During a flood and its aftermath, know how protect your personal health and safety. In winter and early spring, it is especially important to understand the health threats associated with exposure to cold weather and cold water.

An 18 minute skills training video that demonstrates how to screen people for external contamination using a hand held Geiger Mueller Detector. The program is designed for individuals assigned to conduct mass screening for contamination from radioactive materials following a large scale incident. The program may be used as pre-incident training or intra-incident just in time training. Supplementary training material on utilization of ion chambers and alpha scintillation detectors is provided

Updated information on medications used to treat reactions to the smallpox vaccine.

New updates on smallpox questions and answers, including infection control and isolation of smallpox patients, and infection control issues for vaccinated healthcare workers.

New updates on smallpox vaccine questions and answers, including information on vaccination before and after exposure to smallpox, contraindications and screening, vaccination while pregnant or breastfeeding, and vaccine storage and distribution.

Key findings from the CDC report, Public Health Preparedness: Strengthening CDC’s Emergency Response. The key findings summarize FY 2007 TPER-funded public health preparedness accomplishments and priorities as CDC continues to strive toward its preparedness goal.

Now you can follow emergency.CDC.gov on Twitter. The CDCemergency Twitter feed provides frequent updates related to both preparedness for future emergencies and response to current emergencies.

Send a message to encourage others to take steps to prepare for winter storms and protect themselves from cold-related problems such as frostbite and hypothermia.

CDC has just launched RSS feeds for two of the most popular sections of the emergency.CDC.gov website: 1) Recent Outbreaks and Incidents, which provides information on selected public health emergency topics of recent public interest, ranging from Salmonella outbreaks to hurricanes to terrorism, and 2) Clinician Outreach and Communication Activity (COCA), which reaches out to the nation's clinicians with weekly updates and monthly conference calls.

This new webpage provides all-hazards resources intended for individuals at healthcare facilities tasked with ensuring that their facility is as prepared as possible for an emergency. The healthcare facilities targeted by this page include hospitals, long-term acute and chronic care facilities, outpatient clinics and urgent care facilities, physicians' offices, and pediatric offices and hospitals.

The level of seismic activity at Mount Redoubt Volcano, about 100 miles southwest of Anchorage, Alaska, has increased and an eruption is possible within days to weeks. Updated information on how to stay safe during and after a volcano eruption.

New updates on Anthrax Questions and Answers.

CDC's Coordinating Office for Terrorism Preparedness and Emergency Response (COTPER) has released its inaugural report on CDC activities in public health emergency preparedness. The report, Public Health Preparedness: Strengthening CDC's Emergency Response, explains the key role CDC plays in preparing the public health infrastructure to respond effectively to all types of hazards, and provides an overview of the broad range of preparedness activities receiving Terrorism Preparedness and Emergency Response (TPER) funding. CDC accomplishments in preparedness are described. The report also details how CDC is addressing challenges to achieve its overarching public health preparedness goal: People prepared for emerging health threats - people in all communities will be protected from infectious, occupational, environmental, and terrorist threats.

In order to make it easier for consumers to determine whether any of the peanut butter-containing products they have at home are subject to recall, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has created and posted an expanded, searchable database that will be updated as new information becomes available. For information on products containing peanut butter from companies not reporting recalls, consumers may wish to consult the company's website or call the toll-free number listed on most packaging. Please note that information consumers may receive from the companies has not been verified by FDA.

The purpose of this document is to propose a recommendation for an appropriate time-interval for revaccination of public health and health care volunteers who were vaccinated as responders in the US Civilian Smallpox Preparedness and Response Program. This document addresses only the revaccination of public health and healthcare volunteers and does not address routine revaccination guidance for laboratory workers or primary vaccination of emergency responders.

CDC is pleased to announce the public launch of SNAPS: Snap Shots of State Population Data. SNAPS is a free service to the public that provides local-level community profile information nationwide. It can be browsed by county and state and searched by zip code. SNAPS serves as a valuable tool when responding to public health emergency events at the state, Tribal, and local levels. It provides a snap shot of key variables for consideration in guiding and tailoring health education and communication efforts to ensure diverse audiences receive critical public health messages that are accessible, understandable, and timely.

This one-page form allows public health personnel to quickly extract basic medical information from hospital and emergency medical services' records to advise officials on the immediate impact of the event and the potential need for special resources.

Find out about the many improvements to CDC's Emergency Preparedness and Response Web site.

When winter temperatures drop significantly below normal, staying warm and safe can become a challenge. Extremely cold temperatures often accompany a winter storm. You may have to cope with power failures, icy roads, and other dangerous conditions.

Smoke from wildfires is a mixture of gases and fine particles from burning trees and other plant materials. Smoke can hurt your eyes, irritate your respiratory system, and worsen chronic heart and lung diseases. Know whether you are at risk and protect yourself.