In this example, one parent can find the town’s alert page. Another can find the printed card but spots an outdated phone number. Their next task is concrete: update the number, print a fresh copy and tell the household where it is kept.
Household planning exercise
Build your family’s winter storm planbefore the power goes out.
Practice finding local alerts, a paper contact card and the right people to ask about backup power. Start with one task, then compare notes.
If a storm is happening now, follow your local emergency authorities’ instructions. For immediate danger, contact your local emergency number.
Rehearse four tasks
Check each task after someone in your household can demonstrate it. The result lists what to practice next. No personal details are entered.
Drag the kit into your family's order
Six things from the Ready.gov-style kit checklist that Family Ready ships with. Drag (or use the arrow keys) to put them in the order you would grab them. There is no single right order; the point is that you have thought about it before the lights go out.
- Water: one gallon per person per day, three days
- Flashlights and spare batteries (not candles)
- Battery or crank radio for weather alerts
- Medications and the printed Emergency Card
- Blankets, hats, mittens, dry socks for each child
- Phone power bank, charged before the storm
Your order is kept in this browser only.
Practice on an ordinary evening
Sources to keep with the plan
- US National Weather Service winter storm guidance
- Public Safety Canada household power outage preparation
- Transport Canada winter travel and road-condition resources
- FDA power outage planning booklet for users of powered medical devices. Complete the device-specific plan with a healthcare professional.
What the free parts look like
Questions about keeping a household plan
Where do I find instructions during a storm?
Check your local emergency management authority and official weather alerts. For immediate danger, contact your local emergency number. This worksheet is for planning ahead.
What if someone uses powered medical equipment?
Before an outage, ask the healthcare professional or equipment provider to help prepare a device-specific plan. Keep the instructions and contact numbers where the household can find them.
Can the Emergency Card work offline?
Family Ready’s free Emergency Card opens in Emergency Mode without internet once the phone is unlocked. The free dated Emergency Snapshot PDF gives you a paper option.
Does Family Ready call for help automatically?
No. Family Ready organizes the information you enter. You can tap a contact to start a call yourself.
Which features require Family Ready Plus?
The Emergency Card, household plan, kit checklist and Emergency Snapshot PDF are free. Trusted-person invitations, household sync, guided reviews and additional printable packs are among the optional Plus features.
Fill the card before the first storm
Free Emergency Card, Emergency Mode and kit checklist. No account to start.
Not an emergency-response service · Keep a printed copy too
More from this site
- 7-day family emergency plan challenge (printable)A 7-day family emergency plan challenge for a new home: one 20-minute task a day, a free printable tracker, a Ready.gov kit list and an offline card.
- 27 Household Planning Judgment ChallengesPractise clearer household records, shared responsibilities and source checking through fictional family planning scenarios.
- Download a blank emergency kit expiry trackerA ten-row printable for recording item labels, dates and follow-up actions, with clear guidance on what the sheet does and does not check.
- Check whether your offline emergency card can be reachedFour access questions for no internet, a locked phone, a missing device or a trusted helper, plus three first-week checkpoints.
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