Supplies without plans are just stuff. The household that has six months of food but no family communication plan, no evacuation route, and no agreed-upon procedures for specific emergencies will still make poor decisions under stress — because good decisions under stress come from having already made them.

This section is about converting your preparedness supplies and knowledge into actionable plans that every household member knows, that exist on paper, and that have been practiced at least once before they’re needed.

The 72-Hour Plan

Seventy-two hours is the standard window that emergency management agencies use when they tell the public to be prepared to be self-sufficient after a disaster. It’s the time it typically takes for organized emergency response to reach affected households and for basic infrastructure restoration to begin.

Your 72-hour plan covers what your household does in the first three days of any serious emergency — the decisions, the actions, and the resources that keep everyone safe while the situation stabilizes.

What the 72-hour plan addresses:

Immediate response: what do you do in the first hour?

• Assess the situation.
• Account for all household members.
• Check for injuries.
• Check for immediate hazards — gas leaks, structural damage, fire risk.
• Secure the home.
• Activate your communication plan.

Water:

• where is your stored water?
• Who knows how to access it?
• What’s the protocol if stored water isn’t available?

Food:

• what’s available without cooking?
• What requires cooking, and with what heat source?
• Who’s responsible for meals?

Power and light:

• where are the flashlights, headlamps, and lanterns?
• Where are the batteries?
• Is the generator fueled and ready?

Shelter:

• is the home habitable?
• If not, what’s the immediate alternative?
• Who do you call, where do you go?

Communication:

• how do you reach family members who aren’t home?
• Who’s the out-of-area contact?
• When and how do you check in?

Information:

• how do you stay informed?
• Where’s the emergency radio?
• What frequencies do you monitor?

Medical:

• where is the first aid kit?
• Who has medical training?
• What critical medications need to be managed?

Pets:

• where are carriers?
• food, water, and medications for pets?

Writing the plan:

A 72-hour plan doesn’t need to be elaborate. A single page covering the above elements — specific to your household, your supplies, and your location — is entirely adequate. Write it, print it, laminate it, and put it somewhere everyone knows: on the refrigerator, in the emergency kit, in each vehicle.

The plan is only as good as the household’s familiarity with it. Walk through it with every member of your household. Answer questions. Update it when circumstances change.

The Two-Week Shelter-In-Place Plan

If the 72-hour plan covers the immediate response, the two-week shelter-in-place plan covers what happens when the emergency doesn’t resolve in three days — when the power stays out, when water service isn’t restored, when you’re genuinely on your own for an extended period.

Why Two Weeks?

Two weeks is the target because it covers the vast majority of real-world infrastructure disruptions — most power outages, most water service interruptions, most supply chain disruptions resolve within this window. A household prepared to shelter in place comfortably for two weeks is prepared for almost everything it’s realistically likely to face.

What the two-week plan addresses:

Water management:

• how much is stored?
• where is it?
• how it’s being rationed?
• and what happens if stored water runs out before the situation resolves?

The plan should include the location and protocol for backup water sources and purification.

Food management:

• what’s available?
• in what quantities?

In what order should it be used?

• Perishables first
• then refrigerated
• then frozen
• then shelf-stable.

A rough meal plan for two weeks prevents decision fatigue and ensures supplies are used efficiently.

Power management:

• what backup power is available?
• what it can run?
• how long it lasts?
• what the recharging plan is?

Prioritization of power use:

• medical devices first
• then communication
• then refrigeration
• then lighting.

Waste management:

• toilet flushing protocol when water pressure is reduced or absent.
• Alternative waste disposal if the sewer system is affected.

Hygiene protocol:

• minimum hygiene standards with limited water.
• How to maintain sanitation for food preparation, wound care, and personal hygiene with constrained resources.

Information and communication:

• daily check-in times with family members and neighbors.
• What you’re monitoring for — emergency broadcasts, utility restoration updates, weather information.

Mental health and morale:

• how do you maintain normalcy and routine during an extended disruption?
• What activities?
• what structure?
• what small comforts keep the household functioning emotionally as well as physically?

