Leave, or stay on purpose

Decide the trigger before the siren

Ready.gov separates sheltering from evacuating because they are opposite moves. Write the triggers that make your household leave: an official evacuation order, a wildfire you can smell with time still on the clock, floodwater on the road, a house that is too hot to survive overnight, a medical device you cannot power. “We’ll see how we feel” is how people leave too late.

FEMA’s long-standing kit advice is two containers. One stays home and is heavy on water and food. One is a go-bag you can carry: copies of papers, medicines, a little water and food, a light, a radio, chargers, a change of clothes, cash, and comfort items for kids. A third, smaller kit can live in the car. The go-bag sheet is the packing list.

Routes, fuel, and who cannot walk out

Pick two ways out of the neighborhood. Bridges, washes, and the one road through the brush all fail in specific disasters. Paper maps still work when the phone does not. Keep the tank at least half full in seasons when you might have to move. A gas station with no power is just a building.

Ready.gov’s pet guidance is clear: they are not allowed in every shelter, so plan carriers, leashes, food, meds, and a place that will take them. Children need seats. Elders and anyone disabled need the devices and the extra time. If you do not drive, decide now whose car it is, or which transit and paratransit options your city actually runs in an emergency. Do not invent a ride at 2 a.m.

• Shoes and a flashlight within reach of the bed.
• Out-of-town friends as a destination, plus a backup.
• School and work reunification policies read once, this year.
• Turn Around Don’t Drown: never drive into floodwater. The flood sheet has the NWS wording.