Chapter 41. Conducting a 30-Minute Household Preparedness Exercise
An emergency plan is most useful when every household member knows how to carry it out. Reading a checklist can improve awareness, but a short practice exercise can reveal problems that may otherwise remain hidden until a wildfire, earthquake, flood, hazardous-material incident, or evacuation.
Residents of Pleasanton, Dublin, Livermore, San Ramon, Danville, Sunol, and surrounding Tri-Valley and Bay Area communities can complete the following household preparedness exercise in approximately 30 minutes. The purpose is not to create fear or imitate the pressure of an actual evacuation. It is to locate essential information, practice basic responsibilities, and identify what needs improvement.
Choose a calm time when household members are available. Explain that no emergency is occurring. Children should receive simple, age-appropriate instructions, and nobody should run, drive, disconnect medical equipment, or perform an unsafe utility shutoff.
Minutes 1–5: Locate Emergency Alerts
Ask each adult and responsible teenager to show how they would receive official emergency information. Check whether phones can receive Wireless Emergency Alerts and whether household members are registered for applicable city or county alert systems.
Identify the official websites, applications, radio stations, or agency accounts you would consult for local information. Avoid relying entirely on a neighborhood social-media page, messaging group, or unofficial individual.
Each person should understand how to recognize:
- An evacuation warning
- An evacuation order
- A shelter-in-place instruction
- A road closure
- An all-clear or official reentry announcement
Ready.gov recommends including emergency alerts and warnings in every family communication plan. Make sure alerts are enabled and contact information is current.
Minutes 6–10: Confirm Your Evacuation Zone
Ask one household member to locate the official evacuation-zone map used by the local jurisdiction. Confirm the zone for your home and write it in the household emergency plan.
Do not rely on memory alone. Zone names, boundaries, mapping systems, and official procedures can change. Residents should verify their information through their city, county, law-enforcement agency, or emergency-management office.
Also check the zones for other important locations, such as:
- Schools and childcare facilities
- Workplaces
- An older relative’s home
- A pet boarding facility
- A frequent medical provider
- A family reunification location
Knowing your zone helps you determine whether an official warning or order applies to your address. It does not authorize you to enter a restricted area or select your own evacuation route during an incident.
Minutes 11–15: Confirm Contacts and Responsibilities
Ask everyone to identify the household’s out-of-area contact and primary reunification location. Each person should know whom to contact if family members become separated.
Practice sending a short message such as:
“I am safe at ____. I am traveling to ____. I will update you when I arrive.”
Review who would be responsible for children, older adults, people with disabilities, pets, medications, go-bags, important documents, and transportation. Assign backup responsibilities because the person normally expected to perform a task may be away from home.
Children should know their full names, home address, and an appropriate emergency contact when developmentally able. Keep printed contact information in backpacks, wallets, vehicles, and go-bags in case phones become unavailable.
Minutes 16–20: Locate Medication and Medical Equipment
Without moving or disconnecting equipment unnecessarily, ask household members to locate essential medication, prescriptions, eyeglasses, hearing aids, mobility devices, medical information, and charging supplies.
Confirm:
- Medication is stored in a known and accessible place
- Prescription information is current
- Supplies have not expired
- Required refrigeration or power needs have been considered
- Backup batteries or chargers are available
- Another responsible person knows what must be taken
- Medical and emergency contacts are documented
Do not place medication where children or unauthorized individuals can access it. Ask a physician or pharmacist about safe emergency supplies, storage requirements, and prescription planning.
Minutes 21–24: Gather Pets Safely
Practice locating each pet and bringing it calmly to its carrier, leash, or harness. Do not chase, frighten, or force an animal merely to improve the exercise time.
Check whether you have:
- A correctly sized carrier
- A leash or harness
- Identification and current contact information
- Food and water
- Medication
- Waste supplies
- A photograph of the pet
- A pet-friendly evacuation destination
Ready.gov advises households to include animals in evacuation planning and prepare appropriate pet emergency supplies. Large-animal owners should conduct a separate exercise suited to trailers, loading, transportation, and officially identified sheltering options.
Minutes 25–27: Inspect the Go-Bags
Every household member should know where the go-bags are stored. Bring them to a central location and inspect them without opening every package.
Check for identification copies, water, portable food, flashlights, batteries, chargers, clothing, hygiene supplies, masks, first-aid items, cash, and household-specific necessities. Replace expired food, medication, batteries, or damaged supplies.
Confirm that the bags can be lifted and carried by the people assigned to them. A complete bag that is too heavy may not be practical.
Minutes 28–30: Discuss Possible Routes
Review at least two ways to leave the neighborhood and two possible destinations outside the immediate area. Discuss what could happen if a gate fails, a familiar road closes, smoke reduces visibility, or family members are in different locations.
Do not assume the route you practice will be authorized during a real evacuation. Officials determine evacuation routes according to the hazard, traffic, terrain, and emergency operations. Cal OES emphasizes that an evacuation order means an immediate threat exists and residents should leave promptly while following official directions. Review its explanation of evacuation warnings and orders.
End with a Five-Question Review
After the exercise, ask:
- What could not be located quickly?
- Which responsibility was unclear?
- Which contact information needs updating?
- What is missing or expired?
- What should be corrected before the next exercise?
Write down the answers and assign realistic completion dates. Repeat the exercise periodically and whenever the household moves, changes vehicles, welcomes a new pet, experiences a medical change, or learns that local emergency procedures have been updated.
Community preparedness discussions through Sanj Talks can encourage residents to practice together, share reliable resources, and learn from public-safety professionals. However, every household must maintain a plan suited to its own members, animals, transportation, medical needs, and local hazards.
Helpful Hint
Time the exercise without creating panic. The goal is to discover missing items and unclear responsibilities before a real emergency.
Important Safety Reminder
This exercise is not an evacuation order and should never involve unsafe driving, running, entering restricted areas, or disconnecting essential medical equipment. During a real emergency, call 911 for an immediate threat to life and follow instructions issued by authorized public agencies.
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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