How to prepare for a disaster

Your guide to finding accurate information, emergency kits, evacuations, protecting your home, and more if you’re at risk of a hurricane, wildfire, flood, or other disaster.
By
Lyndsey Gilpin

Ideally, you’d have weeks or days to prepare for an extreme weather. But the reality is, especially with floods, wildfires, and tornadoes, things change quickly. That’s why it’s critical to plan in advance to know where you will get reliable information, prepare an evacuation plan, and have all the materials that you may need if you lose power, your home is damaged, or you’re waiting for help.

Here’s a toolkit to help you get started.

Jump to:

↓ Where to find accurate information
↓ How to pack an emergency kit
↓ Power outage safety
↓ Planning an evacuation route
↓ Protecting and preparing your home

.Where to find accurate information

Many people find out about disasters in their area via social media. But it’s important to make sure the information you’re receiving is correct. Below is a list of reliable sources to check for emergency alerts, updates, and more.

Your local emergency manager: Your city or county has an emergency management department, which is part of the local government. Emergency managers are responsible for communicating with the public about disasters, managing rescue and response efforts, and coordinating between different agencies. They usually have an SMS-based emergency alert system, so sign up for those texts now. (Note: Some cities have multiple languages available, but most emergency alerts are only in English.) Many emergency management agencies are active on Facebook, so check there for updates as well.

If you’re having trouble finding your local department, you can search for your state or territory. We also suggest typing your city or county name followed by “emergency management” into Google. In larger cities, it’s often a separate agency; in smaller communities, fire chiefs or sheriff’s offices may manage emergency response and alerts.

National Weather Service: This agency, called NWS, is part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA, and offers information and updates on everything from wildfires to hurricanes to air quality. You can enter your zip code on weather.gov and customize your homepage to get the most updated weather information and receive alerts for a variety of weather conditions. The NWS also has regional and local branches where you can sign up for SMS alerts. Local alerts in multiple languages are available in some areas.

If you’re in a rural area or somewhere that isn’t highlighted on the agency’s maps, keep an eye out for local alerts and evacuation orders. NWS may not have as much information ahead of time in these areas because there often aren’t as many weather monitoring stations.

Watch vs. warning: You’ll often see meteorologists refer to storm or fire watches or warnings. If there is a “watch,” that means the conditions are ripe for extreme weather. A wildfire watch means “critical fire weather conditions are possible but not imminent or occurring,” according to NOAA. A warning, however, means the threat is more imminent and you should be prepared to take shelter or evacuate if told to. For instance, a wildfire warning is set when fire conditions are “ongoing or expected to occur shortly.”

You can track extreme weather via these websites:

Local news: The local television news and social media accounts from verified news sources will have live updates during and after a storm. Meteorologists on your local news station use NWS weather data. Follow your local newspaper and television station on Facebook or other social media, or check their websites regularly. If you don’t have cable, these stations often livestream online for free during severe weather.

Weather stations and apps: The Weather Channel, Accuweather, Apple Weather, and Google, which all rely on NWS weather data, will have information on major storms. That may not be the case for smaller-scale weather events, and you shouldn’t rely on these apps to tell you if you need to evacuate or move to higher ground. Instead, check your local news broadcast on television or radio, or check NWS.

Read more: What disasters are and how they’re officially declared

.How to pack an emergency kit

As you prepare for a disaster, it’s important to have an emergency kit ready in case you lose power or need to leave your home. Review this checklist from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, for what to pack so you can stay safe, hydrated, and healthy. (FEMA has these resources available in multiple languages here.)

These can often be expensive to create, so contact your local disaster aid organizations, houses of worship, or charities to see if there are free or affordable kits available — or buy one or two items every time you’re at the grocery store. Ideally, this will be packed well in advance of hurricane or fire season, so gather as much as you can ahead of time in case shelves are empty when a storm is on the way.

FEMA has activities for kids to make this process more fun; the ASPCA also has useful guidelines for people with pets.

Here are some of the most important things to have in your kit:

Wirecutter, Wired, Popular Mechanics, and some other news outlets have “best of” lists for many of these items, where you can find different price points and features. You can also find reviews on Consumer Reports.

Don’t forget: Documents

One of the most important things to have in your emergency kit is documents you may need to prove your residence, demonstrate extent of damage, and to vote. FEMA often requires you to provide these documents in order to receive financial assistance after a disaster. Keep these items in a water- and fire-proof folder or container. You can find more details about why you may need these documents here.

Planning for people with disabilities

Disabled people have a right to all disaster alerts in a format that is accessible. The Partnership for Inclusive Disaster Strategies, a disability-led nonprofit focused on disasters, has a list of these rights. The organization also runs a hotline for any questions: (800) 626-4959 or hotline@disasterstrategies.org.

FEMA has a list of specific planning steps for people with disabilities. Some of these recommendations include:

.Power outage safety

You may experience a power outage before or during a disaster. Here are some ways to stay safe:

Read more: How to access food before, during, and after a disaster

.Planning an evacuation route

It is important to have a plan in case there’s an evacuation order in your area, or if you decide you want to evacuate on your own. FEMA has a list of key things to know when making an evacuation plan.

Always heed the advice of local officials when it comes to evacuations. Your state or county may have specific routes and plans in case there are mandatory evacuations. For instance, Florida’s emergency management division has designated zones and routes across the state for hurricane evacuations. Los Angeles County has resources for different evacuation scenarios in case of wildfire.

.Protecting and preparing your home

It’s impossible to know what might happen to your home during a disaster, but there are many best practices to keep your belongings and property as safe as possible.

The list below contains tips from several sources, including FEMA and the National Fire Protection Association, for protecting your home from wildfire.

Below is a list of ways to protect your home from water and wind damage, gathered from the National Flood Insurance Program and local government sources.

The list below contains tips from several sources, including FEMA and the U.S. Energy Department, on protecting your home from frigid temperatures.

The list below contains tips from several sources, including FEMA and the American Lung Association, on protecting your home during heat waves.

Read more: How disaster response and recovery work

 

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