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New Web Site Provides Detailed Information on Droughts

November 2, 2007

The National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) recently launched a Web site that provides comprehensive information on emerging and ongoing droughts across the nation.

The U.S. Drought Portal (www.drought.gov) was developed for the National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS), a collaboration between numerous federal agencies and several state governments to provide a dynamic and accessible drought-risk information system.

"The new portal site provides all the information that managers need in one location and delivers unprecedented access to key operational drought resources to answer the most pressing questions facing policymakers, emergency planners, businesses and the public," said Conrad Lautenbacher, NOAA administrator.

NIDIS, led by NOAA, coordinates use of the U.S. Drought Portal for drought risk assessment and management among its federal, state, tribal and local partners. The collaboration is intended to strengthen public and private sector partnerships, foster and support research, create an early warning system to detect drought and raise public awareness about why drought occurs and its impact on humans and nature. The goal of NIDIS is to improve the ability to understand and respond to climate change, natural disasters, and global environmental issues through better observation, data, analysis, models and basic social science research.