An emergency preparedness plan is a documented set of decisions your household makes before a disaster happens: where to go, how to communicate, what to bring, and what each person’s role is. It covers everything from evacuation routes and meeting points to supply kits and critical paperwork. Despite how straightforward this sounds, only about half of U.S. households have actually created and discussed one, based on FEMA’s 2018 National Household Survey.
The value of a plan isn’t the document itself. It’s the thinking you do ahead of time so that during a fire, flood, hurricane, or power outage, your family isn’t making high-stakes decisions under pressure.
What a Plan Actually Includes
At its core, an emergency preparedness plan answers five questions: What disasters are most likely where you live? How will your household communicate if separated? Where will everyone meet? What supplies do you need to survive for at least 72 hours? And what documents or medications can’t be left behind?
FEMA describes the planning process as a way to think through the full lifecycle of a potential crisis, establish roles and responsibilities, and determine what capabilities you’ll need. That sounds formal, but for a household it translates into a few pages of written-down decisions that everyone in the family has reviewed and practiced. The written part matters because memory is unreliable during emergencies, and because anyone caring for your children or elderly relatives needs access to the same information.
Building a Communication Plan
Phone networks often get overwhelmed during disasters, so your plan needs backup communication methods. Text messages use less bandwidth than voice calls and are more likely to go through when cell towers are congested. Designate an out-of-area contact, someone in another state or region, who can serve as a central relay point. If local lines are jammed, household members can each check in with that one person, who then passes information along.
Your plan should also include three types of meeting places:
- Inside your home: a safe room or interior space for sheltering during tornadoes or high-wind storms.
- In your neighborhood: a spot just outside your home, like a mailbox or a neighbor’s driveway, where everyone gathers after evacuating the building.
- Outside your city: a predetermined location where you reunite if the community is evacuated and you can’t return home.
Have each family member practice texting the out-of-area contact and sending a group message to the household. Children old enough to use a phone should know these numbers by heart or carry them written down.
Emergency Supplies and the 72-Hour Kit
The standard recommendation is to store at least one gallon of water per person per day for a minimum of three days. That water covers drinking, cooking, and basic hygiene like brushing teeth. For a family of four, that’s 12 gallons just for water.
Beyond water, a well-stocked kit includes a battery-powered or hand-crank radio (ideally one that receives NOAA Weather Radio broadcasts), a flashlight with extra batteries, a first aid kit, a whistle for signaling help, and a dust mask for filtering contaminated air. Ready.gov also recommends plastic sheeting, scissors, and duct tape for sealing a room if you need to shelter in place, along with a wrench or pliers for shutting off gas and water lines.
The personal items are just as important: prescription medications, eyeglasses, a complete change of clothes with sturdy shoes, a sleeping bag or warm blanket for each person, and basic sanitation supplies like moist towelettes, garbage bags, and plastic ties. If you have an infant, add formula, bottles, diapers, and wipes. Keep a cell phone charger and a backup battery in the kit, along with local maps in case GPS is unavailable.
Store everything in a portable container you can grab quickly. Some people keep a smaller version in the car and a fuller kit at home.
Documents You Can’t Replace Easily
Make copies of your most important records and keep them in a waterproof bag inside your kit. The list is longer than most people expect:
- Identity documents: photo IDs, birth certificates, Social Security cards, passports
- Medical records: insurance cards, prescription lists with dosages, medical alert information
- Financial records: bank account information, insurance policies (homeowner, renter, flood, life), wills
- Property records: deeds, leases, mortgage documents, vehicle titles
- Household inventory: photos of every room, closet, and drawer to document possessions for insurance claims
- Utility bills: these serve as proof of address when applying for disaster assistance
- A USB drive: with backed-up computer files
Keep your Social Security number stored separately from your other documents to reduce identity theft risk if the bag is lost. Current photos of each family member should also go in the kit, in case you’re separated and need to describe someone to emergency workers.
Planning for Pets
The CDC recommends a two-week supply of food and water for each pet, stored in waterproof containers, along with a two-week supply of any medications and a one-month supply of flea, tick, and heartworm preventatives. That’s significantly more than the three-day minimum for humans, partly because pet-friendly shelters and boarding options can be scarce after a disaster.
Your pet kit should also include photocopied veterinary records (vaccinations, rabies certificates, recent test results), proof of ownership or adoption records, microchip information, and a recent photo of each animal. Leashes, collars with ID tags, harnesses, non-spill food and water dishes, and a manual can opener round out the supplies. Written boarding and feeding instructions help if someone else needs to care for your pet during the emergency.
Planning for People With Disabilities
Standard evacuation plans often assume everyone can walk down stairs, hear alarms, read signs, and carry a bag. If someone in your household uses a wheelchair, relies on powered medical equipment, or has a cognitive disability, your plan needs to account for that specifically. Elevators stop working during power outages, and poorly designed pathways can become impassable.
Think through backup power for any essential medical devices, a larger medication supply, and whether your evacuation routes are physically accessible. If a household member needs assistance evacuating, identify in advance who will help and how. Some local emergency management offices maintain voluntary registries for people who may need additional support during a disaster, so it’s worth checking whether your community offers one.
How You’ll Receive Warnings
Your plan should include knowing how emergency alerts actually reach you, so you’re not relying on a single source.
Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEAs) are short messages sent directly to any enabled mobile device in a targeted area. They arrive with a distinctive sound and vibration pattern, they’re free, and you don’t need to subscribe. The Emergency Alert System (EAS) works through broadcast TV, radio, cable, and satellite, and it allows federal, state, and local authorities to push out weather warnings, AMBER alerts, and other threat information. NOAA Weather Radio broadcasts continuous forecasts, watches, and warnings 24/7 from the nearest National Weather Service office.
The FEMA mobile app lets you set real-time weather and emergency alerts for up to five locations, which is useful if family members live in different areas. Having multiple alert channels means you’re more likely to get a warning even if one system is down or your phone is dead.
Practicing and Updating the Plan
A plan that sits in a drawer doesn’t work. Run through it with your household at least twice a year. Walk your evacuation routes. Make sure everyone knows where the meeting places are and can find the emergency kit without help. Check expiration dates on food, water, and medications, and swap out batteries.
Update the plan whenever something changes: a new address, a new medication, a new pet, a child old enough to walk to school alone. Review it at the start of your region’s most relevant disaster season, whether that’s hurricane season in June, wildfire season in late summer, or tornado season in spring. The goal is for every person in your household to be able to act on the plan without needing to be told what to do.