Make a Family Emergency Plan
When an emergency happens, it can be difficult to think clearly or know what to do next. Having a family emergency plan in place ahead of time gives everyone clear steps to follow and helps reduce confusion during a stressful situation.
Your plan should account for how your family will communicate, where you will go, and what you will do if you are separated when a disaster occurs. Discuss the plan together and make sure every family member—including children and older adults—knows what to do.
Your family emergency plan should include:
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Emergency contacts: Choose an out-of-area contact who family members can call or text if local communication is disrupted.
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Meeting places: Identify safe meeting locations near your home and farther away in case you need to evacuate.
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Evacuation routes: Know multiple ways to leave your home and community and identify where you would go if an evacuation were necessary.
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Communication plan: Decide how family members will communicate and what to do if phone service or the internet is unavailable.
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Special needs: Plan for children, older adults, people with disabilities, pets, and anyone who may need additional assistance.
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Important information: Keep copies of important phone numbers, medical information, insurance information, and other essential documents in a secure location that can be accessed during an emergency.
Practice your plan regularly and update it when circumstances change. Make sure everyone has access to a copy—such as a printed copy kept in an emergency kit and a digital copy stored on a phone or other device.
A plan made before a disaster can help your family respond with greater confidence when every minute matters. Ready.Gov offers a free planning form you can use to compile this information into a PDF document.