In a large-scale emergency, phone lines and cell towers may be out or overloaded. If your family is at different locations when disaster strikes, you need a plan for how to find each other. Make this plan now — making plans at the last minute is stressful and wastes precious time.
Family Communication Plan
Family member contacts: Have phone numbers for each person — wired, cell, work, and school locations.
Out-of-area contact: Identify a friend or relative who lives outside the South Skyline area and the Bay Area. In a disaster, local phone networks often get overloaded while long-distance calls go through more easily. Call your out-of-area contact as soon as possible and ask them to relay your status to other family members.
Pre-agreed meeting place: Choose a specific location where your family will meet if you can’t reach each other by phone.
Consider getting a Ham radio license — in the worst scenarios it may be the only way to communicate with the outside world.
Evacuation
At any time of the day or night, a disaster could force you to leave quickly. Prepare in advance so you don’t have to think through the details when seconds count.
If you are ordered to evacuate:
- Leave immediately if told to do so by authorities.
- Monitor local radio or emergency channels and follow official instructions.
- Wear long pants, long-sleeved shirt, and sturdy shoes.
- Lock your home.
- Take your Disaster Supplies Kit.
- Take your pets — if it’s not safe for you, it’s not safe for them. See Pets & Large Animals.
- Use evacuation routes as specified by neighborhood communications or first responders.
- Avoid shortcuts. Do not drive through moving water. Follow posted detour signs.
Before leaving if time permits:
- Turn off electricity at the main fuse or breaker.
- Turn off propane gas service valves (leave natural gas on unless otherwise advised).
- If flooding is expected, consider sandbags around your home.
Pet evacuation: Emergency shelters generally do not accept pets (except service animals). Research pet-friendly hotels, boarding facilities, and friends outside the area in advance. See Pet Care.
Shelter in Place
Sometimes you cannot or should not evacuate. Sheltering in place means taking protection in your current location.
Shelter-in-place at home: Appropriate when conditions require you to stay — isolation, road closures, or a localized hazard where going outside is more dangerous than staying. You may need to be self-sufficient for an extended period. Have a Disaster Supplies Kit that can sustain your family for up to 2 weeks.
Shelter at a facility: You may be displaced and need to use a Red Cross shelter or similar. Or you may need to shelter in a temporary facility of your own making — a tent or trailer. Your go-bag should be equipped for this scenario.
Involve Your Children
Children who understand why you prepare are calmer in emergencies and more helpful. Involve them in:
- Planning and assembling the supply kit
- Learning evacuation routes and meeting places
- Practicing drills, including at night
- Rotating food and water supplies every 6 months
- Making decisions about comfort items to include in the kit