Start here · Step-by-step plan
First hour
Goal: secure the place where you'll spend the next hours and avoid secondary damage (fire, gas, indoor flooding, poisoning).
- Treat injuries. Heavy bleeding first (direct pressure or tourniquet), then breathing, burns, fractures. If a life is at risk, call 911 even if they're slow to arrive (chapter 7).
- Check utilities. Gas smell: get out and call. Downed wires or sparks: cut the power at the main switch if it's safe. Water leak: shut off the main valve.
- If clean water still comes out of the tap, fill everything: the tub (with a bathtub bladder if you have one), jugs, pots. Don't wait for it to be cut off or for a boil notice to arrive.
- Charge everything to 100% while there's power: phones, power banks, power station, rechargeable flashlights.
- Notify your out-of-state contact with a text (texts often go through when calls don't). Short message: who is there, where, status, what time the next report is.
- Turn on the radio and listen for 10 minutes. Write in the log what authorities are asking and what time the next update will be.
- Check on your immediate neighbors, especially older adults and people living alone in the complex, if it's safe to go into the hallway.
- If there's a blackout, don't open the refrigerator. It holds about 4 hours closed; a full freezer, about 48 hours (24 if half full) (chapter 9).
| What to use | What it's for in this phase |
|---|---|
| First-aid kit and tourniquet | Hemorrhages and impact injuries (chapter 7). |
| Shutoff valve / main switch | Avoid indoor flooding or an electrical fire. |
| Bathtub bladder and collapsible jugs | Capture water while there's still pressure. |
| Power station and power banks | Recharge while the grid is up; afterward, keep the radio and phones going. |
| AM/FM radio | Detailed official instructions. |
| Extinguisher | Small fire you can put out with an exit at your back. |