A practical household guide for people who have never prepared for anything. Take one step at a time. You don't need everything today.
Our promise: we don't predict disasters, sell gear, or try to scare you. Every fact on this page links to the official source it came from.
Print first
Choose, then use your browser's Print command (Ctrl+P, or ⌘P on a Mac). Fill in your local contacts below first so they print too. Keep the copy where everyone in the house can find it.
No money. No one to call. Start here.
I need help right now.
You do not need an emergency kit or money to take the first step. Choose what you need. These are free information and referral services; assistance and availability vary locally.
Start with a real person: Call 211Ask for food, a safe place, transportation help, or emergency assistance near you. If 211 cannot be reached, use 211.org while online. If there is immediate danger, call 911.
I'm stranded. My car is out of gas.
Get yourself somewhere safe. If the vehicle is in traffic or in a dangerous location, request roadside or emergency help. For immediate danger, call 911.
Call 211 and ask specifically about emergency transportation, fuel vouchers, or a ride to a safe place. Programs vary; a voucher is not guaranteed.
Ask the gas-station attendant whether a local community assistance program is known. Do not give a stranger your banking credentials or ID photos.
If your phone battery is low, make the essential call first and write down the next steps.
I have no money for food.
Call 211 for a nearby food pantry or free meal. Ask if food is available today and whether transport or identification is required.
Call 211 and ask for an emergency shelter bed tonight, intake hours, transport options and alternatives if beds are full. If your safety is threatened right now, call 911.
Call 211 for local utility assistance, low-cost clinics and medication support. Call your utility or pharmacy directly to ask about hardship programs, payment arrangements or safe prescription alternatives through a clinician. Do not abruptly stop essential medication without medical advice.
I need someone to talk to.
Ask 211 for local community support. If you're in emotional crisis, call or text 988 for free, confidential support. For immediate physical danger, call 911.
Not sure what to say? “I'm in [town]. I have no money and need help today with [food / a place to sleep / transport / medicine]. What is open now, and how do I reach it?”
Save or print this page before a crisis. The instructions remain in the offline guide; external links and live local availability require a connection. No account or personal details are collected by ReadyEnough.
Quiet, useful help. No points, rankings, badges or public recognition. A little time, knowledge, or practical help can make a big difference. Find assistance or find a way to help through established local organizations.
I need help
Food, transportation, job guidance, housing, or a little practical support.
Your library, community center or nonprofit may know where help is needed.
What kind of help can someone offer?
Help someone find a job, improve a résumé or practice an interview.
Teach a practical skill or share knowledge from a trade.
Help troubleshoot a broken motorcycle, bicycle or other everyday equipment, within your competence and with safe arrangements.
Help with sewing: mending clothes, replacing buttons, small alterations, or teaching someone to use a sewing machine.
Volunteer for food distribution, community transportation or checking on neighbors.
For vehicles, safety-critical repairs such as brakes, tires and steering require qualified work and checks before riding. No one should ride an unsafe vehicle.
Privacy and safety: ReadyEnough does not collect requests, publish profiles, directly match strangers, or verify volunteers. Third-party organizations have their own rules. Do not publish addresses, phone numbers or sensitive personal stories. Ask each organization about its safeguarding practices.
Offline: save local organization numbers to your printed contact sheet in advance. These directories need an internet connection.
Emergency Alert Verification
Is this warning real?
STATUS NOT YET CHECKED
Verify suspicious warnings using independent official sources. ReadyEnough is not an emergency alert service and does not replace Wireless Emergency Alerts, NOAA Weather Radio, or local officials.
Not checked. A missing warning here never means that an area is safe.
NWS feed covers weather and some other warnings, not all emergencies. State-level results may include alerts outside your town. The town name stays on your device and does not filter the state feed.
If the alert system is hacked or the internet fails
For an immediate threat, follow protective instructions from trusted officials. Call 911 for an emergency; don't delay urgent action while checking a website.
Cross-check via NOAA Weather Radio, local broadcast radio/TV, and your county emergency-management number on your printed contact sheet.
Verify the location, issuing authority, time and exact instructions. Treat forwarded screenshots and social media posts as unverified.
If offline, any stored feed results are historical snapshots, not current warnings. Your printed emergency plan remains available.
