Make a household evacuation and go-bag plan

Choose an indoor meeting place, a nearby meeting place, and an out-of-neighborhood destination. Then identify at least two routes to the destination when geography allows. A route is not a promise: fire, floodwater, debris, traffic, or official closures can make it unusable.

Ask where household members may be when an instruction is issued—home, school, work, a care setting, or in transit. Learn those locations’ release and reunification procedures. Decide who can pick up children, older adults, and anyone who needs assistance if the usual driver is unavailable.

Include a transportation backup. A trusted neighbor, local paratransit plan, taxi number, transit route, or local emergency-management contact may be relevant. Confirm arrangements directly; writing an unverified option in a plan does not make it available.

List the small actions that make departure possible: collect people, secure pets, bring medication and devices, retrieve the document pouch, turn off equipment only if authorities instruct it, and send the out-of-area contact an update. Give each action a primary and a backup person.

Choose one out-of-area contact who is less likely to be affected by the same event. Every household member who can communicate should know how to reach that person. Text messages may be easier than calls on a congested network, but no single channel is guaranteed.

Set a departure trigger tied to official instructions or an immediate observable danger, not an app score. PrepperGo can hold your planning notes; it does not issue evacuation orders, monitor every hazard, or validate that someone completed a task.

Use a portable bag or container that the assigned person can actually move. Start with water, familiar food, essential medication and medical supplies, light, phone charging, a battery radio, weather-appropriate clothing, hygiene items, keys, cash, copies of essential contacts and documents, and supplies for children or pets.

Store originals and sensitive records appropriately. A compact protected copy of key information may be useful, but do not put every identity or medical document into an unattended bag. Follow the issuing organization’s guidance for replacing or securely copying important records.

Label specialized equipment and note charging, refrigeration, transport, or assistance requirements. Ask the equipment supplier, clinician, pharmacist, or utility about continuity planning before an emergency. Do not improvise changes to medical equipment or treatment.

Set a timer, announce a practice departure, and stop before anyone drives away. Observe how long it takes to locate shoes, carriers, devices, keys, medication, and the bag. Note bottlenecks without blaming the person who found them.

Check that the destination and contact information are still current. Walk or drive a route only under ordinary safe conditions; never enter a restricted or hazardous area for practice. Update the plan when roads, household members, schools, jobs, vehicles, or access needs change.

After the drill, choose one correction. Moving a carrier near the exit, copying one contact card, or reducing bag weight is meaningful progress. Readiness is a maintained process, not a guarantee of a safe outcome.