Household roles:

• Who’s responsible for what?
• Who manages water?
• Who manages food?
• Who monitors communications?
• Who handles medical issues?

Defined roles prevent gaps and reduce conflict.

Exit criteria:

• At what point does the shelter-in-place plan transition to an evacuation plan?
• What conditions trigger the decision to leave?

The Bug-Out Plan

The bug-out plan is your plan for leaving — quickly, with your essential supplies and your household intact, when staying is no longer the right option.

Most emergencies call for sheltering in place. Some don’t. A wildfire moving toward your neighborhood, a chemical spill that makes outdoor air dangerous, rising floodwater, or a mandatory evacuation order are situations where getting out is the right call — and the households that have thought about this in advance get out cleanly while the ones who haven’t scramble and lose time.

What the bug-out plan addresses:

Trigger conditions:

• What specific circumstances cause you to activate the bug-out plan?
• A mandatory evacuation order is the clear one, but what about situations before the order comes — a wildfire visible from your neighborhood, a flood warning for your specific area, rising water in your yard?
• Define your personal triggers in advance rather than making this decision under stress.

Destination:

Where are you going?

The plan needs a primary destination — a family member’s home, a friend’s property, a hotel in a specific city that’s out of the affected area — and at least one backup. Vague plans (“we’ll figure it out when we leave”) result in poor decisions under stress.

Routes:

As covered in Section 8.3, your bug-out plan includes at least three routes to your destination with known choke points, alternate surfaces, and fuel stop locations.

Vehicle preparation:

• What goes in the vehicle?
• In what order?
• And who’s responsible for loading what?

A loading list prevents the experience of arriving at your destination and realizing critical supplies were left behind in the rush.

What to take:

Your go-bags are pre-packed and ready. Beyond those, a prioritized list of additional items — medications, pets and their supplies, important documents, irreplaceable items — that get loaded when time permits.

The list is ordered by priority so that if you have five minutes you take the top five items, and if you have thirty minutes you take the top twenty.

Communication during the bug-out: who do you notify that you’re leaving? How does the out-of-area contact know you’re en route? What’s the check-in protocol for a multi-vehicle household?

The 15-minute drill:

Practice loading your vehicle for a bug-out. Set a timer. See how long it actually takes to load your bags, your pets, your critical supplies, and your household into your vehicle. Identify what’s slow, what’s hard to find, what needs to be reorganized. The goal isn’t military precision — it’s knowing your actual loading time and reducing friction in the process.

The Family Communication Plan

As covered in Section 7 of the Vault, family communication during emergencies fails in predictable ways that pre-planning addresses. The family communication plan is the document that ensures every household member — including children — knows what to do and who to contact when normal communication channels are unavailable or the family is separated.

The plan in writing:

A single laminated card per household member — small enough to keep in a wallet or backpack — with the critical information:

• Out-of-area contact – name, phone number, and relationship.
• The person everyone calls or texts when they can’t reach each other directly.

Family meeting locations: 

• one near home (the neighbor’s driveway, the corner of the street) for immediate emergencies.
• one further away (a specific address or landmark in another part of town) for when the neighborhood is inaccessible.

Emergency contact numbers:

• local police non-emergency
• family physician
• key family members’ numbers.

These should be memorized by adults and written for children.

Household address:

• Written out in full, including zip code.
• Children who know their full address can give it to emergency responders if separated from family.

Medical information:

• Each person’s critical medical conditions
• current medications
• allergies.

This information allows any emergency responder or helper to provide appropriate assistance.

School and workplace plans:

The family communication plan integrates with the plans at each household member’s school and workplace.

• Know your children’s school lockdown and evacuation procedures.
• Know where your child will be taken if the school evacuates and who the school will release them to.
• Verify that your emergency contact information at your children’s schools is current.

Practice:

A communication plan that exists only on paper but has never been discussed or practiced provides less protection than one that’s been walked through and understood.

