A Tech-Ready Family Emergency Plan: Contacts, Power and Copies

Most family emergency plans focus on water, food and a flashlight. Those still matter. But in a modern emergency, our phones carry our contacts, maps, medical details, insurance cards and family photos, and they are how we hear warnings and find each other.

Technology can also fail at the worst moment: dead batteries, overloaded networks, no power to charge anything. A tech-ready plan prepares for both. Set aside an evening with your household and work through these sections together.

Plan how you will reach each other

During a disaster, phone networks often get congested. Emergency preparedness guidance from Ready.gov notes that text messages may get through when calls do not, and texts use less battery.

Agree on these as a family:

• An out-of-area contact, such as a relative in another state, whom everyone checks in with. Local lines may be jammed while long-distance messages still go through.
• A family group text for quick updates.
• Two meeting places: one near home, such as a neighbor's driveway, and one outside the neighborhood in case you cannot return.
• A plan for children at school and older relatives who may need help.

Write the numbers down

Most of us no longer memorize phone numbers. If a phone is lost, broken or dead, those contacts vanish with it. Make a small paper card for each family member's wallet or backpack with key numbers: family members, the out-of-area contact, doctors, the school, and your insurance company.

Set up emergency information on every phone

Both iPhone and Android let you add medical information and emergency contacts that first responders can see from the lock screen, without unlocking the phone.

• On iPhone, open the Health app and set up Medical ID, including allergies, medications, conditions and emergency contacts, and turn on the option to show it when locked.
• On Android, look in Settings for Safety and emergency or Emergency information, and add medical details and emergency contacts.

Do this for children's phones and older relatives' phones too.

Keep power for your devices

• Charge power banks at the start of fire, storm or hurricane season and top them off monthly.
• Keep a car charger in each vehicle.
• Consider a small solar charger or a hand-crank radio with a USB port for longer outages.
• Learn your phone's low power mode and turn it on early during an outage.
• Keep phones charged overnight when severe weather is forecast.

Download maps and information for offline use

If cell service goes down, online maps stop loading. Major map apps let you download areas for offline use, including Google Maps and Apple Maps. Download your home region and evacuation routes before you need them. Screenshot or save key information, such as evacuation zone maps and shelter locations, in a place you can view without a connection.

Protect copies of important documents

If you have to leave quickly, you may not have time to gather papers. Prepare in advance:

• Scan or photograph IDs, insurance policies, medical cards, prescriptions, property deeds, vehicle titles and key financial account information.
• Store digital copies securely, such as in an encrypted cloud folder or a password manager that supports secure documents. Our guide to choosing a password manager covers options.
• Keep paper copies in a waterproof folder in your go-bag.
• Back up family photos so a disaster does not erase your memories. See our guide to backing up your phone.

Make sure warnings reach you

Check that wireless emergency alerts are turned on for every phone in the house, sign up for your county's local alerts and consider a battery-powered weather radio. Our guide on making sure emergency alerts reach your phone walks through each step.

Include everyone

• Children: teach them the out-of-area contact, the meeting places and how to call 911. Put the paper contact card in their backpack.
• Older adults: check their phone settings, set up emergency information and make sure someone will check on them.
• People with disabilities: plan for medical devices that need power, accessible alert options and any specific transportation needs.
• Pets: keep photos of pets on your phone in case you are separated, along with vaccination records.

Put it on the calendar

A plan is only useful if it stays current. Review it twice a year, perhaps when the clocks change: update contact cards, recharge power banks, refresh document copies and test that everyone remembers the meeting places. Ready.gov, at ready.gov, offers free planning templates if you want a printable version to fill in together.

Preparation is not about fear. It is a quiet act of love for the people under your roof, done ahead of time so that if a hard day comes, you can focus on each other.