How to make the plan
- 1Learn your local hazards — which disasters (weather, flood, wildfire, earthquake) can affect your area.
- 2Meet and answer the five questions — alerts, shelter, evacuation, communication, and kit.
- 3Set contacts and meeting places — how everyone reaches each other, plus a nearby meeting spot and an out-of-neighborhood one.
- 4Assess special needs — medical, disabilities, pets, kids, and who assists whom.
- 5Build or update your kit — the "be prepared" gear side.
- 6Write it down — a documented plan everyone can access (paper and phone).
- 7Practice and update — drill it with the family and revise as things change.
The five questions
- How will we get emergency alerts and warnings?
- What is our shelter plan?
- What is our evacuation route?
- What is our household communication plan? (Include an out-of-area contact.)
- Does our emergency kit need updating?
Common mistakes & safety
- Plan BEFORE the emergency. Decisions made calmly in advance are what work when everyone is scared and separated. Confirm your plan against current Ready.gov / Red Cross guidance.
- Know how you'll get warnings — Wireless Emergency Alerts, NOAA Weather Radio, local systems; these are how you learn a disaster is coming.
- Account for the vulnerable — the young, elderly, those with medical or access needs, and pets need specific plans; don't leave them as an afterthought.
- Practice makes it real — an unpracticed plan is a guess; drill meeting places and communication.
- Keep medical info and medications accessible — note prescriptions and equipment; the person who needs them plans for them.
Going deeper
- Five questions make a plan. Alerts, shelter, evacuation, communication, kit — answer those five with your family and you have a plan.
- An out-of-area contact ties it together. When local lines are jammed, a relative in another city everyone checks in with can relay who's safe.
- Practice, or it's just paper. The difference between a plan and a drill is that a drill has actually walked to the meeting place.
Official source
Make a Plan — Ready.gov (FEMA) →The four steps and five questions are from Ready.gov. Confirm the whole plan against current Ready.gov / Red Cross guidance. See also the Emergency Preparedness merit badge.