• Once a year, review the plan with your household.
• Make sure phone numbers are current.
• Make sure children know their out-of-area contact and both meeting locations.T

The Medical Emergency Plan

Medical emergencies don’t announce themselves in advance. They happen at inconvenient times, to people who were fine a moment ago, and they require a rapid and organized response. Having thought through your household’s specific medical emergency scenarios in advance — knowing what to do, who to call, and where to go — saves critical time when it matters most.

What the medical emergency plan covers:

Emergency contacts:

• the local emergency number (911 in most U.S. locations)
• the nearest emergency room
• the nearest urgent care
• your family physician’s emergency line.

These should be posted visibly and available without power.

Medical history summary:

• or each household member, a one-page summary of current medications
• allergies
• significant medical history
• and any conditions that affect emergency treatment.

This document goes to the emergency room with the patient.

Specific protocols for known conditions:

if a household member has a condition with a predictable emergency pattern — a seizure disorder, severe allergies, diabetes, a heart condition, asthma — the plan should include specific response protocols.

• What to do if a seizure occurs.
• How to use an EpiPen for anaphylaxis.
• How to recognize a cardiac event and when to call 911 versus drive to the hospital.

CPR and first aid training:

• know who in your household has CPR and first aid training and ensure certifications are current.
• Identify the nearest training opportunities for household members who don’t have this training.

AED locations:

• automated external defibrillators are available in many public locations.
• Know where the nearest AED is to your home and workplace.
• In the event of a cardiac arrest, the combination of CPR and an AED dramatically improves survival odds.

Prescription medication protocol: know what happens if critical medications are missed. Some medications can be skipped briefly without serious consequence. Others — seizure medications, blood thinners, psychiatric medications — require careful management of any interruption. Document this information in your medical emergency plan.

When to call 911 vs. drive to the hospital:

in most cases, calling 911 is faster and safer than driving — paramedics provide treatment en route and hospitals prepare for the patient’s arrival.

• The exceptions are situations where 911 response times in your area are long and driving is genuinely faster
• or when someone is having a stroke or heart attack and every second of delay costs brain or heart tissue.

The plan for children:

• Who is authorized to make medical decisions for your children if you’re not reachable?
• Is this documented? A signed medical authorization letter for a caregiver — a grandparent, a regular babysitter — allows them to authorize emergency treatment if you can’t be reached.

The Financial Disruption Plan

The most likely emergency most households will face isn’t a natural disaster. It’s a financial one — a job loss, a major medical bill, an economic disruption, or a combination of these. The financial disruption plan addresses what your household does when income drops, expenses spike, or normal financial systems are disrupted.

Immediate steps when income is disrupted:

• Know your essential expenses: the non-negotiable monthly costs — housing, utilities, food, insurance, minimum debt payments.
• What does it actually cost to maintain the household at a minimum level? This number — probably lower than most people’s current spending — defines how long your emergency fund lasts.

Reduce non-essential spending immediately:

• subscriptions
• dining out
• discretionary purchases.

These reductions happen on day one of a financial disruption, not after the situation has worsened.

Contact creditors before you miss payments:

• most lenders have hardship programs that defer or reduce payments temporarily.
• These programs work better and are more available when you contact the lender before a payment is missed, not after.
• Mortgage servicers, auto lenders, credit card companies, and utility providers all have hardship options worth exploring.

Know your benefits:

• Unemployment insurance, if you’ve lost a job, replaces a portion of income for a limited period.
• Know how to apply, what documentation you need
• Know how long processing takes. In a widespread economic disruption, apply immediately — processing times lengthen during high-demand periods.

When financial systems are disrupted:

A broader economic disruption — bank failures, payment system failures, currency issues — is a different scenario from individual financial hardship.

• The cash reserves covered in the Vault: Section 9.
• The stored supplies covered in Vault Sections 2 through 5
• The barter relationships covered in Section 9 are your resources in this scenario.

The time to access cash from banks is before a disruption is evident to the general public — not after.

The recovery plan:

A financial disruption plan isn’t only about surviving the crisis — it’s about recovering from it.

