The power goes out at night. Your phone is at 12%, the street is dark, and nobody at home is sure where the flashlight is. Most of us picture ourselves calm and ready in that moment. The numbers say otherwise. In a 2023 US survey of 7,604 adults, 51% said they felt prepared for a disaster, but only 37% had made a plan in the past year, 48% had put together or updated supplies, and 15% had practised an emergency drill [1]. Feeling ready and being ready are two different things.
The plan follows the three steps that emergency agencies teach households around the world: know the risks, make a plan, and get a kit [3] [6]. It turns them into five skills, plus a short routine that keeps them working:
- Know your top 3 local risks, and make sure emergency alerts reach your phone.
- Write a household plan: 2 meeting places, 1 out-of-area contact, and shut-offs everyone can find.
- Store at least 72 hours of water, food, light and medicine at home.
- Pack grab-and-go bags and practise getting out in under 10 minutes.
- Get through a power outage without carbon monoxide or fire.
This Advanced version adds the key numbers for each skill, a skill check, myths, common questions and when to talk to a doctor.
Step 1: Know Your Top 3 Risks and Get the Alerts
Why it matters. A flood, a wildfire, an earthquake and an ice storm each need different preparations. If you know which ones are most likely where you live, you prepare for those first instead of trying to prepare for everything at once. The first household message in international key messages is to learn about the possible hazards, local emergency plans and warning systems in the places where you live, work, study and play, and to identify hazards and weak points in your own home and surroundings [3]. Canada's plan opens the same way: learn about the emergencies that could happen where you live [6].
- Open the website of your city, county, province or state emergency management office. Look for a page called "hazards", "risks" or "emergency plan". Write down the 3 hazards it lists as most likely or most serious for your area.
- Look up your address on the official flood or hazard map for your country or region, if one exists. Kamaishi's schools taught children to use hazard maps but never to treat them as the limit of what could happen [7].
- Open your phone's settings (often under Notifications, Safety or Wireless Emergency Alerts) and check that emergency alerts are switched on.
Expected result. Within a day, you can name your top 3 risks, you know your emergency radio station, and official warnings will reach your phone.
Step 2: Make Your Household Plan
Why it matters. In an emergency, families get split up: one person at work, a child at school, phone lines jammed. A written plan that everyone knows removes the guessing. It also gives children, older relatives and anyone who needs help a clear role.
- Download the free household plan form from your emergency agency, or use a sheet of paper. Fill it in together at one sitting; it takes about an hour [6].
- Meeting place 1: right outside the home, for a sudden event like a fire (a neighbour's gate, a lamp post, a tree across the street).
- Meeting place 2: outside the neighbourhood, for when you cannot get home or the area is closed, such as a library, community centre or school [6].
- Out-of-area contact: a relative or friend in another city or country. Everyone sends that person one short text with their status, instead of calling each other. International key messages advise keeping phone use to a minimum in a disaster, using short text messages rather than voice calls, and sending just one short message to your out-of-area contact [3]. Choose a backup contact too.
The shut-off walk. This is the part most plans skip. International key messages ask you to learn where, when and how to turn off water, gas and electricity, to keep a clear path to each one, and to keep a wrench or other tool nearby if one is needed [3]. Do it as a walk:
- Find the main water shut-off (often where the water pipe enters the home, in a basement, under the kitchen sink or in a box near the street). Label it.
- Find the electrical panel or fuse box. Label the main switch.
- Find the gas meter and valve, if you have gas. Label it and tie or store the right tool beside it [3].
- Walk every adult and teen to each one. Each person points to it and says what it controls.
Expected result. Within a week, everyone at home can say where to meet, who to text and where the shut-offs are.
Step 3: Store Water, Food, Light and Medicine for 72 Hours
Why it matters. In a big disaster, water, power and shops can be out for days. Canada asks households to be ready to be self-sufficient for at least 72 hours [2]. Tokyo's estimate for a major earthquake under the city is sharper: power and communications out for about 4 days, water and sewage for about 21 days, and city gas for about 42 days, with up to 10 million people expected to keep living at home under those conditions [8]. 72 hours is the floor, not the goal.
Water: the numbers. Canada advises about 4 litres of water per person per day [2]. International key messages split this as about 2 litres for drinking and 2 for sanitation [3]. The World Health Organization's emergency technical note explains why the number moves: survival needs for drinking and food are 2.5 to 3 litres per person per day, basic hygiene 2 to 6 litres and basic cooking 3 to 6 litres, depending on climate, body and food [9].
Store more for hot weather, for anyone pregnant, breastfeeding or ill, and for pets [3] [9]. Keep it in clean, closed containers and replace stored water every 6 months [3].
Medicine. Keep prescription medicines, and if possible enough to last a couple of weeks [2]. Aim for at least a week as your first target. Add any special equipment for people with limited mobility, glasses or spare contact lenses, and a written list of each person's medicines and doses [2] [3].
