Hurricanes, floods, fires and other emergencies can be stressful for many people, but they present additional obstacles for people who are deaf or hard of hearing. In the United States, an estimated 36 million adults report some degree of hearing loss and 2 to 3 children in 1,000 are hard of hearing or deaf (National Institute). When an emergency situation occurs, these populations are too often the last to be informed because they cannot access it; Having up-to-date information is crucial when dealing with all different emergency situations. With advances in technology, it is hoped that receiving information about emergencies will become easier for people who are deaf or hard of hearing. People who are deaf or hard of hearing have difficulty in emergency situations such as: hurricanes, floods, tornadoes and other weather emergencies. . They may not be able to hear a warning siren or the television they are watching may not have captions. Even students in school may have difficulty receiving warning messages if they are in a mainstream school or college that is not equipped with devices for the deaf or hard of hearing. In the United States, there are only two colleges for the deaf and hard of hearing: Gallaudet and the National Technical Institute for the Deaf (NTID), which is part of the Rochester Institute of Technology. Systems should be put in place to make it easier for deaf and hard of hearing people to be informed of any emergencies that may arise. Deaf and hard of hearing people are even at risk in their own homes if they are unaware of the services available to them, such as smoke detectors. Smoke detectors save thousands of lives...... middle of paper... ...ed-from-house-fire-2487395.phpCommission Document Print Email. (April 3, 2014). Comment deadlines and closed captioning order effective dates. Accessed April 5, 2014, from http://www.fcc.gov/document/comment-deadlines-and-effective-dates-closed-captioning-orderEmergency Preparedness and Public Safety. (January 31, 2014). NC DSDHH:. Accessed April 3, 2014, from http://www.ncdhhs.gov/dsdhh/services/emergency.htmEmergency Training and Education. (January 1, 2014). . Retrieved April 6, 2014 from http://www.hsdc.org/services/deaf-community-members/emergency-training-education/About TTY - What is an ATS?. (nd). About Ticker - What is Ticker?. Retrieved March 31, 2014 from http://www.abouttty.com/Whatis.htmlCombs, J. (January 1, 2011). RIT NTID 911 Briefing. Accessed March 27, 2014 from http://www.ntid.rit.edu/sites/default/files/cat/NTID-911-briefing.pdf