Household evacuation plan: routes, transport, and a departure checklist

A household evacuation plan records where you could go, how everyone would get there, and who needs help leaving. Prepare it before an evacuation is necessary, with a destination option, transport arrangements, and alternatives you have checked.

Keep the plan with your wider household emergency plan. This page focuses on leaving home during a community emergency. A sudden home fire or another immediate threat requires its own escape actions; do not delay getting to safety to collect bags or complete a checklist.

Know where evacuation instructions will come from

Find your local emergency-management agency's official information channels. Check whether your address is in a designated evacuation zone for relevant hazards, and learn how local warnings and orders are communicated.

The CDC recommends signing up for local emergency alerts where available and enabling Wireless Emergency Alerts. Record an alternative source of official updates in case your usual phone or internet connection is unavailable.

Follow instructions for the actual hazard. An evacuation route for one event may be unsafe or closed during another. For hurricanes, the American Red Cross says to leave immediately when advised to evacuate. Discuss advance arrangements if someone needs extra time or assistance; do not use a personal packing schedule to postpone an official instruction.

Choose destinations you can realistically use

Write down a possible destination outside the affected area and an alternative. Options may include an agreed stay with friends or relatives, suitable lodging, or an officially opened shelter.

Ask practical questions before treating an arrangement as confirmed:

• Has the host agreed, and do you have a current contact number?
• Can everyone enter, use the facilities, and manage their care needs there?
• Are pets accommodated, and under what conditions?
• Can you afford the travel and lodging arrangement if payment is needed?
• Where will you check current shelter locations and availability?

A nearby meeting point helps people reunite, but it may sit inside the evacuation area. Record the difference between a meeting place and an overnight destination.

Do not assume a familiar public building will operate as a shelter. Confirm current shelter information through local officials. Keep destination addresses and contact details available without relying entirely on a saved map pin.

Plan routes, then check current conditions

The Red Cross household-planning guidance recommends plotting alternate routes and keeping maps on devices and on paper.

Review local designated evacuation routes before an emergency. Record where to obtain road-closure and traffic-control updates. A navigation app can help with ordinary travel, but its suggested shortcut does not establish that a road is open or safe during an evacuation.

During hurricane evacuation, Red Cross guidance specifically advises following evacuation routes and avoiding shortcuts that may be blocked. Follow official routing and closures for the event you face.

Never drive or walk into floodwater or go around barriers blocking a flooded road. The National Weather Service warns that the roadway underneath may have collapsed. A vehicle's size does not make an unverified flooded crossing safe.

Confirm transportation before you need it

Assign a driver or identify the service you would use. Account for the people, mobility equipment, child restraints, pets, and supplies that must travel. Check capacity with the actual vehicle and equipment in ordinary, safe conditions.

If you depend on a neighbor, relative, public transportation, or an accessible service, confirm the arrangement directly. Ask about booking, pickup arrangements, availability during emergencies, and what happens if the usual option fails.

The Red Cross hurricane guidance recommends planning well in advance when you need help leaving or use public transportation. Contact local emergency management about available assistance rather than assuming routine transport will operate unchanged.

Keep a short record:

Mark unconfirmed assistance as an open task. A name on a worksheet does not reserve a vehicle or guarantee a service.

Assign care and pet arrangements

Plan with each person who may need support. Record assistance they have agreed to, the responsible person, and a backup arrangement. For prescribed medicines or equipment that needs power, refrigeration, or special transport, ask the care team or supplier for an individual plan.

Coordinate school or daycare pickup with the institution's emergency procedures. The CDC recommends obtaining its evacuation, communication, and reunification plans. Avoid making a household route depend on a pickup arrangement the institution has not authorized.

For animals, the CDC recommends identifying accommodation and preparing a pet emergency kit. Check the destination's current pet arrangements directly. Service animals and household pets may have different arrangements.

Assign someone to transport the animals, keep carriers or leashes accessible, and arrange a trusted backup caregiver when you are away. Practice with appropriate carriers in calm conditions. Ask your veterinarian about species-specific needs and records.

Prepare a short departure checklist

Choose tasks that fit the time available and the official instructions. Prepare supplies ahead of time so leaving does not depend on searching several cupboards.

Adapt this checklist to your household:

• Confirm the current instruction and permitted route.
• Account for the people traveling and the support arrangements being used.
• Take the prepared bag and essential personal items that are safely accessible.
• Bring individual medicines, care information, and necessary equipment according to the personal plan.
• Take pets, their transport equipment, and prepared supplies.
• Carry destination details, contact numbers, and useful paper route information.
• Tell the agreed contact where you are heading when it is safe to communicate.

Use the emergency supply inventory checklist to distinguish packed supplies from items stored elsewhere. Give each separate collection task an owner and an exact location.

This is a preparation aid, not a required sequence before leaving. Skip tasks that would delay escape from immediate danger. Property preparation and utility actions need hazard-specific local or provider guidance; do not improvise them from a generic list.

Keep a one-page evacuation record

Fill in these fields and keep suitable copies with the people involved:

Protect private information when sharing copies. Give helpers the details needed for their agreed roles.

Practice the arrangements and plan for return

Walk through the plan together in normal conditions. Locate the bags, check that transport arrangements fit, and discuss an example in which the usual driver is away or the first destination is unavailable. Arrange practice messages with contacts in advance.

Record what failed and resolve it before marking the plan complete. Review after moving, changes in care needs, a new vehicle, or changes to your support network.

For hurricane evacuation, Red Cross guidance says to return only after local officials declare it safe. Follow the return instructions for your event, including access restrictions.

Keep the latest dated plan where the household can find it. Start by confirming the transport or destination arrangement you currently know least about.