How to Make a Family Emergency Plan: A Simple Guide

You can own all the torches and water in the world, but if your family doesn't know where to meet or how to reach each other, supplies won't help. A family emergency plan is the quiet, ten-minutes-now step that prevents an hour of panic later — and it costs nothing.

This is a calm, practical walkthrough based on guidance from FEMA's Ready.gov and the American Red Cross. No doom, no drama. Just a plan your household actually understands, finished in one sitting.

The quick version

- Agree one out-of-area contact everyone can text if local lines are busy.

- Pick two meeting places — one just outside your home, one outside your neighborhood.

- Sort out who collects the kids and your school/work emergency policies.

- Put key numbers on a card everyone carries (phones die).

- Practice it once — a 15-minute walkthrough is enough.

1. Decide how you'll stay in touch

In a real emergency, local phone lines often jam — but a text to someone *far away* frequently gets through. So the cornerstone of any plan is a single out-of-area contact: a relative or friend in another city everyone agrees to check in with. If the family gets separated, you each text that one person, and they relay everyone's status.

Set up:

• One out-of-area contact (name + number, memorised or on a card).
• A group text thread so everyone can update at once.
• ICE entries ("In Case of Emergency") saved in each phone.
• Texts over calls — they use less network and get through more often (Ready.gov — Make A Plan).

2. Choose two meeting places

Decide, out loud, where you'll regroup — because "we'll figure it out" is what fails under stress. You need two:

• Right outside your home — somewhere obvious (the front gate, a neighbour's driveway) for a sudden event like a house fire.
• Outside your neighborhood — a familiar landmark (a library, a relative's house, a shop) in case you can't get home at all.

Make sure everyone, including children, knows both by name.

3. Sort out reunification — who gets whom

This is the part that quietly causes the most anxiety, so settle it in advance:

• What's your children's school or daycare emergency/pickup policy? Who's authorised to collect them?
• Do your workplaces have an emergency or shelter policy?
• Who is responsible for picking up which family member — and what's the backup if that person can't?

Want this turned into a plan for *your* household? The free Resilience Score takes about three minutes, shows your specific gaps — including your family plan and communications — and gives you a short personal action list. No sign-up wall to see your result. → Take the Resilience Score

4. Make a contact card everyone carries

Phones run out of battery, and most of us can't recall numbers from memory anymore. A simple wallet-sized card (or one in each child's school bag) with the essentials fixes that:

• Out-of-area contact
• Two or three family mobile numbers
• The two meeting places
• Any critical medical info

Ready.gov offers a free fillable card you can print (Family Communication Plan).

5. Plan for everyone's specific needs

A good plan fits the people you actually live with:

• Young children: simple language, one small job each (more on this below).
• Teens: make sure they know both meeting places and the out-of-area contact.
• Elderly or disabled family members: mobility, medication, and powered medical equipment needs.
• Anyone with a medical condition: a few days of essential medication and a note of it on the card.
• Pets: food, water, a carrier, and which person is responsible for them.

6. Decide who does what

Under stress, people freeze when roles are unclear. Spend two minutes assigning them:

• Who grabs the emergency kit / water?
• Who collects the children or checks on an elderly relative?
• Who's in charge of the pets?
• Who makes the out-of-area check-in text?

7. Practise it (yes, really)

A plan no one has rehearsed is just a piece of paper. Walk through it once — about 15 minutes — so everyone knows their part. Aim to review it twice a year (tie it to the clocks changing, so you remember).

With children: frame it like a fire drill, not a threat. Give each child one small, concrete job — "you carry the torch," "you help fill the water bottles." Having a role replaces fear with a sense of control, and turns a scary topic into something they feel ready for.

8. Store it where everyone can find it

Keep the plan somewhere obvious — on the fridge, a photo in each phone, a copy in each car and school bag. A plan in a drawer no one remembers doesn't count.

Your fill-in family plan (copy this)

```

OUR FAMILY EMERGENCY PLAN

Out-of-area contact: ____________________ Phone: ____________

Meeting place #1 (near home): ___________________________

Meeting place #2 (outside area): ___________________________

Family members & mobile numbers:

______________________ ____________

______________________ ____________

______________________ ____________

Children's school/daycare + pickup policy: _________________

Important medical notes / medications: _____________________

Who does what: Kit ____ Kids ____ Pets ____ Check-in ____

```

Frequently asked questions

What should a family emergency plan include?

At minimum: how you'll communicate (an out-of-area contact), two meeting places, a reunification plan for children, a shared contact card, and roles for who does what (Ready.gov).

How often should we practise our plan?

Walk through it about twice a year — linking it to a regular date like the clocks changing makes it easy to remember.

What's an "out-of-area contact" and why does it matter?

It's someone outside your immediate area everyone checks in with. During emergencies, local phone lines often jam while long-distance texts get through, so one distant relay point keeps the whole family connected.

How do I make a plan without scaring my kids?

Treat it like a fire drill, keep the language simple, and give each child one small job. A sense of having a role turns anxiety into confidence.

Already sorted your supplies? Pair this with our power-outage checklist and emergency water storage guide to cover the plan, the kit, and the water. Or, to see exactly where your household stands in three minutes, take the free Resilience Score — calm, practical, and built on official guidance.

Sources

• Ready.gov — Make A Plan
• Ready.gov — Family Communication Plan (fillable) · Make a Plan Form
• Ready.gov — Family Emergency Planning
• American Red Cross — "Make a Plan" emergency-preparedness guidance