Ten years ago on Aug. 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina roared into New Orleans as a Category 3 storm whose winds drove the Gulf of Mexico through the levees and into city streets. More than 1,800 people died. The cost was estimated at $108 billion.

Journalists face enormous hurdles when extreme weather hits,  including disseminating information to the public to prepare for and recover from storms, reporting on the costs, and putting weather events into historical and even political context.

The recorded webinar and links below cover all these bases, including tips from the Joplin Globe on building a storm-ready newsroom (tetanus shots, everybody?); discussion of how government policy encourages development in storm-prone regions; where to find historic data on storms; insurance industry data; and the latest analysis from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on global climate change. Here, on NOAA’s website, is a wealth of information on how hurricane forecasting and preparation have changed since Katrina.

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