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Natural Disaster Resources
CodeRED
In an effort to expand the ways citizens can receive emergency messages or weather alerts in their area, the City of Hot Springs offers the CodeRed notification service. Notifications are currently available by city website, social media and outdoor sirens (the latter in limited areas at this time). CodeRED allows residents the choice of receiving alert messages by email, text, or voice phone call.
To learn more about CodeRED or to sign up or update your information, click here.
Emergency Sirens
Within the city limits of Hot Springs, there are 19 outside emergency sirens, which sit on 55-foot poles with the solar power panels, giving the City of Hot Springs 100% siren coverage.
The siren additions have been funded by the City’s Stormwater Division over an eight-year period. The system is tested weekly, at noon on Wednesdays. Weather alerts are distributed from the National Weather Service, while other notifications can be broadcast from the Hot Springs Central Fire Station.
The emergency sirens are used to alert residents who are outside of their residences. For indoor alerts, the City’s CodeRED free notification service provides message by email, text or voice phone call. Along with weather alerts, CodeRED provides the following critical and time-sensitive information: missing persons/children, evacuation notices, boil water advisories, criminal activity, road closures/traffic alerts and shelter-in-place/lockdowns. For more information or to register or update your contact information, visit www.cityhs.net/codered or call the Stormwater Division at 501-321-6743.
- Asbestos and Natural Disasters
- Business Emergency Plan
- Car Safety
- Food Planning
- Food Safety
- Generator Safety
- Information on Specific Types of Emergencies
- Learn How to Shelter in Place
- Make a Plan*
- Natural Gas Storm Safety
- Power Outage Checklist
- Prepare Your Health
- Preparing for Disaster
- Tree Trimming
Information for Specific Groups
*Includes financial preparedness, shelter plan, evacuation route, communication plan, preparedness kits, pets and other animals, military, individuals with disabilities, be tech ready and many others.
A drought is a period of unusually persistent dry weather that persists long enough to cause serious problems such as crop damage and/or water supply shortages.
An earthquake is a series of vibrations induced in the earth’s crust by the abrupt rupture and rebound of rocks in which elastic strain has been slowly accumulating.
Extreme heat is a period of high heat and humidity with temperatures above 90 degrees for at least two to three days. In extreme heat your body works extra hard to maintain a normal temperature, which can lead to death.
Floods occur when water overflows onto normally dry land. The inundation of a normally dry area caused by rising water in an existing waterway, such as a river, stream, or drainage ditch. Ponding of water at or near the point where the rain fell. Flooding is a longer term event than flash flooding: it may last days or weeks.
Flash flood: A flood caused by heavy or excessive rainfall in a short period of time, generally less than 6 hours. Flash floods are usually characterized by raging torrents after heavy rains that rip through river beds, urban streets, or mountain canyons sweeping everything before them. They can occur within minutes or a few hours of excessive rainfall. They can also occur even if no rain has fallen, for instance after a levee or dam has failed, or after a sudden release of water by a debris or ice jam.
https://www.cityhs.net/805/Flood-Protection-Information
Hurricanes/Typhoon: A tropical cyclone in which the maximum sustained surface wind (using the U.S. 1-minute average) is 64 kt (74 mph or 119 km/hr) or more. The term hurricane is used for Northern Hemisphere tropical cyclones east of the International Dateline to the Greenwich Meridian. The term typhoon is used for Pacific tropical cyclones north of the Equator west of the International Dateline.
Tornadoes form when a violently rotating column of air touches the ground, usually attached to the base of a thunderstorm. Spawned from powerful thunderstorms, tornadoes can cause fatalities and devastate a neighborhood in seconds. Winds of a tornado may reach 300 miles per hour. Damage paths can be in excess of one mile wide and 50 miles long.
A wildfire is a fire that burns out of control in a natural area, like a forest, grassland, or prairie. Wildfires can start from natural causes, such as lightening, but they are usually caused by humans, such as campers or hikers who did not put out their campfire properly. Wildfires spread quickly, burning brush, trees, and homes in its path. They can also affect natural resources (such as soil, animals, forests), destroy homes, and put people’s lives in danger.
Freezing rain: Rain that falls onto a surface where the temperature is below freezing. This causes the rain to freeze on contact with trees, power lines, cars and roads. This coating or glaze of ice causes serious travel problems, even with very small accumulations.
Heavy Snow: snowfall accumulating to 4" or more in depth in 12 hours or less; or snowfall accumulating to 6" or more in depth in 24 hours or less
Ice storm: A high impact event caused by excessive accumulations of freezing rain on trees and power lines. Generally, a quarter of an inch or more of ice is considered dangerous. However, this can vary depending on other factors.
For more Winter Weather Definitions, visit the National Weather Service.
- After a Disaster
- Animal Safety
- Before Returning Home
- Clean Up After a Disaster
- Community Resources
- Power Outage
- Trees
- Vehicle Safety in Disasters or Emergencies
- If your home has taken significant damage, check with Planning and Development to see if your home needs an inspection.
- Carbon Monoxide Poisoning After a Disaster
- Gas Emergencies
- Gas Safety
- Natural Gas Leaks
- Power Lines
In the event that there is a natural disaster that has caused an area to need to be cleaned up, the Solid Waste Department can offer the CAPS trucks and roll-offs to load and haul debris away.