How to create an emergency plan

Creating Your Emergency Plan

Step-by-step guide to developing a personalized emergency plan.

Developing a personalized emergency plan involves several key steps to ensure that you and your family are prepared to respond effectively during a crisis. As you follow these steps be sure to write your plan down so that you can refer to it and remember it. For your convenience, we have made a FREE printable emergency plan worksheet, but since you are customizing it please don’t hesitate to add pages to it as necessary. The worksheet is just a starting point. Click here to access it. 

Here’s the step-by-step guide to help you create your plan:

Step 1: Assess Potential Risks and Hazards

Identify Potential Hazards: Research and list the types of emergencies that are most likely to occur in your area (e.g., earthquakes, hurricanes, wildfires, power outages).

Consider Personal Circumstances: Evaluate specific factors that may affect your household (e.g., medical conditions, disabilities, pets).

Step 2: Create a Communication Plan

This plan is best written in hard copy because electronic devices may be inoperable, power may be out, or the internet may be down.

Establish Emergency Contacts: Compile a list of emergency contacts, including family members, neighbors, doctors, and out-of-town contacts. Designate an emergency contact outside your area (sometimes cell services are overwhelmed in the immediate area of an emergency and it’s easier to call someone out of state to relay info to family members). Teach everyone emergency numbers.

Designate Meeting Places: Determine meeting places both within your neighborhood and outside of it in case of evacuation.

Plan Communication Methods: Write down how family members will communicate if separated (e.g., text, email, social media, etc…).

Step 3: Develop an Evacuation Plan

Identify Evacuation Routes: Map out primary and alternative evacuation routes from your home and neighborhood to safe locations, as well as maps of how to get home from work or school if transportation is interrupted and you must walk. Look out for bridges, in a major earthquake or hurricane, bridges may not exist anymore. Try to find a way that you will not need to go over or under any bridges (this is not always possible, but it is something to be aware of. Just do your best). 

Decide on meeting points: one near home, and one outside the neighborhood.

Identify safe shelter options (e.g., friends’ homes, hotels, community centers).

Pack an Emergency Kit: Prepare and pack emergency kits for each family member, including essential supplies such as food, water, medications, flashlights, batteries, hygiene items, first aid items, cash and important documents. Customize your kits for your family’s needs (e.g., baby supplies, pet food). Do not let this part overwhelm or prevent you from doing anything. This is actually much easier and cheaper than you think. In fact there are ways to prepare an emergency kit without spending any money. See this article for more information. 

Plan for Pets and Livestock: Include provisions and transportation arrangements for pets and livestock in your evacuation plan.

Step 4: Secure Your Home

Identify Vulnerabilities: Assess your home for potential hazards (e.g., securing heavy furniture, adding child safety locks to kitchen cabinets so glass dishes don’t fall out in the event of an earthquake, anchoring shelves to the wall, identifying safe spots, removing anything above the bed so nothing can fall on you at night during an earthquake, making sure your water heater is anchored to the wall, etc…).

Install Safety Devices: Ensure smoke detectors, carbon monoxide detectors, and fire extinguishers are in good working condition. Replace your fire detectors every 10 years, and your carbon monoxide detectors every 5-7 years (refer to the manuals) because their sensors go bad even if the battery, lights and the digital window says it’s working, replace it anyway. 

Learn Utility Shut-off Procedures: Know how to shut off utilities (e.g., gas, water, electricity) safely in case of emergencies. Entire neighborhoods can be destroyed by fires caused by gas leaks due to earthquakes. Learning how to shut off your utilities can be life saving. In addition to learning how to shut off your water in the house, know how to shut it off at the street as well in case the pipe between your house and the street breaks and causes flooding. Have the tools necessary to shut off the gas and the water readily accessible (e.g. attach the wrench to the gas meter with a chain so you don’t have to go searching for one).

Step 5: Consider Specific Needs

Medical Needs: Coordinate with healthcare providers for special medical needs, prescriptions, and equipment.

Children and Elderly: Develop plans tailored to the needs of children, elderly family members, or individuals with disabilities.

Cultural or Religious Considerations: Take into account any specific cultural or religious practices that may influence your emergency planning.

Step 6: Practice and Review Your Plan Regularly

Conduct Drills: Practice your emergency plan with family members regularly, including evacuation routes, communication methods, and safety procedures.

Update Your Plan: Review and update your emergency plan every 6 months or as circumstances change (e.g., new medical conditions, changes in family structure, or renovations to your home).

Stay Informed: Stay informed about potential hazards and emergency procedures through local authorities, community resources, and emergency alerts. Sign up for local emergency alerts, and monitor news and weather updates.

Step 7: Store Important Documents Securely

Gather Documents: Collect and organize important documents such as identification, insurance policies, medical records, and legal documents. Some important documents include passports, birth certificates, social security cards, marriage license, home and vehicle titles, etc… 

Store Safely: Keep copies of these documents in a waterproof and fireproof container, do not store them digitally in cloud storage services. You do not want your identity or property being stolen. That would be an emergency of its own.

Take pictures of everything you possess. Walk through your house and take pictures of everything including opening drawers and taking pictures of the content of the drawers, etc… This will help you inventory everything and will be extremely helpful when filling out insurance claims in the event of a fire, flood or other major disaster.

By following these steps and customizing your emergency plan to fit your specific circumstances, you can enhance your readiness and improve your ability to respond effectively in the event of an emergency or disaster. Regularly practicing and updating your plan will help ensure its effectiveness and adaptability over time.

Click here to learn about food storage.

Click here to learn about water storage.