No account, tracking or server-side storage by ReadyEnough. Live checks contact api.weather.gov, which receives normal network request information. Local town and state preferences stay in your browser.
Keep This Handy
ReadyEnough · Big print card
Water
1 gallon / person / day
Boil 1 minute.
Or 8 drops plain bleach per gallon. Wait 30 min.
Chemicals or fuel smell? Don't drink.
Food
Fridge closed: cold ~4 hours.
Full freezer: ~48 hours.
Eat fridge, then freezer, then pantry.
Never taste to test.
Power
Generator OUTSIDE, 20+ ft from doors and windows.
No grill or camp stove indoors.
Flashlights, not candles.
Radiation
Get inside. Stay inside. Stay tuned.
Middle of building or basement.
Take off outer clothes. Wash.
Heat & Cold
Hot, dry skin + confusion = call 911.
Shivering, slurred speech, confusion = get warm, get help.
Check on neighbors.
Talk
Text, don't call.
Battery or crank radio.
One out-of-state contact for everyone.
Follow local officials.
EMERGENCY 911LOCAL HELP 211POISON 1-800-222-1222
Bleach = plain unscented household bleach, 6%. If the label says 8.25%, use 6 drops. Double for cloudy or very cold water.
I need help now
Something happened. What now?
Do the first step. Then the next. If anyone is in danger, call 911. Local officials' instructions always come first.
The power is out
Flashlights, not candles.
Keep the fridge and freezer closed.
Unplug electronics so a surge can't damage them.
Generator or grill? Outside only, 20+ feet from doors, windows, vents.
Do this firstFill a few clean jugs with tap water today and write the date on them.
What you need
Stored drinking water
A pot and a way to heat it, or plain unscented bleach (6% or 8.25%) and a dropper
Clean cloth or coffee filters for cloudy water
How much
1 gallon per person per day, for drinking and basic hygiene. Children, nursing mothers, sick people, and hot weather need more. Pets need water too.
Replace water you bottled yourself every 6 months. Keep store-bought water sealed until its date.
How to use it
Cloudy? Let it settle, then pour it through a clean cloth, paper towel, or coffee filter.
Boil at a rolling boil for 1 minute (3 minutes above 5,000 feet). Let it cool. This is the most reliable method.
Or use bleach. Stir in the amount below. Wait 30 minutes. It should smell slightly of chlorine. If not, add the same amount again and wait 15 more minutes.
Bleach on label
Per gallon
Cloudy or very cold
6%
8 drops
16 drops
8.25%
6 drops
12 drops
What can go wrong
Germs vs. chemicals. Boiling and bleach kill germs. They do not remove fuel, heavy metals, salts, or most chemicals. Water that smells of fuel or chemicals, is dark, or has things floating in it: don't drink it.
Never use scented, "splash-less," or color-safe bleach.
When your utility issues a boil or "do not drink" notice, follow it exactly. They know what's in the water; this page doesn't.
Already have this? Use it. Clean soda bottles and juice jugs work for storage (not milk jugs, which break down). Your water heater tank holds clean water: turn off its power or gas first, then drain from the bottom valve. The back tank of a toilet works for washing if you don't use cleaning tablets.
When the power goes out, keep fridge and freezer doors closed.
Eat from the fridge first, then the freezer, then the pantry.
Put new groceries behind old ones, and use the oldest first.
Doors closed
Stays cold
Refrigerator
about 4 hours
Full freezer
about 48 hours
Half-full freezer
about 24 hours
What can go wrong
Power out more than 4 hours: throw out fridge meat, poultry, fish, eggs, and milk.
Frozen food can be refrozen if it still has ice crystals or is 40°F or below.
Throw out anything that smells, looks, or feels off, or feels warm. Never taste food to test it.
Never cook on a grill or camp stove indoors.
Already have this? Use it. Most kitchens hold several days of food. Rice, pasta, and oats keep for a long time if you can boil water. A cooler with ice buys the fridge extra hours.
Do this firstWrite down every household member's medicines, doses, allergies, and doctors. Put the list in your kit.
