In 2004, National Hurricane Preparedness Week in the US replaced the previous observance of 'National Hurricane Awareness Week'. Hurricane Preparedness Week is a national effort to inform the public about the hurricane hazards and provide knowledge which can be used to prepare and take action.

History

National Hurricane Awareness Week was started to spread awareness of the dangers and hazards of hurricanes. Being aware is not being prepared, and history has shown that by knowing vulnerability and what actions to take, people can reduce the effects of a hurricane disaster

Disaster

A disaster is a natural or man-made hazard that has come to fruition, resulting in an event of substantial extent causing significant physical damage or destruction, loss of life, or drastic change to the environment...

. Therefore, the name was changed to put more focus on the need to be both hurricane aware and hurricane prepared.

Goals

Each day during National Hurricane Preparedness Week addresses a specific hurricane-related topic. The topics covered include: overview of major US hurricanes; hurricane hazards such as storm surge

Storm surge

A storm surge is an offshore rise of water associated with a low pressure weather system, typically tropical cyclones and strong extratropical cyclones. Storm surges are caused primarily by high winds pushing on the ocean's surface. The wind causes the water to pile up higher than the ordinary sea...

, high winds, and inland flooding; the forecast

Weather forecasting

Weather forecasting is the application of science and technology to predict the state of the atmosphere for a given location. Human beings have attempted to predict the weather informally for millennia, and formally since the nineteenth century...

 process; disaster planning/preparation; and knowing when to take action. The goal is to make sure that every family has a disaster plan; every business has a disaster checklist; and everyone gets out of the path of the hurricane safely.