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How to Make a Household Emergency Plan for Floods and Landslides

Plan ahead for floods and landslides with local alerts, household roles, evacuation destinations and routes, and supplies tailored to your family and pets.

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A useful flood-and-landslide plan is written down before warnings arrive: learn your local risks and alert channels, decide who does what, choose destinations and routes, prepare supplies, and practice. Floods and landslides require different immediate actions, so follow current instructions from local emergency management rather than relying on a route or warning threshold that may not fit your area.

Start with the hazards and warnings where you live

Flood and landslide risk depends on your location and conditions. Ask your local emergency management office about hazards, alert enrollment, evacuation routes, shelters, and the meaning of local warnings. The CDC recommends asking county geology or planning officials whether your home is in a flash-flood-prone or landslide-prone area. For flood-risk information, use FEMA’s flood hazard information sheet and its Flood Map Service Center guidance.

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Set up more than one way to receive official information. Enroll in local alerts, and learn the channels used in your community. FEMA identifies the Emergency Alert System, NOAA Weather Radio, and local alert systems as sources of emergency information; Wireless Emergency Alerts can deliver alerts for significant weather threats. See the CDC flood safety guidance, FEMA’s landslide information sheet, and the National Weather Service’s family preparedness guidance. Do not assume a phone alert will be your only warning.

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Write a plan everyone in the household can use

Keep the plan on paper and on phones. Include emergency contacts, roles, meeting arrangements, destinations, routes, and the needs of each household member. The American Red Cross recommends discussing likely emergencies, assigning responsibilities, recording contact information, and practicing plan elements in its family emergency plan guidance.

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  • Assign tasks: Decide who gathers children, checks on anyone who needs assistance, collects the go-bag, and handles pets, if it is safe to do so.
  • Plan for separation: Children may be at school and adults may be at work or elsewhere. Choose a meeting place and a way to check in if household members cannot return home. Keep important contacts written down as well as stored on phones.
  • Account for individual needs: Include medication, mobility or communication needs, medical equipment, and supplies for children, older adults, and people with disabilities. Plan for equipment that needs power, including how it will be charged or supported during an outage.
  • Include pets: Identify where pets can go and what food, medication, carriers, or other supplies they need. Do not assume every shelter accepts pets; check local options in advance.

Choose destinations and routes before you need them

Identify a safe destination, such as an official shelter or a friend or relative’s home, and confirm how to get there. Choose a primary route and an alternate; consider whether both are accessible to everyone in the household and whether they could be affected by flooding or a slide. FEMA’s landslide guidance advises learning community evacuation plans, practicing driving routes, and identifying shelters. The Red Cross also recommends planning a destination and practicing how to reach it.

  1. Write down where you will go and how household members will travel there.
  2. Mark an alternate route and make sure everyone knows where to find the plan.
  3. Practice leaving with the go-bag, allowing for the needs of children, pets, and anyone who may need extra time or assistance.
  4. Keep your vehicle’s fuel or charge in mind when severe weather is forecast, but do not delay evacuation to prepare it if authorities tell you to leave.

Official evacuation orders and current road conditions take precedence over the routes you practiced. Never drive around a barricade or into a closed road.

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Build an evacuation kit and household supply reserve

Prepare supplies for several days in case you evacuate or services are interrupted. The Red Cross landslide checklist specifies three days of food and water and one gallon of water per person per day. Treat that as a baseline, then tailor quantities and contents to household size, climate, medical needs, and local guidance. FEMA’s flood and landslide materials also call attention to medication, pets, charging devices, and important documents.

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  • Water and food: Store drinking water and shelf-stable food, including items household members can safely eat. Include supplies for pets and any infant feeding needs.
  • Health and sanitation: Pack first-aid supplies, necessary medication, hygiene and sanitation items, and any medical supplies that may be difficult to replace quickly.
  • Light, information, and power: Include a flashlight, a battery-powered or hand-crank radio, spare batteries, a phone and charger, and backup phone power. A NOAA Weather Radio can help provide weather information when other communications are disrupted.
  • Documents and money: Keep copies of personal documents, emergency contacts, and cash in a protected pouch. Keep essential information accessible without relying on phone service or power.
  • Household-specific items: Add glasses, assistive devices, chargers, comfort items for children, and pet food, medication, carriers, and identification as needed.

Store the evacuation go-bag where it can be reached quickly, and keep any home reserve organized so household members know what to take. Check expiration dates, medication needs, batteries, and contact details periodically.

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Flood-specific actions: leave promptly and stay out of the water

If officials tell you to evacuate for flooding, leave promptly and use the route they recommend. Do not walk, swim, or drive through floodwater, and do not pass barriers. FEMA’s 2025 flood hazard information sheet says six inches of fast-moving water can knock a person down and one foot of moving water can sweep a vehicle away; these figures describe the stated conditions, not every depth or water speed. FEMA’s slogan is “Turn Around. Don’t Drown.”

Wait for local authorities to say it is safe before returning. Follow their instructions about hazards and water safety; do not treat a familiar road or a receding water level as proof that it is safe to travel.

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Landslide-specific actions: recognize warning signs and move early

Be alert to changes in the ground, structures, and utilities. FEMA’s landslide information sheet lists warning signs including:

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  • New cracks or bulges in the ground or pavement.
  • Soil pulling away from foundations.
  • Tilting patios or foundations.
  • Broken water lines.
  • Leaning poles, trees, walls, or fences.

FEMA advises evacuating in advance if there are signs of a landslide, particularly if a slide could occur at night. Move away from the threatened area and follow local emergency instructions; do not wait for a warning sign to worsen before acting. Flooding can follow a landslide, so keep flood hazards in mind after a slide as well.

Use this checklist to finish and maintain the plan

  • Ask local officials about flood and landslide risks, alerts, routes, and shelters.
  • Enroll in local alerts and identify backup ways to receive official information.
  • Write down household roles, emergency contacts, meeting arrangements, and individual needs.
  • Choose a destination, primary route, and alternate route; practice leaving with supplies.
  • Prepare food, water, medication, first aid, communication and charging supplies, documents, cash, sanitation items, and pet supplies.
  • Review the plan after a household move or major change, and whenever local routes, shelter options, or alert arrangements change.

Keep the plan somewhere everyone can find it. Practice it periodically so each person knows what to do without having to make basic decisions during a warning.

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