Hurricane Preparedness Guide
Plan your emergency kit, evacuation routes, flood response, power backup, pet care, and household recovery. Use your local forecast and emergency instructions for decisions.
1
Know your risk
Check your evacuation zone, flood risk, storm surge exposure, and local shelter options before hurricane season begins. Your risk can vary by neighborhood, road access, housing type, and medical needs.
Next action: Look up your local emergency management website and save the evacuation zone page.
2
Build a 7-day emergency kit
Store water, shelf-stable food, medication, lighting, batteries, sanitation supplies, weather radio, first aid, chargers, and comfort items for each person and pet.
Next action: Start with water, NOAA radio, flashlights, phone power, first aid, and shelf-stable food.
3
Protect documents
Keep waterproof copies of IDs, insurance policies, prescriptions, property records, emergency contacts, and pet records. Store digital copies where you can access them after an evacuation.
Next action: Put IDs, insurance, prescriptions, cash, and contacts in one grab-and-go pouch.
4
Prepare your home
Trim weak limbs, secure loose outdoor items, clear gutters and drains, test shutters, review flood protection, and photograph the property before a storm threatens.
Next action: Walk the property once and list anything that could move, clog, leak, or break.
5
Plan evacuation routes
Choose more than one route, fuel early, identify pet-friendly lodging, and leave immediately if local authorities issue an evacuation order.
Next action: Save two routes, one destination, and one backup lodging option.
6
Prepare pets
Pack food, water, leash, carrier, litter, medication, and vaccination records. Confirm shelters or hotels accept pets before travel becomes urgent.
Next action: Build a pet kit next to your household kit, not as an afterthought.
7
Prepare for power outages
Charge devices, freeze water bottles, plan safe food storage, and use generators only outdoors far from windows, doors, vents, and garages.
Next action: Decide whether you need phone banks, a power station, or a generator safety plan.
8
After-storm safety
Avoid floodwater, damaged buildings, downed wires, chainsaw hazards, carbon monoxide risks, and unsafe food or water. Wait for official instructions before returning.
Next action: Do not return, drive, or start cleanup until conditions and official guidance allow it.
9
Know your CERT and recovery contacts
Find your local Community Emergency Response Team (CERT), utility outage contacts, and emergency management office. Keep trusted repair and cleanup contacts for recovery; verify credentials before hiring.
Next action: Save local emergency, utility, and recovery contacts before storm season starts.
10
Sign up for official alerts and shelter updates
Register for your state or local emergency alerts and save your emergency management office, Red Cross shelter tools, and local hotline information before storms approach. Official alerts can provide evacuation notices, road closures, and shelter updates.
Next action: Set up local alerts, save emergency contacts, and confirm pet-friendly shelter options before a watch is issued.
11
Review flood insurance and access needs early
If you live in a flood-prone area, review flood insurance and local mitigation resources before storm season. For families with access and functional needs, make sure medication plans, transportation, communication, and shelter accommodations are documented in advance.
Next action: Check flood insurance, local mitigation resources, and access/functional needs planning tools now instead of after a storm warning.
Help-first planning
Preparing should not depend on having a big budget.
If money is tight, focus first on actions that reduce risk without spending much: documents, alerts, routes, medication, food rotation, neighbors, and local assistance.
Start with no-cost prep
Photograph documents, save emergency numbers, freeze water bottles, choose a meetup contact, and move valuables off the floor.
Find local support
Use 211, county emergency management, Red Cross shelter tools, and official local alerts before conditions get dangerous.
Protect claims later
Take before-storm photos, keep receipts, record serial numbers, and document damage before cleanup when it is safe.
Preparedness Toolkit
High-value tools adapted from what works best on top preparedness sites and official guidance flows.
Watch vs Warning Matrix
Hurricane Watch: Prepare now. Fuel, charge, finalize evacuation plans, secure home.
Hurricane Warning: Act now. Follow official orders, complete final safety steps, evacuate if told.
