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A workable family emergency plan answers three questions before people are separated: how will we communicate, where will we reunite, and what will each person do at home, school, work, or another regular location? Build the plan together, record it on the free FEMA templates, give every household member a copy, and practice it. Use meeting places as prearranged rendezvous points—not as permission to ignore evacuation orders, shelter instructions, or directions from emergency officials.
The most useful arrangement has a nearby place for a rapid home exit, a location outside the neighborhood for a local evacuation, and (when practical) a regional or out-of-town location if the wider area is affected. The exact sites must match your hazards, accessibility needs, transportation options, and the emergency procedures of schools, childcare providers, workplaces, and buildings.
Start with a household conversation
Set aside time when everyone can participate. FEMA’s family plan template puts the decision in plain terms: “Before an emergency happens, sit down together and decide how you will get in contact with each other, where you will go and what you will do in an emergency.” Read the FEMA Family Emergency Plan template.
Begin with realistic separation scenarios rather than a generic promise to “call if something happens.” Ask what each person would do if an alarm required an immediate exit, if a neighborhood were evacuated while family members were at school or work, or if local phone service were congested. Include children, older adults, visitors who regularly stay in the home, and anyone who needs mobility, hearing, vision, medical, language, or other assistance. Explain the plan in a form each person can follow independently.
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- Decide who checks on dependents, pets, and service animals, and identify a backup if that person is unavailable.
- Agree on a short status message such as a person’s name, “safe,” current location, and next destination. Keep it factual and brief.
- Identify which official alerts or instructions take priority. A family member should follow an evacuation or shelter direction even if it conflicts with the planned rendezvous point.
- Write down what happens when someone cannot reach the first meeting place: try the next designated location, contact the shared out-of-town person, and follow the relevant local authority’s instructions.
Do not assume that everyone can improvise the same route. A child may be released only to authorized adults; a worker may have to remain at a facility; and a person using a wheelchair may need a route or transport option that is different from the fastest walking path.
Use a three-level meeting-place system
Choose distinct sites for different scales of disruption. FEMA’s family and children’s communication materials use the same progression: a nearby place for getting out quickly, a place outside the neighborhood if the area is evacuated, and an optional wider-area location when local reunification is impossible. The child-focused FEMA guide asks, “Where will you meet up with your family if you have to get out of your house quickly?” and “Where will you meet if your neighborhood is being evacuated and you’re not at home?”
| Meeting place | Use it when | How to select it | How people get there |
|---|---|---|---|
| Neighborhood spot | You must leave home quickly or have a limited, local separation. | Choose a recognizable place close enough to reach safely, such as a trusted neighbor’s home. Avoid a site that could be directly threatened by the same fire, flood, chemical release, structural failure, or other hazard. | Record the street address and a walking route. Identify an accessible entrance and an alternate path. |
| Outside the neighborhood | Your immediate area is being evacuated or household members cannot return home. | Pick a location outside the affected area, such as a public facility or another trusted person’s home, only after checking local evacuation guidance. | Record driving, transit, and walking options where relevant. Note who can provide transport and what to do if roads are closed. |
| Regional or out-of-town location | The neighborhood and town are not viable reunion points or a wider disaster disrupts local services. | A relative or family friend may work if everyone knows the exact address, access arrangements, and a backup contact. Confirm that the location is outside the likely impact area. | Write the route, likely transport options, and a way to announce arrival to the shared contact. |
These are planning categories, not guarantees that any site is safe in every hazard. A meeting place never overrides an evacuation order, a shelter assignment, a road closure, or instructions from emergency officials. Check local emergency-management guidance when selecting each site and revisit the choices after moving or learning about a new hazard.
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Evaluate each site before you commit
Walk or otherwise inspect the routes at the times and conditions in which people would actually travel. A site that looks convenient on a map may be inaccessible during smoke, flooding, ice, darkness, debris, or a transit shutdown.
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Check recognizability and access
- Use a clearly identifiable address or landmark and write the name exactly as signs display it.
