Online Shopping for Natural Catastrophes

On June 1 -- the first day of the 2006 hurricane season -- online retailing powerhouse Amazon.com launched a new shopping destination on its Web site: the Emergency Preparedness Store ( http://www.amazon.com/prepare ).

Part of it is a chance to sell hundreds of products geared toward coping with natural disasters (two of the top sellers are $3,000 power generators and $12.99 battery-free flashlights activated by shaking). Part of it is a central clearinghouse of advice for any conceivable catastrophe, from Montana blizzards to Arizona forest fires to mid-Atlantic flooding.

"Whenever there were unexpected weather events, we would see regionally that these products run up and become top sellers when people couldn't find them elsewhere," says Jason Goldberger, a director at Amazon.com. "We thought we would group them together to make it easier for our customers, since during emergencies you don't have a lot of time to shop."

One item is an American Red Cross Emergency Radio, at $59.99, with backup hand-crank power, emergency lights, AM, FM and NOAA weather alert channels, and a cellphone charger.

The site also includes downloadable checklists for preparing for and recovering from a storm. (Bottled water? Check. Log splitter? Check.)

But suppose your power is out and you're frantic for a plastic tarp? "If your Internet provider is out, we still want to give people the opportunity to order what they need from our toll-free number," Goldberger says. Call 800-358-3096.