How to make a family emergency plan
FEMA's Ready.gov says a family emergency plan needs one contact outside your town that everyone can reach, safe places to meet if you are separated, and regular practice. The American Red Cross says to choose two meeting places (one right outside your home, one outside your neighborhood), give everyone a written contact card, and practice evacuating twice a year.
The American Red Cross says you may have as little as two minutes to escape a home fire. There is no time to decide where to meet once it starts.
- Your plan checklist
- Step 1: Pick your contacts
- Step 2: Pick two meeting places
- Step 3: Plan your way out
- Step 4: Plan for every person
- Step 5: Practice it
- Gear
Your plan checklist
Ticks save on this device. Steps from the Red Cross, FEMA's Ready.gov and the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency.
- One out-of-area contact everyone can reach
- A written contact card for each person, plus numbers saved in every phone
- The same contact numbers given to school and daycare
- Meeting place 1: right outside your home
- Meeting place 2: outside your neighborhood
- Where you will go if you evacuate, and the route there
- A second route in case roads are closed
- Maps saved on your phone and on paper
- At least one alert that is loud enough to wake you at night
- A room to shelter in at home
- Medical needs, medicines and doctor details for each person
- A plan for pets, with pet-friendly places along your route
- The emergency plans at work, school and daycare
- A go bag packed and everyone knows where it is
- A practice date on the calendar
Step 1: Pick your contacts
- Choose one out-of-area contact. The Red Cross says long-distance calls or texts may get through when local lines are busy.
- Text, don't talk. Ready.gov says texting leaves phone lines open for emergency workers. Texas says texts also use less battery (Texas Ready).
- Write it down. Everyone carries the contact details on paper and saved in their phone (Red Cross). Save them as "ICE" (in case of emergency) (Mass.gov).
- Teach children the key phone numbers and how to use a phone (Texas Ready).
Step 2: Pick two meeting places
| Place | For |
|---|---|
| Right outside your home | Sudden emergencies like a fire |
| Outside your neighborhood | When you cannot get home or are told to evacuate |
From the Red Cross. Ready.gov says pick places that are safe, familiar and easy to find, and animal-friendly if you have pets.
Step 3: Plan your way out
- Decide where you would go: a friend's or relative's home a safe distance away, a hotel, or an evacuation shelter (Red Cross).
- Plan a second route in case roads are closed (Red Cross).
- Save maps and locations on your phone and on paper (Red Cross).
- Before you leave: fill the gas tank, charge your phone, take cash and documents, and tell your contact your plan (Texas Ready).
Step 4: Plan for every person
- Plan for people with disabilities or access needs, older adults, children and pets (Mass.gov).
- Write down each person's doctor, pharmacy, medicines and insurance details (Texas Ready).
- Know the emergency plans at work, school and daycare (Mass.gov).
- Keep pet shot records with your important documents (Texas Ready).
Step 5: Practice it
- The Red Cross says practice evacuating your home twice a year: grab your kit and drive your route.
- Massachusetts says practice 2 to 3 times a year, test your contacts, meet at your meeting places, and update the plan after each practice (Mass.gov).
- Hold regular family meetings to go over the plan (Ready.gov).
Common mistakes
- Picking a contact who lives nearby. Local lines may be jammed. Choose someone out of the area.
- Keeping numbers only in phones. Write them on a card for each person.
- Choosing only one meeting place. You need one by the house and one outside the neighborhood.
- Not telling the school who can pick up your children.
- Making the plan and never practicing it. The Red Cross says twice a year.
- Forgetting pets. The Red Cross says to list pet-friendly hotels and animal shelters along your routes.
Gear for this
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NOAA Weather Radio with tone alert
Mass.gov says to have at least one alert that can wake you at night.
Waterproof wallet cards or ID holders
Keeps each person's contact card readable in rain or floodwater.
Two-way radios
On the Red Cross list. Useful if phones are down.
Waterproof document pouch
Keeps copies of documents and the written plan dry. Ready.gov lists a waterproof container.
Questions people ask
What should a family emergency plan include?
An out-of-area contact, two meeting places, evacuation routes, a shelter room at home, each person's medical needs, pet plans and a practice schedule.
Why choose an out-of-town emergency contact?
The Red Cross says long-distance calls or texts may get through when local lines are overloaded.
How often should we practice our emergency plan?
The Red Cross says practice evacuating your home twice a year.
Sources
- American Red Cross: Make a Plan
- American Red Cross: Home Fire Safety
- Ready.gov (FEMA): Make a Plan (Ready Kids)
- Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency: Make a Family Emergency Plan
- Texas Ready: How to Make a Plan
Related entries
- D-0272-hour go bag checklistWhat to pack so you can leave home in minutes and get through 3 days. Red Cross and FEMA lists, ready to tick off.
- D-03Tornado safety: what to do in a tornado warningWhere to go in a house, mobile home, car or outdoors, the warning signs, and what a watch and a warning mean.
- D-01Hurricane emergency kit checklistThe FEMA kit list as a tick-off checklist, plus the hurricane rules that keep people alive.
General safety information only, not medical or professional advice. Rules can change, so check the linked sources and follow your local officials. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.