Document the specific steps your household takes to rebuild:

• rebuilding your emergency fund first
• then reduce debt
• then resuming normal savings.

A household that has been through a financial disruption without a recovery plan often finds itself still struggling financially years later. One with a clear recovery path moves through the disruption and comes out the other side with less damage.

The Power Outage Plan

Power outages are the most common household emergency, and they’re often the gateway emergency — the one that exposes whether a household is prepared or not. A household that handles a three-day power outage well has tested most of its preparedness systems. One that handles it poorly gets an expensive lesson in what was missing.

The power outage plan is the most frequently activated plan most households will have. It should be simple, complete, and well-practiced.

The first 30 minutes:

• Confirm it’s a real outage, not a tripped breaker — check the breaker panel.
• If it’s a real outage, call or check the utility company’s outage map to get an estimated restoration time.

This single piece of information shapes everything else. A two-hour outage and a five-day outage call for different responses.

• Unplug sensitive electronics — computers, televisions, smart home devices — to protect them from potential power surges when service is restored.
• Leave one lamp plugged in so you know when power returns.
• Get flashlights and battery lanterns deployed to key areas — kitchen, bathrooms, bedrooms.

Check your refrigerator and freezer:

• close them and keep them closed. A refrigerator maintains safe temperature for four hours with the door closed. A full freezer maintains temperature for 48 hours.

Temperature management:

Winter:

• close off rooms that aren’t being used.
• Move to the warmest area of the house.
• Deploy your alternative heating source — propane heater, wood stove.

Summer:

• move to the lowest floor or basement, which stays coolest.
• Identify the nearest cooling center in case temperatures become dangerous for vulnerable household members.

Communication and information:

• Turn on the battery-powered or hand-crank radio and tune to a local station or NOAA weather radio for updates.
• Implement the household check-in system with family members who are away from home.

After 24 hours:

Assess the food situation. Use or cook perishables before they spoil. Establish a cooking protocol using your backup heat source. Implement water conservation if your water supply depends on an electric pump.

After 72 hours:

If the outage is extended beyond three days, you’re transitioning from the power outage plan to the two-week shelter-in-place plan. The decision about whether to remain at home or relocate to a location with power — particularly relevant for households with medical equipment, very young children, or elderly members — should be made at this threshold.

Scenario-Specific Plans

Different emergencies require different immediate responses. A tornado warning has a different correct response than a house fire, which is different from a flood, which is different from an earthquake. Knowing the right response to each relevant scenario in advance — rather than trying to figure it out in the moment — saves critical time and reduces harm.

The scenarios worth planning for depend on your location. Every household should have plans for:

The scenarios relevant to your specific region:

• Tornado (Midwest, Southeast, Great Plains)
• Hurricane (Gulf Coast, Atlantic Coast)
• Wildfire (West, Southwest)
• Earthquake (Pacific Coast, New Madrid Seismic Zone, others)
• Flooding (coastal, riverine, flash flood)
• Winter storm / ice storm (most of the country)
• Extreme heat (Southwest, but increasingly widespread)

 

And universally:

• House fire
• Chemical spill or hazardous material incident
• Active threat (workplace or school)

For each relevant scenario, the plan covers:

Immediate actions: what do you do in the first minutes?

• For a tornado: go immediately to the lowest interior room away from windows.
• For an earthquake: drop, cover, hold on until shaking stops, then assess.
• For a house fire: get out immediately, stay low, meet at the designated point, call 911 from outside.

Warning systems:

• How will you receive warning for this scenario?
• What does the warning sound like?
• What does it mean?
• How much time do you have between warning and impact?

Protective actions:

• shelter in place (where specifically in your home)
• evacuation (which route, what trigger)
• shelter with neighbors (which neighbor, what agreement)?

Post-event actions: after the immediate threat passes, what do you do?

• Check for injuries
• assess structural safety
• check for hazards (gas leaks, electrical hazards, fire)
• communicate with family and neighbors.

Document these plans — one page per scenario is plenty — and review them annually.

