At Home > Have a plan

Your family may not be together when disaster strikes, so it is important to plan in advance:

• How you will contact one another
• How you will get back together
• What you will do in different situations

Contacting each other: 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 coins or a prepaid phone card to call the emergency contact.

You may have trouble getting through, or the telephone system may be down altogether, but be patient.

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.

Emergency Plans

You may also want to inquire about emergency plans at places where your family spends time: work, daycare and school. If no plans exist, consider volunteering to help create one. Talk to your neighbors about how you can work together in the event of an emergency. 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.

Stay or Go

Depending on your circumstances and the nature of the attack, the first important decision is whether you stay put or get away. 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 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 monitor TV or radio news reports for information or official instructions as they become available. If you're specifically told to evacuate or seek medical treatment, do so immediately.

Learn more about your "stay or go" options here.

Special Situations

Remember that the very young, the very old and those with special needs may require additional attention to details in preparing for disaster.

• For Older Adults
• For Adults on Medication
• For Baby
• For the Disabled

Neighborhoods and Apartments

A community working together during an emergency makes sense. Talk to your neighbors about how you can work together during an emergency.

• Find out if anyone has specialized equipment like a power generator, or expertise such as medical knowledge, that might help in a crisis.
• Decide who will check on elderly or disabled neighbors.
• Make back-up plans for children in case you can't get home in an emergency.
• Sharing plans and communicating in advance is a good strategy.

High-rise Buildings

• Note where the closest emergency exit is.
• Be sure you know another way out in case your first choice is blocked.
• Take cover against a desk or table if things are falling.
• Move away from file cabinets, bookshelves or other things that might fall.
• Face away from windows and glass.
• Move away from exterior walls.
• Determine if you should stay put, "shelter-in-place" or get away.
• Listen for and follow instructions.
• Take your emergency supply kit, unless there is reason to believe it has been contaminated.
• Do not use elevators.
• Stay to the right while going down stairwells to allow emergency workers to come up.

Download more information about high-rise building emergencies here (PDF).

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.

Find out more information about what to do in a moving vehicle here (PDF).

Next step: Be informed