A new resource from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is now available to emergency managers, community officials and others who plan for and respond to excessive heat events. The EPA’s Excessive Heat Events Guidebook, available in PDF format at the EPA Web site, highlights best practices that have been employed to save lives during excessive heat events in different urban areas.

The guidebook was developed with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Department of Homeland Security. Municipal officials in both the United States and Canada provided useful information that can be used to help the public cope with excessive heat. The 60-page guidebook also provides lists of options officials can use to help determine appropriate responses to these events in their communities.

A related two-page PDF document, the Excessive Heat Events Guidebook in Brief, offers summary information and useful tips that can be used when preparing for and responding to excessive heat. The EPA Web site also has a page of general information related to extreme heat events to help individual, communities, and businesses prepare for and respond to heat waves.