Start with local hazards
Flooding, hurricanes, tornadoes, winter storms, earthquakes, wildfire, extreme heat, and other risks vary by region. Use local emergency management and weather authorities to identify the events most likely where you live.
Make a communication plan
Choose trusted contacts, include someone outside the immediate area when useful, and decide how household members will reconnect if local phone service is disrupted.
Plan shelter and evacuation
Know where you would shelter at home and where you could go in more than one direction if evacuation is ordered.
Plan transportation
Ready.gov guidance for older adults specifically says to plan transportation if you may need help evacuating and to have a backup if you normally depend on elevators.
Account for medications and equipment
Include medicines, medical supplies, batteries, chargers, mobility devices, communication aids, and other daily-use equipment in the plan.
Build supplies gradually
Ready.gov recommends enough emergency supplies to last several days. Build the kit over time and rotate food, batteries, and other time-sensitive items.
Practice the plan
Walk through evacuation routes, communication steps, pet plans, shutoffs you are qualified to operate, and where supplies are stored.
Quick Reference
| Planning area | Questions |
|---|---|
| Hazards | What is likely locally? |
| Communication | Who contacts whom? |
| Shelter | Where inside the home? |
| Evacuation | Where can we go? |
| Transportation | Primary + backup? |
| Supplies | Enough for several days? |
| Medical/mobility | What must keep working? |
| Pets | How will they travel/shelter? |
Build the plan around the emergencies that are realistic for your area
Emergency preparedness is easier when you focus on the events that are actually plausible where you live. A household in a hurricane zone may need a different evacuation plan from one that is more likely to face winter storms, wildfire smoke, tornadoes, extreme heat, flooding, or short-term power outages.
For an overall emergency plan, review local hazards, shelter, evacuation, communication, transportation, medications, pets, power needs, and supplies. Start with the risks that could interrupt your normal routine most quickly, then add broader backup steps after the basics are covered.
Decide what you would do if you had to stay home
Some emergencies are safest to ride out at home when local officials recommend sheltering in place. Think about what you would need if stores were closed, roads were difficult, or power and internet were unreliable for a period of time.
Keep frequently used supplies easy to reach. Do not bury flashlights, batteries, bottled water, medications, or a radio behind heavy boxes or in a part of the home that is difficult to access during bad weather.
Decide what you would do if you had to leave
Evacuation planning should answer where you would go, how you would get there, what you would take, and what would happen if your first destination were unavailable. Include hotels, family, shelters, transportation, and pet arrangements when those apply.
Keep the route flexible. Local instructions may change with road closures, fire direction, flood conditions, or other hazards, so follow official guidance during an actual event rather than relying only on a route chosen months earlier.
Keep critical information in more than one format
Phones are useful, but batteries can die and networks can fail. Keep important phone numbers, medication information, insurance contacts, identification references, and emergency contacts somewhere that does not depend entirely on one device.
A small printed sheet, household binder, wallet card, or protected document pouch can provide a useful backup. Avoid putting unnecessary sensitive details on a sheet that may be carried openly.
Plan for medications and powered equipment early
Anything you rely on every day deserves a specific emergency plan. That can include prescriptions, refrigerated medication, hearing devices, mobility equipment, oxygen-related equipment, CPAP, powered chairs, chargers, or other household medical devices.
Know what requires electricity, what has a battery, how long that battery normally lasts, and who to contact if normal service is interrupted. Do not wait for an outage to learn whether an essential device has a backup option.
Make emergency supplies manageable to move
A large emergency supply is not useful if the containers are too heavy to lift or stored where you cannot reach them. Use smaller containers and divide supplies into logical groups when that makes handling easier.
Keep a home supply kit separate from a portable go-bag. The home kit can be more complete, while the go-bag should contain only what you may need to leave quickly.
Include pets in every major decision
Pets affect shelter choices, transportation, hotel options, supplies, and evacuation timing. Keep carriers, leashes, food, medication, identification, and veterinary information ready enough that you are not gathering everything at the last minute.
Identify at least one place your pets could go if your first evacuation destination cannot accept them. A backup caregiver can also help if you are away from home when an emergency begins.
Keep lighting and communication simple
Flashlights, battery lanterns, charged phones, portable chargers, and a battery-powered or hand-crank radio can all support communication during an outage. Store them where you can reach them easily in the dark.
Test them occasionally. A flashlight with dead batteries or a power bank that has not been charged for a year should not be treated as a reliable backup.
Know how the house works without electricity
Some garage doors, gates, locks, elevators, medical devices, thermostats, and other systems behave differently during a power failure. Learn the manual release or backup process that applies to your home before an outage.
If a manual procedure involves a heavy door, ladder, electrical panel, generator, or another task you cannot safely perform, include another person or professional service in the plan.
Keep fuel and transportation in the plan
An emergency can affect gas stations, charging stations, public transit, rideshare availability, and road access. If evacuation is part of your plan, know your primary transportation and a backup.
For people who do not drive, identify who could provide a ride and which community or emergency transportation resources may be available locally. Make those calls before an emergency season rather than during the event itself.
Use official alerts instead of relying on social media rumors
During an active emergency, information can change quickly. Use local emergency management, weather agencies, utility providers, public safety agencies, and other official sources for evacuation, shelter, outage, boil-water, or road guidance.
Social media can be useful for awareness, but verify important instructions before acting on a forwarded post or screenshot.
Practice one part of the plan at a time
You do not need to stage a complicated full-scale drill. Practice the pieces that would otherwise be confusing: finding the go-bag, calling the contact person, loading a pet carrier, opening a garage door manually, or locating the shutoff information.
A short practice often reveals small problems, such as a missing charger, expired number, blocked path, or container that is too heavy to move.
Review supplies on a simple schedule
Food, water, medication, batteries, documents, pet supplies, and contact information can all change. Review the kit a few times each year and after any major household change.
Rotate items you normally use rather than treating emergency supplies as a permanent untouched stockpile. That keeps the kit current and reduces waste.
Make the plan easy for another person to understand
A family member, neighbor, caregiver, or emergency contact may need to help when you cannot explain every detail. Keep the main plan clear enough that another person can find the kit, contacts, medications, pet information, and evacuation notes.
Preparedness works best when the household knows the basics rather than when one person is the only one who understands the system.
Sources
Frequently Asked Questions
Is emergency planning different for every older adult?
Yes. Ready.gov recommends adjusting plans and kits to individual daily living needs and circumstances.
How many days of supplies should I keep?
Ready.gov advises building enough supplies for several days; water guidance commonly starts with at least three days and more when possible.
Should I plan for elevators not working?
Yes if you normally depend on them.
Where do I find local hazard information?
Use local emergency management, state agencies, and National Weather Service or other official alerts.
Should I practice the plan?
Yes. Practice makes gaps easier to find before an emergency.
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