What you need
First aid kit
Prescription and everyday medicines (pain, allergy, stomach)
Glasses, contact solution, hearing aid batteries
Backup for powered medical equipment
Cooler and ice packs for refrigerated medicine
How much
Enough medicine to last through your largest stage. Ask your doctor or pharmacist whether you can keep a small extra supply.
For powered equipment (oxygen, CPAP, a power wheelchair), know how many hours your backup battery lasts.
How to use it
Bleeding: press hard with a clean cloth and keep pressing. Call 911.
Learn the basics once: a Red Cross first aid and CPR class or a Stop the Bleed course takes a few hours.
Plan around people: infants, older relatives, and anyone with a disability or mobility needs. Who checks on them? How would they leave?
If someone relies on powered medical equipment, tell your electric company. Many keep a list.
What can go wrong
Medicine that touched flood water should be thrown out, even in a closed bottle. Exception: a lifesaving medicine with no replacement, if it looks unchanged, until you can replace it.
Insulin or other refrigerated medicine got warm: check the label or call a pharmacist. If it is life-sustaining and you have no replacement, the FDA says you may keep using it until you get more.
Already have this? Use it. A clean T-shirt makes a pressure bandage. A cooler from the garage keeps insulin cool. Your phone can store photos of prescription labels.
Do this firstCharge every power bank in the house and put flashlights where you can find them in the dark.
What you need
A flashlight per person, extra batteries
Power banks for phones
Battery-powered or battery-backup carbon monoxide alarms near sleeping areas
How much
Enough to charge each phone once a day for your stage. Compare the power bank's capacity (mAh) to your phone's battery size; the bank should be at least as big for one full charge.
How to use it: compare your options
Option
Good for
Keep in mind
Power banks
Phones, radios, small lights
Cheapest start. Recharge every few months.
Your car
Charging phones
Run it outdoors only, never in a garage, even with the door open.
Portable battery station
Lights, Wi-Fi, CPAP, short fridge runs
No fumes, safe indoors. Check its watt-hours against what you need.
Solar panel
Recharging power banks or a station
Slow when cloudy. Pairs with a battery.
Fuel generator
Larger loads for longer
Outdoors only, 20+ feet from doors, windows, vents.
What can go wrong: carbon monoxide
CO has no smell or color. Symptoms feel like the flu: headache, dizziness, weakness, upset stomach, vomiting, chest pain, confusion. People who are asleep can die before they notice.
Never use a generator, grill, charcoal, or camp stove indoors or in a garage.
If you suspect CO, get everyone into fresh air and call 911.
Candles cause house fires. Use flashlights.
Already have this? Use it. Headlamps from camping, solar garden lights brought inside at night, the car's USB ports (outdoors).
Do this firstUse tools you already have. Test them on an ordinary day, not during an emergency.
Proven low-tech helpers
Hand fan: personal cooling when electricity is out. It does not lower room temperature or make extreme heat safe.
Manual can opener: access shelf-stable food without power.
Clean water container with a tap: dispense stored safe drinking water without pumps. The container does not purify water.
Whistle and small mirror: simple ways to attract attention when calling for help.
Battery-free daylight: use windows when outdoor conditions are safe; keep a flashlight for darkness.
On the invention bench — not emergency equipment
Anomaly Vent 001: a paper-clip-simple passive airflow attachment being explored by Anomaly Works. The question: can one inexpensive shape improve ventilation driven by wind or temperature differences?
Experimental only. No validated design or performance rating exists yet. Do not rely on it for shelter ventilation, smoke or toxic-gas protection, fallout protection, or safe operation of fuel-burning equipment.
Safety first. During wildfire smoke, chemical releases, or radiation emergencies, follow official shelter-in-place instructions rather than opening vents. Never run generators, grills, or fuel-burning stoves indoors; ventilation gadgets cannot make this safe.
Get them warm and dry. Seek medical help right away.
Frostbite
Numbness; white or grayish-yellow skin; firm or waxy skin
Get somewhere warm. Seek medical help. Don't rub the area.
When home isn't safe: no heat in freezing weather, no cooling in extreme heat for someone at high risk, smoke, flooding, or structural damage. Go to a shelter, cooling center, or someone else's home.
Already have this? Use it. Sleeping bags, winter coats, a tent pitched indoors for kids (it holds warmth), damp towels for cooling.
Do this firstLearn whether your area has evacuation zones, and which one you're in.
