Preparedness category
Evacuation planning
Know how you will leave, where you can go, what you will take, and how you will follow official routes.
Use this general checklist as a starting point, then follow instructions from local authorities, utilities, clinicians, and emergency services for the situation in front of you.
Prepare before a disruption
- Identify more than one destination and route, including an accessible option if needed.
- Keep transportation, fuel or charging, mobility, medicine, and pet needs in the plan.
- Practice how household members will reconnect if separated.
- Leave when officials direct and do not take shortcuts around closed roads or barriers.
Make the plan usable
- Assign responsibilities and make sure every household member can find the plan and supplies.
- Account for disability, language, transportation, age, dietary, and caregiving needs.
- Review supplies and contact information periodically and replace expired or damaged items.
When conditions change
Use current information from emergency officials and service providers. A general article cannot determine whether a particular building, route, food item, water source, or medical situation is safe.
- Act on evacuation, shelter, boil-water, fire, and other official instructions promptly.
- Call emergency services for immediate danger or a medical emergency.
Important: This public education does not provide a forecast, risk score, medical judgment, or private household recommendation.
Related PREPHAUS resources
Official sources
Source links are provided for provenance and current official instructions. No publication or retrieval date is asserted here.