A good emergency plan starts with four questions: how will we get alerts, what is our shelter plan, what is our evacuation route, and how will we communicate. Sheltering can mean staying at home, going to a mass care shelter, or sheltering in place, which means staying where you are when it is best to avoid going outside. In the United States, 911 is the phone number you call when you need help right away, as of November 2026, and a plan works best when everyone in the household knows it before an emergency happens.

Alerts come in several forms, and a household can use more than one. A phone alert about danger nearby is called a Wireless Emergency Alert, and it looks like a text message and makes a special sound and vibration. NOAA Weather Radio is a nationwide network of radio stations that broadcasts weather information all day and night, and, as of November 2026, the FEMA App sends real-time National Weather Service alerts for up to five locations and helps people find shelters.

Communication is the fourth question, and the answers are practical. It is a good idea to choose one person who lives out of town as the family contact, because that person may be easier to reach in a disaster. In an emergency, texting can work better than phone calls, and it leaves phone lines open for emergency workers. It also helps to know your home address and a grown-up's phone number by heart, so that the information is available even when a phone is not.

A supply kit is the other half of a plan. An emergency supply kit holds water, a first aid kit, flashlights and a radio, and it should have at least one gallon of water per person per day, for drinking and sanitation. Kits are kept for home, work and car, since you do not know where you will be when an emergency happens. A kit should be checked every year, replacing expired items and updating it as the family's needs change.

At home, preparation begins with smoke alarms, because a working smoke alarm warns you early if there is a fire. Alarms go on every level of a home, inside bedrooms and outside sleeping areas, and they should be tested once a month. The U.S. Fire Administration recommends both ionization and photoelectric smoke alarms, or dual-sensor alarms, because the two types detect different kinds of fires, and the whole alarm should be replaced every 10 years.

A fire escape plan means knowing two ways out of every room, and a family picks a meeting place outside, so everyone knows where to find each other after getting out. Families should practice the plan at least two times a year, and one way to practice is to find your way out in the dark, with your eyes closed. In a home fire, get out, stay out and call for help from outside, as of November 2026, and do not hide from firefighters, because they are helpers who want to find you.

If you cannot get out of a room in a fire, close the door, cover the cracks and vents with cloth or tape, and signal for help at the window with a light-colored cloth or flashlight. Before opening any door in a fire, feel it, and if it is hot, do not open it and use another way out.

Earthquake readiness starts before the shaking. Earthquakes happen when underground rock shifts, causing sudden, rapid shaking of the ground, and to get ready, people secure heavy items such as bookcases, water heaters and TVs, and store heavy objects on low shelves. During shaking, people drop to their hands and knees, cover their head and neck, and hold on, because people are hurt when they fall trying to walk or run during shaking, or are hit by falling debris.

After an earthquake, check for hazards such as damaged buildings, leaking gas and water lines or downed power lines, and do not enter damaged buildings. Smaller shakes called aftershocks can follow, so be ready to drop, cover and hold on again. In a coastal area that may have tsunamis, go inland or to higher ground right after earthquake shaking stops.

Flooding calls for its own rules. A flash flood is a sudden, violent flood that can take from minutes to hours to develop, and it can happen even in places where it is not raining. Do not drive through flooded roadways, because six inches of fast-moving water can knock you down, and one foot can sweep a vehicle away.

Being ready also means checking the systems you rely on. A grown-up can ask the local 911 center, using its non-emergency number, to schedule a test call to check that 911 has the right location information, as of November 2026. The FCC watches how states collect and use 911 fees and reports on any money diverted from its purpose. Outings need a plan as well: before an outing, adults should know whom to contact, such as guest services at a theme park, security at a mall, or the police in the wider community, and someone who is lost in a public place should stop, stand tall and strong if it is safe, look around for their adults, and call out their names.

Words to know

• evacuation: leaving for safety
• sheltering: staying safe inside
• aftershocks: smaller later shakes
• hazards: possible dangers
• photoelectric: light-sensing kind