- This week, buy or fill water containers for 3 days for everyone at home (see the table).
- Each time you shop, add 2 or 3 long-life items you already eat. In 3 to 4 weeks you will have 3 days of food.
- Put one flashlight in every bedroom, with spare batteries in the kit.
- Check and replace food, water, batteries and medicines at least once a year [2]; international key messages suggest checking food dates every 6 months [3].
Storing for 2 weeks or more has its own article (see What Next).
Expected result. In 3 to 4 weeks, you have at least 72 hours of water, food, light and medicine at home, and a routine that keeps it fresh.
Step 4: Pack Grab-and-Go Bags and Practise Leaving
Why it matters. When an order to leave comes, minutes count. People lose them hunting for keys, documents and medicines. A packed bag by the door and a practised route turn a scramble into a routine.
What goes in. Keep it short: water and high-energy food, a radio and flashlight, first aid supplies and prescription medicines, a change of clothes and sturdy shoes, emergency contacts, copies of vital records, and cash [3]. Canada advises keeping the kit easy to carry, in a backpack, duffel bag or wheeled suitcase in an easy-to-reach place like a front-hall closet, making sure everyone knows where it is, and splitting supplies into individual backpacks so each person carries their own [2]. The skill here is speed: one bag each, by the door, and a drill. Detailed gear choices have their own article (see What Next).
- Pack one bag per person. An adult's bag holds the water, food and documents; a child's bag holds a change of clothes, a snack, a contact card and one comfort item, and must be light enough for the child to carry.
- Keep the bags near the main exit, together, where everyone can find them in the dark [2].
The timed drill. International key messages advise evacuation drills, including at home, at least twice a year, with every member of the household [3]. Only 15% of US adults had practised an emergency drill in the past year [1]. Here is how to run one:
- Pick a time when everyone is home. Announce "drill" and start a timer.
- Everyone walks out by the main exit to meeting place 1.
- Stop the timer when the last person arrives.
The 10-minute target. Aim for everyone out with their bags in under 10 minutes. This is a practical target that most households can reach with packed bags, not a tested standard. Agencies' message is simpler: if you are advised to evacuate, leave immediately [3].
Expected result. Everyone can leave with what they need, and you know how long it really takes: your first time is your baseline.
Step 5: Get Through a Power Outage Safely
Why it matters. In an outage, the dark is not the main danger. Carbon monoxide (CO) and fire are. CO is a gas you cannot see or smell. A review of 28 reports on US disasters between 1991 and 2009 found 1,888 cases of disaster-related CO poisoning and 75 deaths. Generators were the main source in 83% of deaths, two-thirds of those because the generator was placed indoors, and charcoal grills were a major source during winter storms. Most deaths (94%) happened at home, and almost 89% of deaths happened within 3 days of the disaster starting [5]. The danger is greatest in the first days, when people are tired, cold and improvising.
The rules.
- Light: use battery flashlights or lanterns, not candles. International key messages advise extinguishing all flames in an outage, never lighting a flame (including matches, cigarettes or candles) after a disaster, and using only battery lights until you are sure there is no escaping gas or spilt fuel [3]. Never leave any candle burning unattended [3].
- Generators: use them outside only, at least 20 feet (about 6 metres) from homes, with the exhaust pointing away. Never use one inside a home or garage, even with the doors and windows open [4]. More than 100 deaths a year in the US are linked to portable generators [4]. Never refuel a generator indoors [3].
- Cooking and heat: never use a barbecue, charcoal grill or camp stove indoors or in a garage [5], and never use a kitchen oven to heat the home [3].
- CO alarms: install battery-operated CO alarms, or alarms with a battery backup, on every level of the home and outside sleeping areas; interconnected alarms are best, because when one sounds they all sound [4]. A plug-in alarm with no battery stops working exactly when the power goes out.
- Tonight, put a flashlight in every bedroom.
- This week, check each level of your home for a CO alarm with a battery or battery backup, and install one where it is missing [4]. Press the test button.
- List every device in your home that needs power: oxygen, a CPAP machine, a powered wheelchair, a medicine fridge, a sump pump. Backup power for each of these has its own article (see What Next).
Expected result. You can get through an outage with light, clean air and no open flames, and every level of your home has a working CO alarm.
Step 6: Keep It Ready With a Twice-a-Year Check
Why it matters. A plan made once and forgotten fails quietly. Food and water expire, batteries go flat, phone numbers change and children grow out of the shoes in their bags. Agencies advise replacing items that expire at least once a year [2], replacing stored water every 6 months [3], and running home evacuation drills at least twice a year [3]. One check twice a year covers all of these.
Pick fixed dates. Two dates that already exist in your year work best, such as the spring and autumn clock changes, a birthday and a half-birthday, or Tokyo's Stockpile Day on 19 November plus one in spring [8]. Put both in everyone's calendar.
