Trusted resources, organized.

This site explains what to do and why. For how much, how long and how to, it points to the agencies and organizations whose job that is. This page gathers them by topic so you can go straight to the source. Every link is to the organization’s own page, summarized here in a line; read the original, because it is the authority and this site is not.

Federal preparedness

• Ready.gov: Make a Plan — the federal starting point for a household plan: meeting places, contacts, and what to decide before an emergency.
• Ready.gov: Build a Kit — the shortest complete list of basic supplies, with how to store and maintain them.
• Ready.gov: Water — how much water to store and for how long, how to store it, and where to find water in your home.
• Ready.gov: Food — what food to store, how much, and how to keep it safe.
• Ready.gov: Power Outages — what to do before, during and after an outage, including generator safety and medical equipment.
• Ready.gov: Emergency Alerts — the official warning systems and how each reaches you.
• Listo.gov — the same federal guidance in Spanish.

State and local emergency management

Your county’s emergency management office is the source of local evacuation orders, shelter openings, boil-water notices and the alert sign-up. To find it, search the county’s name with “emergency management” or “office of emergency services,” or start from your county government’s home page; the office is usually listed there, and its page carries the link to register for local alerts by text, phone and email. Sign up tonight. Many counties also offer preparedness classes and a CERT program.

• California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services — the state agency for California, with statewide alerts, preparedness guidance and links to county offices.

American Red Cross

• Make a Plan — the Red Cross approach to a household plan, including for people with disabilities and for pets.
• Survival Kit Supplies — the Red Cross kit list, a good cross-check against Ready.gov’s.
• Take a Class — first aid, CPR and AED courses, in person and blended, searchable by location.
• Cruz Roja Americana — the Red Cross in Spanish.

Weather

• National Weather Service — forecasts, watches and warnings for every part of the country, and NOAA Weather Radio.
• NWS Weather Safety — what to do before and during each kind of severe weather: heat, cold, flood, wind, lightning and more.

Wildfire

• Ready.gov: Wildfires — preparing for wildfire, evacuation, and returning home.
• Ready for Wildfire (CAL FIRE) — defensible space, hardening a home, and the go-bag and evacuation plan, from California’s fire agency.

Earthquake

• Ready.gov: Earthquakes — drop, cover and hold on, securing a home, and what to do after.

Food safety

• Ready.gov: Food — what to store and how to keep it safe.
• USDA: Food Safety in an Emergency — how long refrigerated and frozen food stays safe in an outage, and what to keep and discard.
• CDC: Food Safety — hand-washing, clean surfaces, and safe handling, including during emergencies.

Water safety

• Ready.gov: Water — storing water and finding it in your home.
• EPA: Emergency Disinfection of Drinking Water — boiling and disinfecting water in an emergency, with the amounts and times.

First aid

• Red Cross: Take a Class — first aid, CPR and AED training.
• Stop the Bleed — the national course, from the American College of Surgeons, on recognizing and controlling life-threatening bleeding.

Communications

• Ready.gov: Emergency Alerts — Wireless Emergency Alerts, the Emergency Alert System, NOAA Weather Radio and local alert systems.
• ARRL: Getting Licensed — how to earn an amateur radio license and find a local club.

Community planning

• FEMA: Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) — the national program that trains volunteers to help their neighborhoods in a disaster, delivered through local sponsors.
• Ready.gov: Make a Plan — the household plan that a neighborhood plan builds on.

Christian preparedness and service

• Ready.gov: Faith-Based Organizations and Houses of Worship — federal guidance for congregations preparing their buildings, their people and their service.
• National VOAD — the coalition of voluntary organizations, many of them faith-based, that coordinate disaster response and recovery; the place to see who serves and how to join them.

Many people prepare because they intend to serve. Faith & Hope says why, and The Ready Church says how a congregation organizes to do it.

Printables

• One-Page Household Emergency Plan — fill it in and put it on the refrigerator.
• 72-Hour Checklist — the first rung of the Ladder as a one-sheet.
• Church Preparedness Checklist — for a congregation’s leadership team.
• Community Covenant — how we will treat each other when resources are scarce.