Before you go

While most trips will be pleasant and without incident, it is a good idea to do some research and be prepared before you leave home. Be attentive to basic preparations (such as copying essential documentation and noting emergency contact information) and ensure that you are aware of any risk of seasonal natural hazards, seismic activity, extreme weather patterns, disease outbreaks or endemic health issues, personal security concerns, or any patterns of socio-political instability in your destination. One good place to start your research is with the websites of government agencies that report safety, security, and health issues related to travel in a foreign country.

Just as we travel to places with different climates and customs, we also travel to locations faced with different types of hazards that could interrupt trip plans or have a potential impact on our health and security. Consequently, it is as important to familiarize ourselves with basic knowledge about cultural norms in a country as it is to be aware of any risks we may encounter while travelling. There are many sources that can prepare travellers for potential crisis event in a destination. Websites, such as news and weather sites and your country’s foreign office website are good places to start.

If an event hits before you leave for your destination, there could be cancellation or postponement of inbound tourism. Check on the status of the event and if required, find out what the procedures may be place for altering your schedule.

RESOURCES

Worldwide News & Analysis

Al-Jazeera – English version of the leading Arabic language news network

Al-Jazeera – World news in Arabic language

British Broadcasting Service (BBC) World News

CNN World News – Breaking news and weather worldwide

Economist – News and analysis of world events

El País – El periódico global de noticias en español (global news in Spanish language)

IRIN - humanitarian news and analysis of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affaire (OCHA)

ITAR-TASS – Russian news agency, world and regional news in Russian

ITAR-TASS (English) – Russian news agency, world and regional news in English

Radio Free Europe - provides uncensored news and information to countries where a free press is either banned by the government or not fully established.

Reuters AlertNet – Alerting humanitarians to Emergencies

Xinhua – World news from China’s leading news agency (in Chinese)

Xinhua – World news from China’s leading news agency (in English)

General Worldwide Weather

Accuweather – Monitoring weather, including extreme weather events, worldwide

Yahoo Weather – Delivers global weather news from leading news agencies

Air Travel

Flight Stats.com - Get real-time flight status with worldwide departures and arrivals information and airport delays.

Health

A good first stop is the Center for Disease Control and Prevention destinations list where you can obtain information on health and vaccination requirements for travel to different countries

Specialized & Technical Sources

There are more specialized and technical websites dealing with information about specific hazards in various locations throughout the world.

To view natural disaster profiles for a specific country, you can visit Prevention Web, a website of the UN International Strategy for Disaster Reduction. The site’s country profiles are based on data from the EM-DAT Emergency Disasters Data Base, an initiative of the Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED), at the Université Catholique de Louvain, Ecole de Santé Publique in Belgium, funded by USAID.

Natural Disasters – General  

Global Disaster Alert and Coordination System (GDACS)

A joint initiative of the United Nations and the European Union that provides near to real-time alerts about natural disasters around the world and tools to facilitate response coordination, including media monitoring, map catalogues and Virtual On-Site Operations Coordination Centre.

RSOE Emergency and Disaster Information Service
For a real-time view of hazards around the world, visit the global multi-hazard map created by RSOE Emergency Disaster Information Service in Budapest, Hungary.

The Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED) also maintains a list of current disasters on its “Disaster of the Week” page.

Earthquakes

European Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) 

For a Global Seismic Monitor map, a list of the latest of seismic events, and rapid earthquake alerts, visit the EMSC site.

U.S. Geological Survey Earthquake Hazards Program

Earthquake notifications for the latest seismic events taking place around the globe. The site offers maps, updates, RSS feeds and more helpful information about earthquakes worldwide.

Epidemics

World Health Organization

Section on international travel and health allows users to search for relevant health information and required vaccines by country. The site also reports on recent disease outbreaks.

Fires

The Global Fire Monitoring Centre

Monitors fire situations around the world and distributes information to the public on fire danger situations for all countries.

Floods

Dartmouth Flood Observatory

Monitors areas affected by flooding worldwide, with maps and tables offering data on flooding in all countries.

Tropical Storms, Hurricanes, Cyclones

Tropical Storm Risk

Tropical Storm Risk (TSR) offers a leading resource for forecasting the risk from tropical storms worldwide. See the interactive global storm system tracking map. The site also offers links to seasonal forecasts for specific regions.

Tsunami

UNESCO’s International Tsunami Information Centre Event List

View a summary of tsunami-related events.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (NOAA)

Has monitoring responsibilities in vulnerable regions worldwide. This network of 39 stations provides real-time data to the tsunami warning system in order to provide coastal communities in the Pacific, Atlantic, Caribbean, and the Gulf of Mexico with faster and more accurate tsunami warnings.

Japanese Met Agency

The JMA provides monitoring of tsunami, earthquakes, and volcanic activity. The website also includes maps and satellite imagery.

Volcanoes

Volcano Live

A volcano news and travel website, which monitors worldwide volcanic activity.

Smithsonian Global Volcanism Program

Global monitoring of volcanic activity. See latest events, access the Weekly Report and view the global volcano map.

International Volcano Research Centre

Global monitoring of volcanic activity.