WARWICK — The Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Rhode Island Emergency Management Agency will launch a Web site that teaches students and families how to prepare for an emergency.

The STEP program, which stands for Student Tools for Emergency Planning, was created by two fourth-grade teachers in North Providence in cooperation with Marty J. Bahamonde, a FEMA official who became a hero after he frantically called for help from the New Orleans Superdome in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

This year, more than 100 teachers in Rhode Island are using the one-hour lesson plan on disaster preparedness, which teaches students to work with their families to prepare evacuation plans and develop a contact list for relatives. The program includes a disaster video, and students receive knapsacks stocked with flashlights, food and water, paid for by FEMA.

Under the direction of Sandra Sneesby, a computer studies professor at the Community College of Rhode Island, three computer studies students — Cara Blaine of Providence, Brendalee Peckham-Bell of West Warwick and Manny Rebello of Johnston — helped design the Web site.

The new Web site will be launched Wednesday at 4:30 p.m. in Room 4090 at CCRI’s Knight Campus, 400 East Ave., Warwick. The event will include remarks by CCRI President Ray DiPasquale, RIEMA Executive Director J. David Smith and FEMA representatives.

The students worked closely with Michelle Collins of FEMA and Steve Kass of RIEMA.

“Our goal is to implement the STEP program for 20,000 students in New England this school year,” Smith said. “It is with great pride that I can claim that Rhode Island has the highest percentage of eligible students involved in STEP in New England.”

The new Web site can be found at www.riema.ri.gov/step.

lborg@projo.com