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Emergency plans fail in two ways: they are too complicated to remember, or they assume everyone is together. Ready.gov’s framework is short on purpose, and the useful version fits on an index card in each person’s bag.
The four answers
1. Where do we meet?
- Right outside the house, for a fire: a specific tree, the neighbour’s driveway, the end of the path.
- Outside the neighbourhood, for when the area is closed: a library, a relative’s house, a named car park.
Say the place out loud. “The library” is not a plan if there are two libraries.
2. Who do we call?
Pick one out-of-town contact everyone knows how to reach. In a regional emergency local networks congest first, and calls out of the area often get through when calls across town do not. Everyone checks in with that person, and that person becomes the switchboard.
3. How do we get out?
Two ways out of the house, and two ways out of the neighbourhood. Then two ways out of the region, because the obvious route is the one that jams.
4. What do the children do?
Where they go if they are at school, who is allowed to collect them, and what they do if nobody is home. Schools have their own plans; find out what yours is rather than assuming.
A short text uses a fraction of the network a voice call needs and keeps retrying in the background. In the first hours of a big event, texting is often the only thing that works.
Write it down, on paper
Everyone in the household carries a card with:
- The out-of-town contact’s name and number.
- The two meeting places.
- Each household member’s mobile number.
- Doctor, school and workplace numbers.
- Any medical information that would matter to a stranger helping.
Phones die and cloud contacts need a password. Paper does neither.
The household details that change the plan
- Anyone with mobility needs, who needs the exit route and any equipment planned for specifically.
- Anyone who depends on powered medical equipment, which turns a long outage into an evacuation decision.
- Pets, because where you can take them decides where you can go.
- Anyone who works far away, who may not be able to get home at all. Decide what happens in that case.
- Children old enough to be alone, who need a version of the plan they can execute without an adult.
Practise it twice a year
- Walk both fire exits, including from bedrooms at night.
- Call the out-of-town contact, so their number is confirmed and they know the role.
- Check that everyone can recite the meeting places.
- Update the cards for new numbers and new medication.
The same twice-yearly slot as the kit check covers all of it in half an hour.
Related reading: An Emergency Kit You Will Actually Have and A Gallon Per Person Per Day, and How to Store It.
Questions people ask
What should a family emergency plan include?
Two meeting places, one out-of-town contact, two escape routes from the house and the area, and what happens to children who are at school or home alone.
Why an out-of-town contact?
Because local networks congest in a regional emergency while calls and texts out of the area often still get through, so one person outside can relay messages.
Should I call or text in an emergency?
Text. It uses far less network capacity and keeps retrying, which matters when everyone is trying to call at once.
How often should we practise?
Twice a year is enough, tied to the same date as the emergency kit check.
Where these figures come from
- Make a Plan Ready.gov, FEMA · ready.gov
- Build A Kit Ready.gov, FEMA · ready.gov
Figures last checked September 2026.