- Risks and alerts (Step 1): any new hazard, move or job? Alerts still on in every phone? Radio station still right?
- Plan (Step 2): contacts and phone numbers still correct? Meeting places still open? Each person can point to the shut-offs?
- Supplies (Step 3): swap water, eat and replace the oldest food, check medicine dates, replace batteries.
- Bags (Step 4): clothes and shoes still fit? Documents and cash still in? Then run the timed drill.
- Outage (Step 5): press the test button on every CO alarm and every flashlight.
Track your score. Score your household out of 10, one point each: top 3 risks known, alerts on, written plan, out-of-area contact, shut-offs known by every adult and teen, 72 hours of water, 72 hours of food and light, a week of medicines, grab-and-go bags drilled, CO alarm on every level. Score it on day 1, then on days 7, 21 and 60, then at each twice-a-year check. A good goal is 10 out of 10 by day 60. Write the scores on the back of your plan, so you can see the trend.
Expected result. Your plan stays ready all year, and each check takes less time than the last.
Myths
Myth: "I feel prepared, so I'm prepared." In the US survey, 51% felt prepared, but only 37% had made a plan and 15% had practised a drill [1]. Feeling ready is not a plan. Score yourself out of 10 instead.
Myth: "The government will take care of everything." Help comes, but not to everyone at once. Agencies ask households to be self-sufficient for at least 72 hours [2], and leaving all responsibility to the authorities tends to make households passive [10].
Myth: "A generator in the garage is fine if the door is open." Never use a portable generator inside a home or garage, even with doors and windows open [4]. Generators caused 83% of disaster CO deaths in the US review, two-thirds of them because of indoor placement [5].
Generators caused 83% of disaster CO deaths in the US review, two-thirds of them because of indoor placement [[5]].
FAQ
Why 72 hours? It is the minimum time agencies ask households to cope on their own, while responders reach the people in urgent danger [2]. In a large event it can be much longer: Tokyo plans for 4 days without power and 21 without piped water after a major quake [8]. Start with 3 days, then build to 7.
How much water should I store? About 4 litres per person per day [2]: about 2 to drink and 2 for cooking and washing [3]. Drinking needs alone are 2.5 to 3 litres a day and rise with heat [9], so store more in summer and for anyone pregnant, breastfeeding or ill.
Skill Check
| Skill | Starting | Solid | Strong |
|---|---|---|---|
| Risks and alerts | Not sure of the local risks | 3 risks named and alerts on in every phone | Also signed up for one local alert service and know your outage radio station |
| Household plan | Some people know the plan | Every adult knows the 2 meeting places, the out-of-area contact and the shut-offs | Every adult and teen does, and each child knows the address and meeting place |
| Days of supplies | Your first count | 3 days (72 hours) of water and food, pets included | 7 days or more, rotated |
| Grab-and-go drill | Your first time, or no bags yet | Everyone out with bags in under 10 minutes | Under 10 minutes, practised twice a year |
| Outage safety | Candles and no CO alarm | A flashlight in every bedroom and a working CO alarm on every level | Also a written backup plan for every device that needs power, alarms tested at each check |
Doctor's Note
Talk to your doctor or pharmacist if anyone at home takes daily medicines, needs medicines kept cold, or relies on powered medical equipment such as oxygen or a CPAP machine. Ask how to keep an extra supply (if possible, a couple of weeks [2]) and what to do if the power is out for days. If anyone has headache, dizziness, nausea, sleepiness or confusion during an outage, think of carbon monoxide: get everyone outside first, then call for help [4].
What Next
- Carry the Right Kit Every Day: Pocket Kit, Get-home Bag and Go-bag covers go-bag gear in detail, such as water filters and food choices.
- Store Water and Food for Longer Emergencies, the Easy Way covers stocking for 2 weeks and more.
- Backup Power Without the Danger: Power Stations, Generators and Heaters in a Long Outage covers choosing and running backup power safely.
- Survive a City Disaster: Rubble, Floodwater, Gas Leaks and No Utilities covers what to do about a gas leak and floodwater.
- Act Instead of Freezing: Stay Calm and Step in During an Emergency covers why people freeze in a crisis and how to act.
- Food and medicine safety in long outages, backup power for medical devices, and staying warm or cool when the power is out for days each have their own Environmental preparedness article.
This article shares publicly available information from credible sources for education only. It is not medical, legal or financial advice. Always follow instructions from local officials in an emergency, and talk to your doctor or a qualified professional about your own situation.
Get help now: if you are in danger, or a CO alarm sounds, get out and call your local emergency number (911 in Canada and the US, 999 or 112 in the UK, 112 in the EU, 000 in Australia). Follow evacuation orders from local officials. For help building a plan, contact your local emergency management office or Red Cross or Red Crescent society.
