Family Emergency Plan
Information obtained form FEMA/Ready America

Family Emergency Plan
  • Identify an out-of town contact.  It may be easier to make a long-distance phone call than to call across town, so an out-of-town contact may be in a better position to communicate among separated family members.
  • Be sure every member of your family knows the phone number and has a cell phone, coins, or a prepaid phone card to call the emergency contact. If you have a cell phone, program that person(s) as "ICE" (In Case of Emergency) in your phone. If you are in an accident, emergency personnel will often check your ICE listings in order to get a hold of someone you know. Make sure to tell your family and friends that you’ve listed them as emergency contacts.
  • Teach family members how to use text messaging (also knows as SMS or Short Message Service). Text messages can often get around network disruptions when a phone call might not be able to get through.
  • Subscribe to alert services. Many communities now have systems that will send instant text alerts or e-mails to let you know about bad weather, road closings, local emergencies, etc. 

Planning to Stay or Go

Planning to Stay or Go Depending on your circumstances and the nature of the emergency, the first important decision is whether you stay where you are or evacuate. You should understand and plan for both possibilities. Use common sense and available information, including what you are learning here, to determine if there is an immediate danger. In any emergency, local authorities may or may not immediately be able to provide information on what is happening and what you should do. However, you should watch TV, listen to the radio or check the Internet often for information or official instruction as it becomes available. For information on staying put or sheltering in place,

Emergency Information

Emergency Information Find out what kinds of disasters, both natural and man-made, are most likely to occur in your area and how you will be notified. Methods of getting your attention vary from community to community. One common method is to broadcast via emergency radio and TV broadcasts. You might hear a special siren, or get a telephone call, or emergency workers may go door-to-door.

In a Moving Vehicle

  • If there is an explosion or other factor that makes it difficult to control the vehicle, pull over, stop the car and set the parking brake.
  • If the emergency could impact the physical stability of the roadway, avoid overpasses, bridges, power lines, signs and other hazards.
  • If a power line falls on your car you are at risk of electrical shock, stay inside until a trained person removes the wire.
  • Listen to the radio for information and instructions as they become available.

School and Workplace

Like individuals and families, schools, daycare providers, workplaces, neighborhoods and apartment buildings should all have site-specific emergency plans.

Ask about plans at the places where your family spends the most time: work, school and other places you frequent. If none exist, consider volunteering to help develop one. You will be better prepared to safely reunite your family and loved ones during an emergency if you think ahead, and communicate with others in advance.

For more information on working together, visit Citizen Corps.

Schools and Daycare If you are a parent, or guardian of an elderly or disabled adult, make sure schools and daycare providers have emergency response plans.

» Visit Ready Kids for more information.

  • Ask how they will communicate with families during a crisis.
  • Ask if they store adequate food, water and other basic supplies.
  • Find out if they are prepared to "shelter-in-place" if need be, and where they plan to go if they must get away.
For more information on developing emergency preparedness plans for schools, please visit the U.S. Department of Education at http://www.ed.gov/emergencyplan.

Workplaces If you are an employer, make sure your workplace has a building evacuation plan that is regularly practiced.

» Visit Ready Business for more information.

  • Take a critical look at your heating, ventilation and air conditioning system to determine if it is secure or if it could feasibly be upgraded to better filter potential contaminants, and be sure you know how to turn it off if you need to.
  • Think about what to do if your employees can't go home.
  • Make sure you have appropriate supplies on hand.
  • Read more at Get a Kit and Staying Put.
For more information on working together, visit Citizen Corps and our Neighborhoods and Apartments section.