Video Guidance: Emergency Preparation, Response, and Recovery
What Can I Do To Prepare For, Respond To, and Recover From An Emergency?
What can I do to prepare for a disaster?
Proper storage is the best defense against disaster. Basements and attics, the most common storage areas in homes, are more likely to experience the effects of a weather emergency. Basements flood and roofs leak.
Audio and video materials should be stored on a climate-controlled floor of your home, in breathable plastic containers, in an area that is not exposed to large swings in temperature. Avoid storing your materials in a non-climate-controlled basement or on the floor where it could be exposed to water. A damp environment may accelerate conditions such as vinegar syndrome or encourage mold growth on the materials. More information on storage can be found on the video storage page.
How can I salvage my damaged materials?
Should a disaster occur, how you best respond will depend on the type of media. Below are links to recovery and response methods from Preservation Programs at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) for common audio and video media types, and a link to general information.
- Emergency Recovery and Response: Magnetic Tapes (Audio, Video and Data Storage)
- Emergency Recovery and Response: Optical Media CD/DVD
- Emergency Recovery and Response: Electronic Media - Hard Drives
- Records Emergency Information - General Public
Where can I find more information?
- Emergency Preparedness From NARA
- Disaster Response and Recovery From NARA
- Damage Mitigation and Recovery, Magnetic Media From NARA
- Salvage At A Glance, Part II: Non-Paper Based Archival Collections From the National Park Service
- First Aid for Water Damage From the National Film and Sound Archive (Australia)
- First Aid for Fire Damage From the National Film and Sound Archive (Australia)