Family & Pets
Making a Family Emergency Plan
One page that answers: who checks in, where do we meet, and what do we grab?
2 February 2026 · 6 min read
Scenario
Communications Outage
Loss of mobile, internet or broadcast signals.
The risk
You may be uninformed and unreachable exactly when coordination matters most.
☀ Before
- Have a battery/crank radio for alerts.
- Agree check-in times and an out-of-area contact.
- Keep short-range radios for local coordination.
⚡ During
- Use agreed check-in times, not constant calling.
- Conserve phone battery; use SMS (often survives when calls fail).
✓ After
- Confirm all contacts safe
- Update the plan
Equipment that helps
- Weather radio
- Two-way radios
- Power bank
- Printed contacts
Mistakes to avoid
- Draining battery on calls
- No agreed plan
- Relying only on one channel
Sources & further reading
- Telecoms resilience guidance
- Emergency management
Named sources are indicative; verify current official guidance for your area.
