Homeland Security overhauls disaster prep site

The Department of Homeland Security has revamped its Ready.gov site, a repository of information designed to help Americans to prepare for threats ranging from terrorist attacks to extreme heat waves. The Ready site was initially launched in early 2003.

New features include information for pet owners as well as the elderly and disabled, along with a visual makeover featuring plenty of green backgrounds and Flash animation. The overhauled site also aims to improve access to emergency preparedness information at the state and local level, in order to address region-specific threats like wildfires, tornadoes and hurricanes. No mention is made on the new Ready site of the much-maligned color-coded terror alert scale, which was launched in 2002 and skewered on late-night talk shows and by Internet humorists.