Category: Aging Well
⚡ Creating an Emergency Plan for Aging at Home
An emergency can interrupt electricity, transportation, medical care, communication, food delivery, and other services you normally depend on. Planning ahead can help you remain safer during severe weather, a fire, a power outage, an evacuation, or another unexpected event.
Your plan should reflect your health, mobility, communication, medication, and support needs.
Identify the Emergencies You Could Face
Consider emergencies that are common where you live, such as:
- Power outages
- Fires
- Hurricanes or severe storms
- Flooding
- Extreme heat or cold
- Snow and ice
- Medical emergencies
- Gas leaks
- Water service interruptions
- Evacuation orders
Different emergencies require different responses. You may need to leave your home, remain inside, or relocate temporarily.
Create a Support Network
Choose at least two or three people who could help during an emergency.
Your network may include:
- Family members
- Friends
- Neighbors
- Caregivers
- Building staff
- Members of a faith or community organization
Discuss:
- How they’ll contact you
- Who will check on you
- Who has a key
- Who can provide transportation
- Who can help with medications or equipment
- Where your emergency supplies are stored
- What to do if your regular helper is unavailable
Ready.gov recommends creating a support network and practicing your emergency plan with the people involved. (Ready.gov)
Make an Emergency Contact List
Include:
- 911
- Family and trusted contacts
- Doctors and specialists
- Pharmacy
- Home health agency
- Medical equipment company
- Insurance companies
- Utility companies
- Local emergency management office
- Local shelters
- Veterinarian
- Poison Control: 1-800-222-1222
Keep copies:
- Near your phone
- In your emergency kit
- In your wallet
- On your cellphone
- With members of your support network
Don’t rely on your phone as the only place this information is stored.
Helpful Resources: Browse Emergency Information for products, equipment, services, or supplies related to this section.
Prepare an Emergency Supply Kit
Gather enough basic supplies to manage for several days.
Include:
- Water
- Nonperishable food
- Manual can opener
- Flashlights
- Extra batteries
- Battery-powered or hand-crank radio
- First-aid supplies
- Phone chargers and portable power banks
- Hygiene supplies
- Masks
- Weather-appropriate clothing and blankets
- Cash in small bills
- Copies of important documents
- Emergency contact information
- Extra eyeglasses
- Hearing-aid batteries
- Mobility-aid supplies
- Pet food and supplies
Store the kit somewhere you can reach easily. Check it regularly and replace expired items.
Ready.gov advises preparing supplies that allow you to manage on your own for several days after a disaster. (Ready.gov)
Helpful Resources: Browse Emergency Food & Water for products, equipment, services, or supplies related to this section.
Plan for Medications
Keep an updated list showing:
- Medication names
- Dosages
- When you take them
- What each medication treats
- Prescribing doctors
- Pharmacy information
- Allergies
Ask your doctor or pharmacist:
- Whether you can maintain an emergency supply
- How to replace medication during a disaster
- What to do if a dose is delayed
- How medications should be stored
- How to manage medications requiring refrigeration
Don’t change doses or ration medication without professional guidance.
Use a waterproof container or bag to protect medications and medication information.
Plan for Medical Equipment and Electricity
If you use equipment that depends on electricity, such as oxygen equipment, a power wheelchair, a home dialysis device, or another medical device:
- Ask the supplier about battery backup.
- Know how long the backup will operate.
- Keep equipment charged.
- Identify another safe power source.
- Ask where you should go during an extended outage.
- Register for available utility medical-alert programs.
- Tell your support network what equipment you use.
- Keep the supplier’s emergency number available.
Never use a portable generator, grill, or fuel-burning device inside your home, garage, basement, or near windows. These devices can produce deadly carbon monoxide.
Helpful Resources: Browse Health & Caregiving Information for products, equipment, services, or supplies related to this section.
Decide When You Would Leave
You may need to evacuate if:
- Officials order it
- Your home becomes unsafe
- Medical equipment can’t operate
- Indoor temperatures become dangerous
- You can’t obtain medications, food, or water
- Caregivers can’t reach you
- Flooding, fire, or another hazard is approaching
Don’t wait until conditions become dangerous if you know you’ll need extra time or assistance.
Plan Where You Would Go
Identify more than one destination:
- A family member’s home
- A friend’s home
- A hotel
- A community shelter
- A shelter that can support medical or accessibility needs
Confirm:
- Whether the location is accessible
- Whether pets are accepted
- Whether electricity is available for medical equipment
- Whether transportation is available
- What medical support can be provided
Keep the addresses and phone numbers with your emergency plan.
Plan Your Transportation
Decide who could help if you can’t drive or use your normal transportation.
Options may include:
- Family or friends
- Neighbors
- Local paratransit
- Community transportation
- Emergency evacuation assistance
- Home health or support agencies
Contact local emergency management before a disaster to ask whether your community offers a voluntary emergency assistance registry.
Prepare a Grab-and-Go Bag
Keep a smaller bag ready for a quick evacuation.
Include:
- Identification
- Medication list
- Essential medications
- Insurance cards
- Emergency contacts
- Phone and charger
- Keys
- Cash
- Eyeglasses
- Hearing aids and batteries
- Basic clothing
- Personal hygiene items
- Important medical supplies
- Copies of legal and healthcare documents
Keep mobility aids close enough to reach quickly.
Helpful Resources: Browse Evacuation & Grab-and-Go Supplies for products, equipment, services, or supplies related to this section.
Include Your Pets
Prepare:
- Food and water
- Medications
- Carrier, leash, or harness
- Identification and vaccination records
- Veterinarian information
- A photograph of you with your pet
- A list of pet-friendly shelters or hotels
- Someone who can care for the pet if you can’t
Never leave a pet chained outside during an emergency.
Know How You’ll Receive Alerts
Use more than one source:
- Local television or radio
- Weather radio
- Emergency text alerts
- The FEMA app
- Local government notifications
- Calls from your support network
Make sure alerts are accessible if you have difficulty seeing or hearing.
Plan for Staying Home
If officials tell you to shelter in place:
- Lock doors and windows when appropriate.
- Follow official safety instructions.
- Keep your phone charged.
- Use flashlights instead of candles.
- Monitor weather and emergency alerts.
- Conserve backup power.
- Stay in contact with your support network.
- Never use an oven or grill to heat your home.
Call 911 if your home becomes unsafe or you experience a medical emergency.
Practice and Review Your Plan
Practice:
- Leaving the home using different exits
- Reaching your emergency supplies
- Contacting your support network
- Using backup power
- Taking your mobility equipment
- Reaching your planned destination
Review the plan at least once a year and after changes in your health, medication, mobility, living arrangement, or support network.
Quick Emergency-Planning Checklist
- Identify likely emergencies.
- Build a support network.
- Make a written contact list.
- Prepare emergency supplies.
- Plan for medications and medical equipment.
- Choose evacuation destinations.
- Arrange transportation.
- Pack a grab-and-go bag.
- Include pets.
- Practice and update the plan.
Remember
An emergency plan isn’t about expecting the worst. It’s about knowing what you’ll do, who will help, and what you’ll need if your normal routines and services are temporarily unavailable.
