Family Emergency Plan: 8 Steps to Get Started

Ready.gov breaks planning into four parts: talk it through, plan for each person’s needs, write it down, and practice. The eight steps below follow that order. Set aside one evening and have a pen and the FEMA family communication form ready.

Step 1: List your local risks

Every area faces different hazards. Ready.gov points to FEMA’s National Risk Index to check the risks for your location.

Write down the top three or four events that could hit your home. Common ones are:

• Floods and flash floods
• Hurricanes, tornadoes or severe storms
• Wildfire
• Earthquakes
• Winter storms and long power outages
• Home fires (every household should plan for this)

Your county or state emergency management website also lists local hazards, evacuation zones and routes. Each risk may need a different action, so keep the list short and specific.

Step 2: Decide how you will get alerts

You cannot act on a warning you never get. Use more than one source.

Alert source	How it works	What you need to do
Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA)	Short alerts sent to cell phones in the area	Nothing. No app or sign-up is needed
Local alert system	Free county or city texts, calls or emails	Sign up through your local emergency management office
NOAA Weather Radio	Constant weather broadcasts to special radios	Buy a NOAA weather radio and keep spare batteries
Emergency Alert System (EAS)	Warnings on local TV and radio	Know which local stations to tune to
FEMA App	Weather alerts and open shelter locations	Download it on each adult’s phone

Ready.gov also recommends signing up for alerts from the National Weather Service. Make sure teens and other family members with phones sign up too.

Step 3: Make a shelter plan

Some emergencies mean staying inside. Decide now which room you will use.

For severe storms, FEMA’s plan form suggests a windowless interior room on the lowest level of a sturdy building. Pick that room and keep a flashlight and shoes there.

Write down which hazards mean “stay in” and which mean “leave” for your area. Then follow what local officials tell you at the time.

Step 4: Plan your evacuation

If officials tell you to leave, you need to know where you are going and how. Ready.gov advises:

1. Choose a destination, such as a friend’s or relative’s home, plus a few options in different directions.
2. Learn your local evacuation routes and at least one alternate route.
3. Keep a car’s gas tank at least half full at all times.
4. If you have no car, arrange a ride now with family, friends or your local emergency management office.
5. Know where your go-bag is stored. Everyone in the home should know this.

Our full guide on how to create an evacuation plan covers routes, timing and what to do before you leave.

Step 5: Set up family communication

Phone lines get busy in a disaster. FEMA says texts often get through when calls do not.

Your plan needs these basics:

• Out-of-town contact. One relative or friend who lives out of the area. Everyone checks in with this person.
• ICE contact. Save at least one contact in every phone as “ICE” (In Case of Emergency).
• Contact cards. A paper card in each wallet and backpack with key numbers.
• Meeting places. The Red Cross suggests two: one near home and one outside your neighborhood.
• School and work plans. Learn how your children’s school and each adult’s workplace handle emergencies.

For a full walk-through, see how to develop a family communication plan.

Step 6: Plan for special needs

A plan only works if it works for every person in the house. Go through each person, one at a time.

Children

• Write down who picks up which child, and from where.
• Find out the school’s pickup rules and add any extra adult to the school’s release list.
• Put a contact card in each child’s backpack.

Older adults and people with disabilities

• Build a support network of family, friends and aides who know the person’s needs.
• Keep at least one week of medicine on hand if you can, as Utah’s Be Ready program advises. Ask a doctor or pharmacist what to do if you cannot.
• If someone uses powered medical equipment, ask their health care provider how to prepare for a power outage.
• Plan how this person and their equipment will travel if you must evacuate.

See also emergency preparedness for people with disabilities.

Pets

• Most public shelters accept only service animals, so find pet-friendly hotels or friends now.
• FEMA suggests microchipping pets and keeping ID tags current.
• Pack a pet kit: food, water, medicine, vet records, a manual can opener, dishes and litter.
• Ask a trusted neighbor to collect your pet if you are away. Give them a key.

Medicine and medical information

• Keep a written list of each person’s medicines, doses and doctors.
• Store copies of insurance cards with your important papers.

Step 7: Give everyone a job

Clear jobs save time and stop arguments. Fairfax County’s emergency planners stress knowing “who is responsible for picking up whom.” Assign the rest of the tasks the same way.

Example job list for a family of four:

Person	Job in an emergency
Adult 1	Picks up the children. Brings the car go-bag
Adult 2	Grabs the home go-bag and medicines. Checks on the older neighbor
Teen	Texts the out-of-town contact. Gets the pet carrier and leash
Child	Puts on shoes, takes their backpack, goes to the meeting spot

Name a backup for each job in case someone is away. Put the job list on the fridge and in each go-bag.

Step 8: Write it down and practice

A plan in your head will be forgotten under stress. Print it, and keep one copy at home and one in each go-bag.

Then practice:

1. Run a home fire drill. The Red Cross says to practice at least twice a year until everyone can get out in under two minutes.
2. Walk or drive to both meeting places so kids know the way.
3. Send a test text to your out-of-town contact and a group text to the family.
4. Do a shelter drill in your chosen room.

Fairfax County suggests reviewing your plans and kits twice a year, when the clocks change. FEMA says to update the communication part at least once a year. Doing both on the clock-change weekends is easy to remember.

Read fire safety and preparedness for more on home fire drills.

Common mistakes

• Only one adult knows the plan.
• The out-of-town contact was never told they are the contact.
• Meeting places that kids cannot find on their own.
• No plan for the pet, so the family delays leaving.
• Medicine lists that are years out of date.

Fill-in family emergency plan checklist

Copy this list, fill in the blanks and keep it with your plan.

• Our top local risks: ____________________
• Alerts: WEA on all phones, local alerts signed up, NOAA radio with batteries, FEMA App
• Shelter room at home: ____________________
• Evacuation destination 1: ____________________
• Evacuation destination 2 (other direction): ____________________
• Main route and backup route written down
• Ride arranged if we have no car: ____________________
• Out-of-town contact name and number: ____________________
• ICE contact saved in every phone
• Meeting place near home: ____________________
• Meeting place outside the neighborhood: ____________________
• School and work emergency plans checked
• Child pickup person and backup: ____________________
• Medicine list and one-week supply for each person
• Power-dependent equipment plan made with a health care provider
• Pet kit packed, pet-friendly lodging found, neighbor has a key
• Jobs assigned with backups
• Plan printed: copy at home, copy in each go-bag
• Fire drill done (twice a year)
• Plan reviewed on: ________ and ________

Related guides

• Family Emergency Communication Plan: Step-by-Step
• How to Make a Family Evacuation Plan That Works
• Emergency Preparedness for People With Disabilities

Sources

• Make a Plan (Ready Tennessee, based on Ready.gov) — Tennessee Emergency Management Agency
• Evacuation: Be in the Know — Ready.gov / FEMA
• Family Emergency Communication Plan (form) — FEMA / Ready.gov
• Household Preparedness Guide — American Red Cross
• Make an Emergency Plan — Fairfax County Office of Emergency Management
• Emergency Alerts — ReadyNC, North Carolina Emergency Management
• Pet Preparedness Toolkit 2024 — FEMA
• Disaster Preparedness for Seniors — Be Ready Utah