Skill · Names and places
Family communication plan
Two meeting spots. One out-of-area voice. Every adult can say them without looking at a phone.
Federal steps in this chapter do not change by state. Local orders for Arizona come from Arizona Department of Emergency Management.
5 min read · Updated October 2026
The plan is a conversation
Ready.gov asks households to plan how they will reach each other if they are separated: different workplaces, a school, a store. Pick a meeting place just outside the home for a fire drill. Pick a second place outside the neighborhood for a wider evacuation. Pick a relative or friend far enough away that they are not in the same outage, and ask them to be the message board.
Fill in the household card on this page. It stays in this browser until you print it. Put a copy in the go-bag, the car, and with the out-of-area contact. Update it when phones, schools, or jobs change. Practice once: everyone texts the contact a single sentence on a normal day so the number is real.
- Write school, daycare, and workplace release rules next to the card.
- Include pets in the meeting plan. A child will go back for a dog.
- Agree on a check-in time if phones return, such as the top of the hour, so you are not calling constantly.
- Do not put gate codes, alarm codes, or safe locations on the card.
How to
Ready.gov asks households to plan how they will reach each other if they are separated. Pick a meeting place just outside the home, a second place outside the neighborhood, and a relative or friend far enough away to be the message board.
Step 1. Pick a near spot
Just outside the home, for a fire
Step 2. Pick a far spot
Outside the neighborhood
Step 3. Name a contact
Someone not in the same outage
Step 4. Fill the card
Copies in the bag, the car, and with the contact
Step 5. Practice once
Everyone texts the contact one sentence
Do not put gate codes, alarm codes, or safe locations on the card.
Household card
Saved only in this browser. Print it into the go-bag. Leave off alarm codes, gate codes, and hiding places.
Checklist
Checks stay in this browser.
Sources
Public pages this chapter leans on. They win if anything here is out of date.
- Ready.gov — Make a plan
The national family-plan steps
- Ready.gov — Kids
How to practice without scaring children