When the alert arrives: the first 10 minutes

Goal: survive the first impact. In this phase you don't think about comfort or belongings; you protect people and pets.

1. Stop for 5 seconds and read the whole alert. What hazard, for what area, what are they asking you to do (shelter, evacuate, boil water)? Use STOP: Stop, Think, Observe, Plan (chapter 1).
2. Confirm with a second official source. NOAA radio, phone alert, your city or county alert system, local radio and TV authorities. Don't act on a social media rumor; but if the danger is immediate (Tornado Warning, smoke, rising water), act first and confirm afterward.
3. Carry out the protective action that applies. Tornado: to the interior room. Flash flood: to high ground, never through moving water. Nuclear explosion: get inside and stay inside. Chemical: go in, close up, and turn off the AC. Building fire: get out. See the table of variants below.
4. Gather your people. Count everyone out loud. Whoever isn't home, send a text: "I'm okay / where I am / what I'm going to do."
5. Gather your pets with leashes on. A frightened pet hides; you already assigned one person per pet.
6. Closed-toe shoes on, headlamp around your neck, phone in your pocket.
7. Decide: stay or go? If there's an evacuation order, grab the backpacks and follow chapter 24. If not, stay and move on to the first hour.

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