missing. Family members responding to the attacks were injured. For 36 hours, she had no idea where her father was. Days after the events, Connelly learned of friends' deaths by passing their memorials in Penn Station.
 

“A volunteer called to alert us about the first plane. We went into the classroom, which had the only TV and turned it to a local news channel. After adjusting the rabbit ears on top, we all witnessed the second plane hit just a few moments later. I think we all had the same reaction and that was pure terror."
 

In the wake of chaos and tragedy following the September 11th tragedy, AmeriCorps members from the National Preparedness and Response Corps of the Atlanta Red Cross were deployed to Ground Zero. Among those who served was then-70-year-old Donald Trantow.
 

For many, knowing the relationship between natural disasters and volunteers is limited to response and recovery. It conjures up images of volunteers pulling survivors from rubble, sorting through debris, delivering supplies, consoling victims, and rebuilding communities. But service and volunteerism has a place in disasters long before one actually hits; much can be done in terms of preparation and readiness.
 

Zack Rosenburg was living a comfortable life as an attorney in Washington, DC when Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast in August 2005. And while Americans came from all over to New Orleans to help, Zack took the extra step of leaving his job, moving to New Orleans and devoting himself fully to the recovery.
 

Volunteers motivate and inspire us. In the weeks following the tornado that destroyed much of Joplin, MO, we've received an outpouring of volunteers from various states and countries.