Flood Watch: Flooding possible. Monitor updates and avoid low areas.
Flood Warning: Flooding happening or imminent. Move to higher ground immediately.
10-Minute Family Briefing Card
1) Where we go if we evacuate
2) Who drives / who handles pets / who handles documents
3) Primary + backup contact person outside the area
4) Where flashlights, meds, and radio are located
5) When we stop waiting and act
Claims-Ready Inventory Checklist
- Exterior photos: all sides of home, roof, doors, windows
- Interior photos: every room, walls, floors, ceilings
- High-value items: appliances, electronics, tools, jewelry
- Serial/model numbers for major appliances and electronics
- Insurance policy numbers and claim phone numbers
- Receipts for emergency spending (hotel, food, supplies, cleanup)
Use before storm season and update quarterly.
Shareable Storm Tips From Real-World Experience
Community-tested preparedness ideas adapted for this site. Confirm emergency and food-safety decisions with official local guidance.
Insurance photo plan before and after storm
Before storm season, take room-by-room photos and short videos of walls, floors, major appliances, serial numbers, and valuables. After damage, photograph everything before cleanup and keep receipts for emergency purchases.
Freezer coin-in-cup check for outage history
Freeze a cup of water and place a coin on top. If you evacuate and later find the coin sunk deep, your freezer likely thawed and refroze. Use food-safety rules before eating anything questionable.
Power-out food safety baseline
Keep refrigerator and freezer doors closed. A full freezer is generally safer longer than a half-full one. Use a thermometer and official food safety guidance when deciding what to discard.
What to buy first for likely outages
Start with phone power banks, NOAA weather radio, flashlights/headlamps, batteries, cooler + ice plan, and first aid. Add power station or generator gear only after basics are covered.
Storm-ready document packet
Keep policy numbers, ID, meds list, contacts, and pet records in one waterproof pouch plus secure cloud backup. This cuts claim and assistance delays when service is limited.
Neighborhood recovery tip
Save local utility outage map, county emergency page, and two nearby gas/grocery options before landfall. During recovery, verify what is open before driving.
Share these tips to help friends prepare before storm pressure peaks.
Flood Zones and Local Flood History
Check official flood map resources and search local flood history reporting before making shelter or property decisions.
FEMA Flood Map Service CenterSearch local flood zone mapRecent flood history in newsPast storm flooding searchFind local floodplain office
Flood risk can vary by street and building elevation. Confirm decisions with official flood maps, local emergency management, and evacuation authorities.
Find Local Emergency Service Contacts
Use your county and state to quickly find emergency management contacts, evacuation plans, and fuel resources before a storm.
Select a state or territory to build local search links.
Official fuel availability can change rapidly during emergencies. Confirm local guidance and do not wait until watches or warnings are active to fuel vehicles.
Find local support services (211)View AAA gas price updatesLive Tracking Maps And Data
Use these official map and data sources for real-time storm tracking. Hurricane Prep Guide summarizes data but does not replace official alerts.
NHC Atlantic Tropical Cyclones
Official Atlantic basin storm updates and discussions from the National Hurricane Center.
NHC Eastern Pacific Tropical Cyclones
Official Pacific storm advisories and outlooks. Check local NWS alerts for West Coast impacts.
Central Pacific Hurricane Center
Official Central Pacific forecasts for Hawaii and nearby waters.
NHC Graphical Tropical Weather Outlook
Current development outlook maps and probabilities for tropical activity.
NHC Atlantic GIS Feed
Machine-readable storm track and advisory GIS data for map integrations.
NWS Active Alerts
Nationwide active weather alerts and warning products from weather.gov.
Official + Social Weather Connections
Choose your area, use official weather and emergency channels first, then treat local social posts as unverified context.
Select a state or territory to build local search links.
Turn this guide into a ready kit.
The best plan is the one you can act on today. Start with the quick-buy supply list, then come back and finish the full checklist.