Resource library

Matching resources

• Government or standards bodyGovernment agencyFree

  Ready.gov (opens in a new tab)

  FEMA

  The federal baseline for household preparedness, in more than ten languages. Start here before you buy anything. The checklists are conservative and free, which is the right combination for a first plan.

• Government or standards bodyDownloadFree

  Make a family emergency plan (opens in a new tab)

  FEMA

  A fill-in plan covering meeting points, out-of-area contacts and who collects the kids. The out-of-area contact is the single most useful line on it, because long distance often works when local calling does not.

• Government or standards bodyGovernment agencyFree

  Build a kit (opens in a new tab)

  FEMA

  The federal kit list. Treat it as a floor rather than a target: it is deliberately generic, so it under-specifies for cold climates and says little about medication.

• Government or standards bodyTrainingFree

  Community Emergency Response Team (opens in a new tab)

  FEMA

  Free local training in light search and rescue, fire suppression and triage, running in all 50 states plus tribal nations and territories. The best value in preparedness training, and it puts you in a room with your neighbours.

• Government or standards bodyGovernment agencyFree

  National Preparedness (opens in a new tab)

  FEMA

  The planning frameworks emergency managers actually use. Heavier reading than Ready.gov, and worth it if you want to understand how the official response is supposed to work before you rely on it.

• Government or standards bodyDataFree

  FEMA Flood Map Service Center (opens in a new tab)

  FEMA

  Look up whether your address sits in a mapped flood zone. Worth ten minutes even if you are certain you are not, because flood insurance and mortgage requirements both key off this map.

• Government or standards bodyGovernment agencyFree

  DisasterAssistance.gov (opens in a new tab)

  US Federal Government

  Where federal aid applications actually happen after a declared disaster. Bookmark it now, because the moment you need it you will be searching on a phone with two bars.

• Government or standards bodyGovernment agencyFree

  Prepare Your Health (opens in a new tab)

  CDC

  The health side of preparedness: medication supply, personal health records, and planning for chronic conditions. The medication continuity guidance is the part most kit lists skip entirely.

• Government or standards bodyGovernment agencyFree

  Making water safe in an emergency (opens in a new tab)

  CDC

  Boiling times, bleach ratios and what disinfection does not fix. The chemical ratios here are the ones to trust, because most of the numbers circulating online are copied from older guidance.

• Government or standards bodyGovernment agencyFree

  Ground water and drinking water (opens in a new tab)

  EPA

  Standards, contaminant limits and how to read a water quality report. Useful when you want to know what a filter claim means rather than what the box says.

• Government or standards bodyGovernment agencyFree

  National Weather Service (opens in a new tab)

  NOAA

  Forecasts and warnings from the source, without an app layer adding its own interpretation. The local office pages carry the detail that national apps flatten out.

• Government or standards bodyGovernment agencyFree

  National Hurricane Center (opens in a new tab)

  NOAA

  Advisories, cones and storm surge maps during hurricane season. The surge map matters more than the wind category for most coastal households, and it is the one people look at last.

• Government or standards bodyGovernment agencyFree

  Storm Prediction Center (opens in a new tab)

  NOAA

  Severe thunderstorm and tornado outlooks, issued days ahead. The convective outlook is how you know to charge everything and move the car the night before.

• Government or standards bodyGovernment agencyFree

  USGS Earthquake Hazards (opens in a new tab)

  USGS

  Real-time earthquake feeds plus long-run hazard maps. The hazard map is the useful half: it tells you whether your bookshelf strapping is theatre or necessary.

• Government or standards bodyToolFree

  ShakeAlert (opens in a new tab)

  USGS

  Earthquake early warning for the West Coast. It buys seconds, not minutes, which is enough to get under a table and nowhere near enough to leave a building.

• Government or standards bodyGovernment agencyFree

  National Interagency Fire Center (opens in a new tab)

  NIFC

  National wildfire situation reports and preparedness levels. Reading the daily situation report through a bad August tells you more than any news coverage will.

• Government or standards bodyDataFree

  InciWeb incident information (opens in a new tab)

  NWCG

  Per-incident wildfire updates, perimeter maps and evacuation notices, straight from the incident management teams. Slower than social media and far more accurate.

• Government or standards bodyDataFree

  AirNow (opens in a new tab)

  EPA

  Official air quality index with wildfire smoke overlays. Pair it with a plan for indoor air, because during a smoke event the indoor number is the one you can actually change.

• Government or standards bodyGovernment agencyFree

  Carbon Monoxide Information Center (opens in a new tab)

  CPSC

  Generator and heater placement rules, and the reason those rules exist. Carbon monoxide kills more people after storms than the storms do, and the fix is free: distance and a working alarm.

• Government or standards bodyStandard or rulesFree

  Amateur Radio Service (opens in a new tab)

  FCC

  The rules themselves. Read the part on emergency communications before you decide what you are allowed to do with an unlicensed radio in a crisis, because the answer surprises people in both directions.

• Government or standards bodyStandard or rulesFree

  General Mobile Radio Service (opens in a new tab)

  FCC

  GMRS licence rules, including the part people miss: one licence covers your whole immediate family, there is no exam, and it lasts ten years.

• Government or standards bodyDataFree

  FCC licence search (opens in a new tab)

  FCC

  Look up any United States callsign or check that your own licence records are current. Also the fastest way to confirm someone is who they say they are on air.

• Government or standards bodyStandard or rulesFree

  National Center for Home Food Preservation (opens in a new tab)

  University of Georgia and USDA

  The tested-recipe authority for canning, drying and curing. If a preservation method is not here or in a current extension publication, do not improvise it: botulism is the failure mode.

• Government or standards bodyGovernment agencyFree

  FoodSafety.gov (opens in a new tab)

  US Federal Government

  Storage times, safe temperatures and what to throw out after an outage. The four-hour refrigerator rule and the full-freezer rule are the two numbers to memorise.

• Government or standards bodyGovernment agencyFree

  Cooperative Extension System (opens in a new tab)

  USDA NIFA

  Find your state extension office. Extension publications are the most under-used preparedness resource in the country: tested, local, free, and written by people who answer the phone.

• Government or standards bodyToolFree

  PVWatts solar calculator (opens in a new tab)

  NREL

  Estimate what a panel array will actually produce at your address and tilt. Run it before you buy, because the number is usually lower than the marketing figure by a wide margin.

• Government or standards bodyDataFree

  USGS water data (opens in a new tab)

  USGS

  Live stream gauges and groundwater levels. Useful for flood watching and for understanding whether the creek you were counting on runs year round.

• Government or standards bodyDataFree

  US Drought Monitor (opens in a new tab)

  NDMC, USDA and NOAA

  Weekly drought classification by county. It drives water restrictions and fire restrictions in most of the West, so it tells you what rules are coming before they arrive.