Disaster Plans & Kits

See all: Disaster Preparedness Resources

Commit a Minute:  100 Things to Make Your Home Safer
Pick one, 10 or 100 of the things on this list from UL and get started today.  Sometimes it just takes a minute to avoid what could be a lifetime of regret.

Food and Water in an Emergency
This 16-page PDF by FEMA, offers a comprehensive list of strategies to prepare food and water in the event of an emergency.  This booklet offers tips on how to store non-perishable and perishable foods, and how to find safe sources of water.

September is National Preparedness Month – Be Ready!
September 2011 marks the eighth annual National Preparedness Month, sponsored by the US Department of Homeland Security.  Find out how to join the effort using the resources found on this comprehensive preparedness page provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Insurance Information Institute’s Online Home Inventory Program:
Know Your Stuff Home Inventory

• This application offers free, secure online home inventory storage so you have access to your inventory at any time.
• You can prepare and store and keep an up-to-date home inventory before you need it.

Are You Ready? An In-depth Guide to Citizen Preparedness
Are You Ready? is FEMA’s most comprehensive source on individual, family, and community preparedness. In addition to a step-by-step approach to disaster preparedness, this guide provides in-depth information on specific hazards including what to do before, during, and after each hazard type such as Floods, Tornadoes, Hurricanes, Thunderstorms and Lightning, Winter Storms and Extreme Cold, Extreme Heat, Earthquakes, Volcanoes, Landslide and Debris Flows (Mudslide), Tsunamis, Fires, Wildfires, Hazardous Materials Incidents, Household Chemical Emergencies, Nuclear Power Plant, and Terrorism (including Explosion, Biological, Chemical, Nuclear, and Radiological hazards).

Basic Preparedness Guide
Prepared by FEMA, this 34-page guide provides preparedness strategies that are common to all disasters. Plan only once, and apply your plan to all types of hazards.

Disaster Supplies Checklists
This checklist provided by FEMA at www.fema.gov/pdf/areyouready, will help you determine what to include in your disaster supplies kit.

ReadyNOVAcom Preparedness Planner
This site offers an online tool that allows you to create a personalized Family or Business Preparedness Planner.  This tool prepares you with a full family contact list and includes information on a setting up a central meeting place in the event of a disaster.

Video: Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Public Service Announcement

FEMA, in partnership with The Advertising Council, has sponsored public service advertisements (PSAs) to educate and empower Americans to prepare for and respond to emergencies.

Ready America – Prepare, Plan, Stay Informed.
Ready America asks individuals to do three key things: (1) get an emergency supply kit, (2) make a family emergency plan, and (3) be informed about the different types of emergencies that could occur and their appropriate responses. This website is part of a Department of Homeland Security national public service campaign designed to educate and empower Americans to prepare for and respond to emergencies including natural and man-made disasters.

Ready America Preparedness Information:

• Recommended Items to Include in Your Basic Emergency Supply Kit
• Recommended Items to Include in Your First Aid Kit
• Considerations for all Military Personnel and Families
• Preparing Makes Sense for People with Disabilities and Special Needs
• Preparing Your Pets for Emergencies Makes Sense
• Preparing Makes Sense for Older Americans

Download a Family Disaster Plan  or Download a Family Disaster Plan and Customized Children’s Book
The California Volunteers program called “We Prepare” at californiavolunteers.org/familyplan/ offers downloadable forms for your family, including one with kids in mind. Fill out the information in the form about your family members, emergency contacts, family meeting place to be used in the event of a disaster. When you select the children’s book version, the information you entered into your family plan will automatically customize a children’s book.

The following customized documents are part of the family plan:

• 8 1/2″ x 11″ family disaster plan
• Wallet-sized emergency card
• Fill-in-the-blank letter for caregiver
• Fill-in-the-blank letter for out-of-state contact
• Certificate of completion from Maria Shriver
• Personalized children’s book (optional)

Disaster Preparedness Guide by Kern County Prepared
The Kern County Prepared website at www.kcprepared.com, offers a comprehensive booklet on disaster preparedness and covers a range of disaster situations, including work and school safety and informative evacuation guidelines. Their 24-page disaster guide can be viewed online or downloaded to your computer

Video: Create an Emergency Preparedness Kit

California Emergency Management Agency (Cal EMA) describes how one of the most essential elements of being prepared for any emergency is having an emergency preparedness kit.

Homeowners Checklist – How to Make Your Home Fire Safe
A brochure about how to make the inside and outside of your home safe by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection at www.fire.ca.gov.

Ready San Diego – Prepare, Plan, Stay Informed
The Ready Campaign is designed to educate and empower Americans to prepare for and respond to emergencies, including natural disasters. This website was designed by the San Diego County Office of Emergency Services in conjunction with the Homeland Security Ready.gov national public service advertising campaign.

72hours.org – Are You Prepared?
Offered by the San Francisco Department of Emergency Preparedness, the 72hours.org website offers a comprehensive overview of disaster preparedness tips, planning tools, and a PDF version of the entire website to print. The site includes household emergency planning forms to keep in your “to-go” kit when an emergency occurs, and “what to do” tips on a variety of emergencies.

10 Ways You Can Be Disaster Prepared
The California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services at www.oes.ca.gov offers a brochure with 10 steps you can take today to be prepared for a disaster emergency.

Emergency Supplies Checklist – Can You Go It Alone For 3 Days?
A one-page printable checklist of supplies to have on hand in case of emergency. CaliforniaVolunteers.org and the California Governor’s Office recommend a 3-day emergency supply for your family.

Red Cross Preparedness Today: What You Need to Do
The American Red Cross and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have teamed up to answer common questions and provide guidance on steps you can take now to protect you and your loved ones. Find guidance on what emergency supplies to purchase and advice on food and water to disaster supplies kits. You will also find information on shelters, an explanation on quarantine and isolation situations, tools for coping, and a link to the Safe and Well Website with even more preparation information.

Red Cross Preparedness Fast Facts – Tips Sheets for a Variety of Disasters
View a variety of emergency specific preparedness materials from the American Red Cross (available in English and Spanish).

Video: What’s In My Kit

American Red Cross ideas for customizing your home emergency kit presented by Jamie Lee Curtis.