Household preparedness guide
Make a household emergency plan that fits your home.
A useful plan starts with a few decisions everyone can find later: how to get updates, how to reconnect, where to meet, and what each person may need. Work through one prompt at a time and adjust it to your local guidance.
A plan you can use
Talk through the basics, then write them down.
Start with the situations most relevant to your area. Local officials’ instructions can differ by event, so leave room in your plan to check current information and adapt.
Ready.gov also recommends knowing the hazards that could affect your area and deciding how your household will communicate and reconnect.
Read Ready.gov’s Make a Plan guidanceHow will we get reliable alerts?
Choose how each person can receive local emergency alerts and where to check for official updates. Make sure someone knows how to check if a phone or internet connection is unavailable.
How will we check in?
Write down household members’ numbers and choose an out-of-area contact who can help pass along updates. Agree on a short check-in message and keep contact details on paper as well as on phones.
Where could we meet?
Pick one familiar place close to home and another outside your neighborhood in case you cannot return. Choose places that fit your household and revisit them if access or local conditions change.
When might we shelter or leave?
Talk through how you will follow local instructions to shelter in place or evacuate. Note more than one way to leave, who may need help with transportation, and where you could go. Keep pets and service animals part of that discussion.
What will help us practice?
Keep the plan somewhere everyone can find it. Walk through the contact and meeting-place steps together, then update the details when phone numbers, routines, or household needs change.
Make it fit your household
Include the people, routines, and care you rely on.
A plan is easier to use when it reflects everyday life. Review these prompts with the people involved in care and update them when needs or routines change.
- Medical needs and access
- List essential medicines, allergies, care contacts, and equipment that needs power. Consider how to transport supplies and what backup arrangements are available for assistive devices or refrigeration needs.
- Children and older adults
- Include school or caregiver contacts, pickup permissions, familiar comfort items, mobility needs, and a simple explanation of the plan that fits each person’s age and needs.
- Pets and service animals
- Note food, water, medication, carriers or leashes, identification, and a place that can accept animals if you need to leave. Keep a current photo and care instructions with your contact information.
- Daily routines and support
- Think about work, school, caregiving, language, dietary, cultural, and religious needs. Ask trusted neighbors or relatives what support they can realistically offer, and share what you can do for them.
Supplies for several days
Build a kit around real household needs.
Ready.gov’s current kit guidance describes planning to manage on your own for several days. Use its full list and local advice to shape your household’s supplies.
Read Ready.gov’s Build a Kit guidanceA practical inventory to start
- Water and food: drinking water and nonperishable food suited to the people at home.
- First aid: basic first-aid supplies and important personal medicines.
- Light, radio, and power: a flashlight or other light, a battery-powered or hand-crank radio, and batteries or backup power.
- Sanitation: hygiene and sanitation items your household may need.
- Household-specific needs: consider children, older adults, medical or access needs, dietary needs, and pets or service animals.
One manageable next step
Start with 48 hours, then build toward several days.
Our free 48-hour checklist is a practical first pass for gathering notes and essentials. It is a starting point, not a substitute for Ready.gov’s several-day supply guidance or current instructions from local officials.
This educational guide does not replace emergency services or official local guidance. For immediate danger, contact emergency services and follow instructions from local authorities.