• Be familiar with natural disaster risks in your community.
• Consider how you will respond to emergencies that can happen anywhere, such as home fires and floods.
• Consider how you will respond to emergencies that are unique to your region, such as volcanoes, tsunamis or tornadoes.
• Think about emergencies that may require your family to shelter in place (such as a winter storm), vs. emergencies that may require evacuation (such as a hurricane).
• Consult our emergency resource library for tips on preparing for, responding to, and recovering from specific disasters.

• ​​Choose two places to meet up:
  • Right outside your home in case of a sudden emergency, such as a fire
  • Outside your neighborhood, in case you cannot return home or are asked to evacuate
• Choose an out-of-area emergency contact person. It may be easier to text or call long distance if local phone lines are overloaded or out of service. Everyone should carry emergency contact information in writing and saved on their cell phones. Make sure places where your children spend time also have these contact numbers, like at school or daycare.
• Your plan should account for family members who may live elsewhere during the year, such as members of the military on deployment or students away at college, or those who travel frequently.
  • How will you need to adapt your plan if they are at home?
  • What will you need to do differently if they are away?

• Decide where you would go and what route you would take to get there, such as:
  • A hotel/motel
  • The home of friends or relatives a safe distance away
  • An evacuation shelter
• Practice evacuating your home twice a year. Grab your emergency kit, just like you will in a real emergency, then drive your planned evacuation route. Plot alternate routes on your map in case roads are impassable. Make sure you have locations and maps saved on devices such as cell phones and GPS units and on paper.
• Plan ahead for your pets. Keep a phone list of pet-friendly hotels/motels and animal shelters that are along your evacuation routes. Remember, if it’s not safe for you to stay home, it’s not safe for your pets either.

• Call during off-peak hours for the best chance of getting through.
• Send a text message, which may go through when phone calls cannot.
• Check your loved one’s social media pages (i.e., Facebook, Twitter, etc.), as they may have already gone online to tell their story.
• Send an email.
• Call friends and relatives who may have already been in contact with your loved one.
• Call people and places where your loved one is well-known; neighbors, employer, school, place of worship, senior center, social club/center, union, or fraternal organization.
• Register with American Red Cross’ Safe & Well site to let family and friends know you’re okay. Concerned family and friends can search this list to find their loved one’s name, an “as of” date and a message from you.
• Have an emergency charging option for your phone and other mobile devices. Smartphones have become a vital tool to get emergency alerts and warnings so it’s important to make sure you can keep them powered up in an emergency.
  • At home: Prior to severe weather make sure that all of your electronic devices are fully charged. If the power goes out save battery power by minimizing device use. Keep a back-up power source on hand.
  • In your car: Keep a portable phone charger in your car at all times and consider purchasing a back-up power supply to keep in your car as well.
  • Change the settings on your phone to low power mode or place it on airplane mode to conserve energy.
• Try sending a letter. Your loved one’s mail may be getting forwarded to his or her new location.

Emergencies can cause a lot of damage that needs to be fixed. This can cost a lot of money. You need to plan ahead for possible costs to make repairs. Planning ahead can save your family time and money after an emergency.

Collect copies of key papers and records. Keep them in both a safety deposit box and waterproof container with your emergency kit. Having these papers in one place will help if you need to sign up with the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Be sure to have copies of:

• Birth certificate/adoption certificates
• Marriage license/divorce papers
• Social security cards
• Passport/Green card
• Will
• Insurance Policies (home, auto, life, health, etc.)
• Bank Statements

Keep a small amount of cash or travelers checks in your emergency kit. Cash machines may not be working after an emergency.

Take photos or video of your personal belongings for insurance reasons. Look over your property, health and life insurance policies to make sure you have proper coverage. You need to find out if you are in a flood zone. If you are, think about buying flood insurance.

If you have a plan in place for you and your pets, you will likely encounter less difficulty, stress and worry when you need to make a decision during an emergency. If local officials ask you to evacuate, that means your pet should evacuate too. If you leave your pets behind, they may end up lost, injured or worse.

Things to include in your plan:

• Have an evacuation plan for your pet. Many public shelters and hotels do not allow pets inside. Know a safe place where you can take your pets before disasters and emergencies happen.
• Develop a buddy system. Plan with neighbors, friends or relatives to make sure that someone is available to care for or evacuate your pets if you are unable to do so.
• Have your pet microchipped. Make sure to keep your address and phone number up-to-date and include contact information for an emergency contact outside of your immediate area.
• Contact your local emergency management office, animal shelter or animal control office to get additional advice and information if you’re unsure how to care for your pet in case of an emergency.