- Confirm step-free access, usable doors, lighting, seating, and accessible toilets when anyone needs them.
- Identify at least one alternate route and an alternate entrance. Do not depend on a single bridge, elevator, road, or bus line.
- Consider children’s height, stamina, and ability to navigate alone; a complicated commercial site may be less suitable than a simple, familiar location.
Check hazard compatibility
Tailor the choice to the hazards that affect your area. A low-lying rendezvous point may be inappropriate for flooding; a site near trees or utility lines may be poor during severe wind; and a location near an industrial facility may be unsuitable for a hazardous-material release. Ask local officials which zones, routes, and shelters apply. If officials direct everyone to a different place, use that direction and notify the household through the communication plan.
Document the details
For every location, record the full address, a plain-language description, the primary and alternate routes, transportation assumptions, and any access code or host instructions. If the site belongs to another person, obtain permission and agree on how arrivals will be recognized. Never make a private address the only option if a household member cannot safely reach it.
Select one shared out-of-town contact
Choose a trusted person who lives far enough away that a local incident is unlikely to affect them. Every household member should have that person’s name, telephone number, and other useful contact details. FEMA’s communication-plan document recommends deciding how family members will report that they are safe and where they are; use its communication-plan worksheet.
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- Record a primary telephone number plus another method, such as a second number or an agreed messaging channel.
- Decide what each person will report: name, safety status, current location, immediate needs, and intended meeting place.
- Set a fallback if the contact cannot respond. This can be another trusted person or a prearranged message posted through an agreed channel.
- Tell children how to identify the contact and practice dialing or sending a message without sharing unnecessary personal information.
Texting may work when a voice call cannot complete, but no single communication method is guaranteed. Agree on the order to try: send the short status text, attempt a call when safe, and use the backup method. Avoid repeated calls that could drain a phone battery or keep someone from receiving an official alert.
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Fill in the essential information
A meeting place is useful only if people can identify it and know what to do next. Use the fields in the FEMA family plan and communication plan rather than relying on memory. Record information that is necessary for reunification and care, and protect copies because they contain personal details.
| Information to record | Examples of useful detail |
|---|---|
| Household members | Full names, preferred names, phone numbers, and any communication or accessibility need that affects an emergency. |
| Medical and care information | Important medical conditions, allergies, medications, equipment, care instructions, and the person or provider to contact. |
| Meeting places | Addresses, recognizable descriptions, primary and alternate routes, transportation options, and accessibility notes for all selected levels. |
| Shared contact | Name, relationship, primary and alternate contact details, and the agreed status-message format. |
| Home and household logistics | Home address, utility or building information that responders or caregivers may need, and responsibilities for dependents, pets, or service animals. |
| Regular locations | School, daycare, workplace, college, volunteer site, place of worship, or other frequently visited address; phone number; hours; and emergency release or evacuation information when available. |
Only include information that the people carrying the plan need. Keep a protected home copy and portable copies, and consider whether a lost paper or unlocked phone would expose sensitive medical or access details.
Learn the plans at schools, childcare, work, and other regular locations
Household arrangements cannot replace an institution’s procedures. Ready.gov’s location-planning guidance says to tailor plans to places people regularly visit; review the location-planning guidance.
Questions for schools and childcare providers
- Where are children taken during an evacuation, lockdown, shelter-in-place order, or relocation?
- Who is authorized to pick up each child, and what identification is required?
- How will the provider notify families if normal communications fail?
- What accommodations exist for medication, mobility, sensory needs, or a child who cannot use a phone?
Questions for workplaces and buildings
- Which exits, assembly areas, shelters, and re-entry rules apply?
- Who accounts for visitors and employees, and how are people with disabilities assisted?
- Can staff leave to collect a child or dependent, or is there a designated release process?
- What is the building’s plan for power loss, elevator outage, hazardous air, or a prolonged stay?
Add each confirmed address, phone number, relocation site, and release rule to the household record. If a facility’s instructions conflict with a family meeting place, follow the facility and emergency authorities first, then use the shared contact to report status.
