Disaster Management and Recovery

Disasters strike Wisconsin communities every year, sometimes without warning, causing injuries to citizens and widespread destruction of homes, farms and businesses. Often local officials are both victims of disasters and responsible for helping with disaster recovery. Planning to reduce the impacts of disasters and acting to speed recovery is a major challenge for local government statewide.

In addition to information to assist with planning for and responding to natural disasters, this site provides information for addressing other threats to our wellbeing, including food safety, animal disease control, and homeland security issues. Increasingly, government is being asked to take the lead in keeping the public safe from human caused harm, as well as natural disasters. This site aims to assist those affected by disasters of any kind with up to date information from around the country.

Photo from the NOAA photo archives.

Free Audiostream Program: Local Government Center's "Emergency Government Overview: Are You Ready?"

This WisLine program originally aired on November 14, 2006. Each local government's chief elected official (county board chair or executive, mayor or city council preesident, village president or town board chair) is the responsible authority in the event of a disaster. Learn what roles the federal, state, county and municipal governments play in responding to and recovering from different types of disasters. Speakers: Rhonda Reynolds, Northwest Regional Director for the Department of Military Affairs, and Jay Shrader, Western Region Partnership for Public Health Preparedness.

Click here to enter the audiostream site, and be prepared to enter the password emergovt when prompted. Before listening to the audio program, access the supporting materials, which can either be read on-screen in a searchable .PDF file, or printed out.

System requirements: You must have RealPlayer or Windows Media Player installed on a Windows or Mac computer, speakers or headphones, and a high-speed Internet connection. Download RealPlayer (click on the "Free Download" button). Download Windows Media Player

Current and Forecast Conditions for Wisconsin and Beyond

tornado near city NOAA-IWIN Interactive Weather Data for Wisconsin
Current Weather Conditions for Wisconsin
Wisconsin - Hourly data
Current Watches & Warnings for Wisconsin
Special Weather Statements for Wisconsin
Wisconsin Zone Weather Forecasts
Eau Claire Wisconsin - Intellicast Radar
Green Bay Wisconsin - Intellicast Radar
Chicago Illinois - Intellicast Radar
Des Moines Iowa - Intellicast Radar
USGS Wisconsin Streamflow & Flood State Monitoring (in real time)
Wisconsin - Hydrological forecasts
Texas A&M Severe Weather Watches and Warnings - for all states
Intellicast - USA
The Weather Channel
NWS Internet Weather Source
National Weather Service Interactive Weather Information
National Observed Fire Danger Map (current conditions) - U.S. Forest Service
National Weather Service - Duluth - Interactive Fire Weather Forecast

Photo from the NOAA photo archives.

Internet Resources

Files in PDF format may be viewed and printed using Adobe Acrobat. You must have this program installed on your computer. A copy of this program is available free from Adobe.