Introduction Heat-related disasters and emergencies can affect almost anyone at anytime. Most of the time, people can prepare for the heat and prevent being impacted by the extreme heat. Following the disaster life cycle, local agencies and organizations can prepare the public and local emergency facilities to treat anyone who becomes ill. Additionally, there are several groups of people who are vulnerable to suffering from heat-related illnesses during a disaster. Disaster Cycle Emergency management organizations utilize the disaster life cycle to help ensure the community is prepared before the disaster and assist with the disaster response. The four stages of the disaster life cycle are: mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery (United States Economic Development Administration, n.d.). During the mitigation stage, emergency managers work to reduce the impact of a disaster on the people and the community as a whole. In order to mitigate the impact of a heat-related disaster, buildings may ensure their air conditioning system maintenance is up-to-date to avoid people from being overheated and the local infrastructure may be updated to provide gathering areas for citizens who don’t have access to a cool area to protect them from the heat such as libraries and malls (Federal Emergency Management Agency, 2014). The second stage of the disaster cycle is preparedness and provides a framework for people to become better prepared to handle the disaster. As part of preparing for heat-related disasters, outreach and training would be provided which could include “engaging the local business community, pre-disaster strategic planning, and other logistical readiness activities” (United States Economic Development Administration, n.d., para. 5). The third stage of the disaster cycle is response which encompasses the immediate emergency disaster response and cleanup efforts. During a heat-related disaster, the immediate response is the most important part of this stage because excessive heat can be deadly if not handled immediately. During the response stage, triaging victims and meeting people’s basic needs such as water, food, and shelter are the most urgent responsibilities for emergency service (United States Economic Development Administration, n.d.). Finally, in the recovery stage of the disaster life cycle, the aim is to restore the community to normal operations as much as possible during the immediate time after the disaster and years in the future. When lo