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Make the plan reachable and current
Give every household member access to the information they may need while separated. Keep one central copy at home and portable copies in bags, wallets, vehicles, or another place appropriate to the person. A phone note or contact entry can supplement paper, but do not make a charged phone or internet connection the only way to retrieve the plan.
The official FEMA templates are free. A paper family emergency planner or communication-plan workbook is optional; it can help with handwriting and copying, but it is not required and is not an official endorsement. Download the Family Emergency Plan and the Family Emergency Communication Plan, then adapt the fields to your household.
Review the plan whenever a phone number, address, school, job, medication, vehicle, household member, meeting site, or access need changes. Also review it after a move, a new local hazard, a change in building procedures, or a drill that reveals a problem. Write the review date on each copy so an old sheet can be removed.
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Practice the plan, including with children
Practice turns a list into a response people can remember under stress. Start with a calm walkthrough, then rehearse individual actions without creating fear.
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- Ask each person to show where their copy is and state the neighborhood, outside-neighborhood, and regional options.
- Practice sending the agreed short status-and-location message to the shared contact. Do not send a false emergency report to public services.
- Walk the exits and routes to the nearby meeting place. With children, draw a simple map, mark doors and stairs, and identify a safe adult who can help.
- Rehearse a scenario in which the first route or meeting place is unavailable. Practice checking official instructions and moving to the alternate option.
- Afterward, write down what failed: an unreadable address, a locked gate, a missing phone number, a route that is too difficult, or confusion about who collects a child. Correct the plan and repeat the relevant part.
Keep drills age-appropriate. Tell children that adults and officials may change the destination for safety, and teach them to go to the designated adult or facility rather than searching independently for another family member.
Common failure modes and fixes
| Problem | Why it fails | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| One meeting place for every emergency | A site suitable for a quick home exit may be inside a larger evacuation zone. | Use separate neighborhood, outside-neighborhood, and—when useful—regional options, each tied to a trigger. |
| Choosing a landmark without an address | People may interpret “the park” or “the mall” differently, and the site may have several entrances. | Record the exact address, entrance, description, and alternate route. |
| Ignoring accessibility | Stairs, darkness, long distances, debris, or a broken elevator can make the route unusable. | Inspect routes, document assistance and transport, and choose an accessible alternative. |
| Assuming phones will work normally | Power loss, congestion, damage, or a dead battery can block calls or data. | Use a shared out-of-town contact, short texts, paper copies, and a second communication method. |
| Not coordinating with a child’s facility | Parents may go to a location where children are not released or have already been relocated. | Record the provider’s release, notification, and relocation procedures and follow them. |
| Never updating the sheet | Old numbers, addresses, medications, or routes create dangerous confusion. | Review after changes and after every practice; date each copy. |
| Leaving without checking official instructions | A planned rendezvous can be unsafe during a particular hazard. | Follow emergency alerts, evacuation orders, shelter directions, and local authority instructions first. |
A simple completion sequence
If you are starting from nothing, complete the plan in this order so each decision supports the next:
- List household members, dependents, pets or service animals, regular locations, medical or accessibility needs, and likely separation scenarios.
- Choose and inspect the three meeting-place levels, then record addresses, routes, access details, and triggers.
- Obtain agreement from one out-of-town contact and record primary and backup ways to reach them.
- Ask schools, childcare providers, workplaces, and building managers for their emergency and reunification procedures.
- Fill out the FEMA templates, add the confirmed local details, and make portable and central copies.
- Run a short communication and route practice, correct the gaps, and put a review date on the final copies.
Keep the completed plan with other emergency information, but do not wait for a perfect document before discussing the meeting places and contact method. A clear, practiced arrangement that is updated as circumstances change is more useful than an elaborate form nobody can find or follow.
Quick Recap
Official resources
- FEMA Family Emergency Plan (2013 template)
- FEMA Create Your Family Emergency Communication Plan (2020)
- FEMA Family Communication Plan for Kids
- Ready.gov Planning for Locations
- FEMA app information (page updated October 29, 2024)
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