How Do You Make a Family Evacuation Plan?

A family evacuation plan spells out what will make you leave, where you'll go, the primary and alternate routes to get there, the points along the way where you'll decide whether to change course, and what each person does in the minutes before you go. Decide all of it ahead of time so nobody is debating in the driveway while conditions get worse.

What should trigger your family to leave?

An official evacuation order is the obvious trigger, and you should follow one when it's issued for your area. The problem is that orders often come late, and by then roads are crowded. The families who get out easily are usually the ones who set their own triggers in advance and left before they were told to.

Write triggers as specific conditions anyone in the family can recognize. A wildfire reported within a set distance of your home, water over a particular road on your way out, a voluntary evacuation notice for your zone, or an extended power outage during extreme heat or cold are all examples. Pick conditions that fit the hazards where you live, and agree that when one is met, you go without a long discussion. If you're unsure which hazards to plan around, our local risk lookup is a good place to start.

How do you choose routes and alternates?

Start with a destination. For most families that's a relative's or friend's home outside the affected area, with a hotel or public shelter as a backup. Then build at least two routes. The primary is usually the most direct. The alternate may be longer and less convenient, but it should be less likely to be blocked by the same problem, such as a route that avoids the one bridge or highway everyone else will use.

Drive both routes before you need them. Look for low-water crossings, narrow roads, and places where traffic could back up. Note gas stations along the way and roughly how long each leg takes. Keep a paper map in each vehicle with the routes marked, since phone maps depend on a signal and a charged battery. Making a habit of refueling at half a tank also means you're never starting an evacuation on empty.

Our quick-start guide to EXFIL planning goes deeper on route building and on pairing each route with a communication plan.

What are decision points?

A decision point is a place along the route where you check conditions and decide whether to continue, switch to the alternate, or turn back. They keep you from committing to a route that's no longer working. A typical one might read, "At the highway on-ramp, if traffic is stopped, take the county road north instead." Another might be, "At the halfway town, text the out-of-area contact with our location and ETA."

Decision points are also useful when the family is leaving from different places. If one parent is coming from work and the other from home, a shared decision point gives them a place to regroup or confirm by message before both head the same way. ReadyPlan includes evacuation routes and decision points as part of the plan, so each family member sees the same route and the same decision points on their own phone, even without service once the plan has synced.

What does each person do before you leave?

The minutes before an evacuation go faster when everyone already has a job. One adult loads the go-bags and documents. Another handles the kids or pets. An older child can grab phone chargers and the paper map. Write the assignments down with backups for when someone is away from home.

• Grab go-bags, medications, documents, phones and chargers.
• Load pets with leashes, carriers, food and records.
• Close and lock windows and doors.
• Shut off utilities only if officials tell you to, or if you smell gas.
• Leave a note saying when you left and where you're going.
• Tell your out-of-area contact you're on the move.

Be careful with gas. If you turn it off at the meter, it usually has to be turned back on by the gas company or a professional, which can take a while after a large disaster.

How do you stay in touch on the road?

Cell networks get congested during evacuations, and towers in the affected area may lose power. Plan a mobile version of your communication plan, starting with calls and texts and falling back to something that doesn't depend on towers. A vehicle-mounted GMRS radio such as the BTECH GMRS-50V2 lets cars in a convoy stay in contact with each other. GMRS requires an FCC license, with no exam, and one license covers the licensee's immediate family.

The EXFIL plan sheet in the Contingency Planner Complete Kit has fields for starting location, destination, a route plan, route time and route comms, so the route and the communication plan for it sit on the same page.

Common questions

When should we leave if there's no evacuation order?

When one of your own triggers is met. Leaving early costs you some inconvenience if nothing happens. Leaving late can mean crowded roads, closed routes and less time to grab what you need.

Should we turn off utilities before evacuating?

Follow official instructions. Many households turn off water to prevent damage from a burst pipe, but gas should only be shut off if you smell it or are told to, because restoring it usually requires the gas company.

Where should we go if we don't have family nearby?

Friends outside the area, a hotel in a direction away from the hazard, or a public shelter are the usual options. Identify at least two in advance, and check whether they accept pets if you have them.

How often should we practice evacuating?

Practice the first ten minutes, getting bags, kids and pets into the car, at least once a year. Drive the alternate route on a quiet weekend so it's familiar if you ever need it.

To build your routes and decision points with the rest of the family, start with ReadyPlan and its 7-day free trial.