Why this matters
Start with common capabilities: alerts, household contact, water, medicine, safe shelter, evacuation, communication and inclusion. Then add hazard modules for the events your risk assessment identifies.
Keep hazard cards short and action-led. Record the official warning source, the safest places, reasons to leave, routes to avoid and secondary hazards. Review them after local exercises, building changes and new authority guidance.
Before disruption
Prepare now
- For flood and storm, know warning levels, high ground, drainage risks and routes that avoid moving water.
- For wildfire and smoke, plan early evacuation, cleaner air, medicines and several routes away from fire areas.
- For heat and cold, map safe temperature locations, health risks, hydration and outage contingencies.
- For earthquake, tsunami or volcanic risk, use the exact protective and evacuation actions issued locally.
- For disease, conflict, industrial incidents and utility failure, identify the responsible alert source and incident-specific protective action.
When it is happening
Protect the next decision
- Flood: never enter moving water or bypass road and path closures.
- Fire or chemical danger: leave or shelter exactly as directed and do not improvise protective equipment.
- Earth or coastal event: take the locally taught immediate action, then move when official or natural warning signs require it.
- Conflict or violence: prioritise distance, cover, trusted information, safeguarding and lawful local instructions.
Plan for real people
Access, care and inclusion
- Translate each hazard instruction into the person’s communication and access format before the season or event.
- Check whether the safe location can be reached without lifts, private cars or long walking distances.
- Plan for health conditions that change heat, smoke, infection, stress or evacuation risk.
- Include animals, carers, visitors, tourists and people unfamiliar with local warning systems.
Mental readiness
Protect morale and clear thinking
- Practise one hazard at a time so people learn the correct action without confusion.
- Use a short briefing: what is known, what is not known, what we are doing now and when we will check again.
- End drills with questions, reassurance and a normal activity.
Common mistakes
What to avoid
- Combining instructions from different hazards, countries or incident stages.
- Driving, walking or filming inside restricted areas to inspect the event.
- Using Prepare Now or social media in place of live emergency-service and public-health instructions.
Evidence and review
Sources behind this guide
Prepare Now uses authoritative government, humanitarian and public-health material as a starting point. Source advice can be specific to a country, hazard or date, so check the current version for your location.
- PrepareUK Government
- Get PreparedPublic Safety Canada
- Ready.govFEMA
- Civil Defence Emergency HandbookSingapore Civil Defence Force
- Floods Response and Safety TipsSouth African Government
Editorial status: first staging edition. Safety-critical instructions will receive specialist and jurisdiction review before public launch.