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New York City - The New York City Office of Emergency Management has been preparing for the worst since 1996. Yet today it found a new way to communicate with city dwellers — by creating its own page on the social networking Web site Facebook.

The office’s official page carries preparedness information, community event listings and volunteer opportunities.

“More than half of the participants in our annual preparedness poll reported that they use Facebook to keep informed about events in New York City,” said the office’s commissioner, Joseph F. Bruno.

“If Facebook is where New Yorkers are looking for information, O.E.M. needs to be there with answers,” he added.

The “wall” section of the office’s Facebook page contains written announcements, while elsewhere the site also sports a series of short videos.

Between footage of blizzards, clouds scudding over skyscrapers and a computer graphic depicting a storm surge drenching Manhattan, the videos indicate how to prepare for and deal with crises.

They advise New Yorkers to keep a battery-powered radio and an emergency supply kit with water and three days’ supply of food in their homes.

City dwellers are also recommended to have an out-of-town emergency contact. During a disaster, local phone networks are often jammed, and it can be easier to make a connection with a distant number.

By 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday, the office’s Facebook page already had 198 fans.

Chris Kelly, the chief privacy officer and head of global public policy for Facebook, is enthusiastic about the project.

“O.E.M.’s use of technology to serve the citizens of New York City is an excellent example for other cities and emergency management organizations to follow,” he said. “We’re very pleased that Facebook can play a role in keeping New Yorkers informed and safe.”

Yet the newly created Facebook site is not the office’s first venture into the new media landscape. The office has already been using Twitter and YouTube to get its message across.