Chapter 29. What to Do When Family Members Are Separated
Emergencies rarely occur when every household member is together. One person may be at work, another at school, and others may be shopping, attending an appointment, traveling, or visiting friends. Wildfires, earthquakes, hazardous-material incidents, power outages, floods, and other emergencies can then disrupt transportation and communication without warning.
Families in Pleasanton, Dublin, Livermore, San Ramon, Danville, Sunol, and surrounding Tri-Valley and Bay Area communities should decide in advance how they will communicate and reunite. A simple family emergency communication plan can reduce confusion, prevent unnecessary travel, and allow each person to concentrate on remaining safe.
Protect Yourself Before Attempting to Reunite
When an emergency begins, each family member’s first responsibility is to follow the safety instructions for their current location. A person at work should follow workplace procedures. A student should remain under school supervision. Someone in an evacuation zone should leave by an authorized route, while a person in an area under shelter-in-place instructions should remain indoors.
Do not automatically drive across the community to collect family members. Roads may be closed, congested, flooded, damaged, or needed by emergency vehicles. Traveling could take you toward a wildfire, hazardous-material release, downed power line, or another danger.
Before moving, determine:
- Whether evacuation or shelter-in-place instructions apply
- Whether your intended route is officially open
- Whether the other person is already in a supervised location
- Whether the school or workplace has activated its emergency plan
- Whether authorities have established a reunification site
- Whether traveling would interfere with emergency operations
Remaining temporarily separated may be safer than attempting an immediate reunion.
Use One Designated Contact
Choose one trusted relative or friend to serve as the household’s designated emergency contact. An out-of-area contact may be easier to reach when local telephone systems are congested or damaged.
Every household member should know this person’s name and telephone number. Save the information in each phone and place it on a printed emergency card carried in a wallet, backpack, purse, vehicle, or mobility device.
During an emergency, household members should report their status to the same contact. That person can collect updates and relay them to others. This prevents several relatives from repeatedly calling, sharing incomplete information, or beginning unnecessary searches.
Ready.gov recommends selecting the same contact for every family member and practicing how to reach that person. Its downloadable Family Emergency Communication Plan includes spaces for household, school, workplace, medical, and out-of-town contact information.
Keep Messages Short and Consistent
Telephone networks may become congested during a major emergency. Text messages sometimes go through when voice calls do not, although no communication method is guaranteed.
Send one concise update containing the information others actually need:
- Your name
- Whether you are safe
- Your current location
- Whether you are sheltering or evacuating
- Your next planned update time
A household might agree on a standard message:
“I am safe at ____. I am following official instructions. I will update you at ____.”
If you must relocate, send another short message after reaching the new location. Avoid sending changing estimates, rumors, or multiple speculative plans. A message such as “I may go to three different places” creates more confusion than reassurance.
Use a family group text only if everyone understands who will report and who will acknowledge the message. Otherwise, contact the designated person and allow that individual to coordinate updates.
Agree on Update Times
When communication is intermittent, establish the next expected check-in. For example, a family member might promise an update at 4:00 p.m. or after arriving at an evacuation center.
A stated update time reduces repeated calls and prevents relatives from becoming alarmed merely because nothing new has happened. If conditions change before that time, send a new message when it is safe to do so.
Preserve phone power by lowering screen brightness, closing unnecessary applications, and limiting streaming or nonessential calls. Keep a written copy of important telephone numbers in case a phone is damaged, lost, or without power.
Follow School and Childcare Procedures
Schools and childcare facilities have procedures for protecting and releasing children during emergencies. Parents and guardians should learn these procedures before a disaster occurs.
Confirm:
- How the facility sends emergency notifications
- Where official updates will appear
- Who is authorized to collect the child
- What identification is required
- Where the alternate reunification location may be
- How medication and accessibility needs will be addressed
Do not instruct a child to leave independently unless that action is part of the approved family and school plan. Do not rush to the campus, enter a restricted area, or remove a child without completing the release process. Uncontrolled arrivals can create congestion and make accountability more difficult.
FEMA school-emergency guidance recognizes family reunification as an organized process through which students are released to verified parents, guardians, or authorized adults. Follow the school’s current instructions even if the reunification site differs from the location discussed earlier.
Follow Workplace and Care-Facility Plans
Employers, hospitals, assisted-living communities, adult day programs, and other facilities may restrict entry or relocation during an emergency. Household members should understand how each location communicates, shelters occupants, evacuates, and handles reunification.
Employees should not leave essential duties without authorization unless immediate safety requires it. Family members should not drive to a hospital or care facility merely to request an update. Use the facility’s designated information channel and follow its visitor and reunification procedures.
Households that include people with disabilities, limited mobility, communication difficulties, or medical needs should identify backup contacts who understand the person’s routine, equipment, medication, transportation, and assistance requirements.
Establish Meeting Locations
Choose more than one family meeting place:
- A location immediately outside the home for a household emergency
- A location elsewhere in the neighborhood
- A location outside the immediate community if the area is evacuated
A meeting place is useful only when reaching it is safe. Never cross a closure, return to an evacuation zone, or disregard shelter-in-place instructions simply because the family selected that location in advance. Official directions always take priority.
Review the plan periodically and whenever someone changes schools, workplaces, caregivers, telephone numbers, transportation, or medical needs. Ready.gov provides a customizable family emergency planning form for recording these details.
Helpful Hint
Agree on a standard message such as: “I am safe at ____. I am following official instructions. I will update you at ____.” A brief, consistent message can provide reassurance without creating conflicting plans.
Important Safety Reminder
Do not enter a dangerous area or violate an evacuation, shelter-in-place, road-closure, school, workplace, or reunification instruction to reach a family member. Confirm safety through the designated contact and reunite only when an authorized, safe route and location are available.
Important Preparedness and Safety Notice
This chapter provides general preparedness education, not real-time emergency instructions. Conditions, evacuation zones, routes, shelters, road closures, and public-safety directions can change rapidly. During an emergency, consult current information from authorized public agencies and follow all instructions issued by emergency officials. Call 911 for an immediate threat to life, active fire, serious injury, crime in progress, or another urgent emergency.
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