The Everyday Carry Plan

Every-day carry — EDC — refers to the items you have on your person at all times, every day, regardless of where you’re going or what you’re doing. Your EDC is your first line of response to any situation, because it’s always with you.

Most people’s EDC is:

• phone
• wallet,
• keys
• Occasionally a pocket knife.

This is functional for normal daily life but leaves significant gaps in a minor emergency.

A prepared EDC adds a small number of items that cost almost nothing in weight or convenience but provide meaningful capability in a range of situations.

The SANE Prepper EDC philosophy:

EDC items should be things you’d actually carry every day without noticing — not tactical vests, not survival kits, not anything that makes you look like you’re expecting a firefight. The goal is quiet preparedness: items that solve real problems that real people encounter, carried so naturally they become invisible.

Core EDC items:

• Phone: fully charged when you leave the house. This is a discipline, not a given. A phone at 20% charge when an emergency develops is a liability.
• Wallet: with cash in small bills, your ID, and a card with emergency contacts and your medical information.
• Keys: with a small LED flashlight on the keyring if possible.
• Pocket knife or multi-tool: one of the most useful tools available,
• Personal medication: if you take any critical medications — particularly rescue inhalers, EpiPens, or nitroglycerin — they go with you everywhere, not just at home.
• Portable battery bank: a small, flat battery bank in a jacket pocket or bag keeps your phone charged through a long day and through extended periods without power access
• Lighter: a disposable lighter weighs almost nothing, fits in any pocket, and provides fire-starting capability that has broad utility
• Whistle: a small whistle on a keychain or zipper pull provides a signaling capability that carries further than a voice and costs almost nothing.

Optional additions depending on your situation and comfort:

• A compact first aid kit in a bag or briefcase
• Paracord bracelet
• N95 mask in a pocket or bag
• Small notebook and pen

The EDC isn’t a survival kit. It’s a collection of practical tools that make you more capable in everyday situations and provide a meaningful head start in emergency ones.

Reviewing & Updating Your Plans

Plans that aren’t reviewed become outdated. Phone numbers change. People move. Children grow up and their needs change. New household members join and bring new medical conditions, new skills, and new needs. New hazards emerge — a new chemical facility opens nearby, flood maps are redrawn, a new family member has a new medical condition.

The annual preparedness review is the mechanism that keeps your plans current, your supplies fresh, and your household’s preparedness genuinely functional rather than theoretically adequate.

When to review:

Twice a year is ideal — the standard recommendation is to tie reviews to daylight saving time changes, which also prompts smoke detector battery testing. If twice a year isn’t realistic, once a year at a consistent time — a birthday, an anniversary, the start of the hurricane season — is adequate.

What to review:

• Contact information: phone numbers, email addresses, and physical addresses for all emergency contacts. Are they current? Has anyone moved? Has anyone’s phone number changed
• Meeting locations: are the designated family meeting locations still accessible and appropriate? Have any circumstances changed — a business that was a landmark has closed, a road that was a reference point has changed
• Supplies inventory: check expiration dates on food, water, medications, and batteries. Rotate or replace anything that’s expired or will expire before the next review. Note what’s been used and needs to be replenished.
• Document currency: check passport and license expiration dates. Update insurance policies if coverage needs have changed. Ensure that digital document backups are current and accessible.
• Medical updates: any new medications, new conditions, or new medical needs for any household member? Update the medical information summary accordingly.
• Skills and training: is anyone’s CPR certification current? Are there new skills anyone in the household has acquired that should be incorporated into plans? Are there skill gaps that should be addressed before the next review?
• Equipment function: test your generator, your emergency radio, your backup power equipment. Run them under load. Replace batteries. Ensure everything that needs to work in an emergency still works.

The review conversation:

Especially for households with children, the annual review is an opportunity to walk through plans together — confirming that everyone knows the meeting locations, the out-of-area contact, their own address and phone numbers, and the basic procedures for the most likely scenarios. This conversation doesn’t need to be dramatic or fear-inducing. It’s a matter-of-fact annual check that keeps the household genuinely prepared rather than theoretically prepared.