What you need
A grab-and-go bag per person
Meds, documents, phone and charger
Pet carrier, leash, food, records
A place to go: friends or family outside the area, a hotel, or a public shelter
How to use it
Keep the gas tank at least half full when trouble is possible.
Know two routes out. Follow the routes officials give.
Plan for anyone who can't drive or needs help moving.
If told to leave, go. Bring pets.
Tell your out-of-state contact where you're headed.
Stay or go?
Follow local officials. If they say evacuate, leave. If they say shelter in place, stay inside, away from windows, with a radio on. If you're not told either way and your home is safe, staying is usually fine.
What can go wrong
Don't drive through flood water. One foot of moving water can sweep a car away.
Don't go back until officials say it's safe.
Only turn off gas if you smell it or are told to. A utility worker must turn it back on.
Do this firstRemember three words: Get inside. Stay inside. Stay tuned.
Get insideThe nearest sturdy building. Basement or the middle, away from doors and windows. Brick or concrete is best.
Stay insideAfter a nuclear explosion, at least 24 hours unless officials say otherwise. Radiation levels drop quickly in that time.
Stay tunedRadio, TV, phone alerts. Officials will say when to leave and where to get checked.
What you need
Battery or crank radio
A spare set of clothes per person
Trash bags for contaminated clothes
Sealed food and bottled water, medicines
Wet wipes or cloths for washing
The basic idea
Three things lower exposure: less time near the source, more distance from it, and more shielding (walls, earth, concrete) between you and it.
You may have 10 minutes or more after a nuclear explosion before fallout arrives. Use it to get to the best shelter nearby.
How to use it
Close up. Shut and lock windows and doors, close fireplace dampers, and turn off fans, A/C, and forced-air heat that pull in outside air.
Bring pets inside.
If you were outside: carefully take off your outer layer of clothing. That can remove up to 90% of radioactive material. Don't shake it out. Put it in a plastic bag away from people and pets.
Wash. Warm shower with lots of soap, shampoo your hair. Don't scrub or scratch. Keep cuts covered. No shower: wash hands and face at a sink, or wipe exposed skin with a damp cloth. Gently blow your nose and wipe eyelids, eyelashes, and ears.
Food and water inside the building are safe. Sealed containers that were outside are fine after you wipe them. Don't eat garden produce or uncovered outdoor food until officials say so.
Pets: brush their coats, then wash with soap and water if you can.
What can go wrong
Potassium iodide (KI) is not a radiation pill. It only protects the thyroid, and only from radioactive iodine. Take it only when public health officials or your doctor tell you to. CDC says it won't help after a nuclear explosion, so don't leave shelter to look for it.
Iodized salt and iodine supplements are not substitutes and can be harmful in large amounts.
Don't use household cleaning wipes or hand sanitizer on your skin to remove contamination.
Don't leave shelter early to find family. Stay where you are and use your out-of-state contact.
Live near a nuclear power plant?
Every U.S. plant has a planning zone of about 10 miles where people may be told to shelter, evacuate, or take KI, and about 50 miles where officials may restrict food and water. If you're inside the 10-mile zone, learn your zone or sector name and how your county will alert you.
More practical tools, without more clutter. Open only what you need.
Seven small steps
Check off what you've done. Saved in this browser, not on a ReadyEnough server.
Use the Print First option above for your essentials card and local contact sheet.
01Neighborhood lifeboat
Talk with two or three neighbors. Exchange phone numbers on paper, agree on a check-in plan, and ask who may need help. Get permission before sharing anyone’s details.
List essential expenses: housing, food, utilities, medicine and transportation. Keep customer-service numbers on paper. If income stops, contact lenders and utilities early about hardship options; avoid high-fee loans.
Ask: Am I in immediate danger? What single useful action can I take? Who should I contact? Do that first. In a life-threatening emergency, move to safety and call emergency services.
Check the issuing authority, location, date and instructions before forwarding an alarming warning. Verify through independent official channels or local radio. A screenshot alone is not evidence. Use the alert center above.
Know your main water shutoff, electrical panel and utility emergency numbers. Keep basic tools and a working flashlight. Never attempt live-electrical or gas-line repairs; leave suspected gas leaks and call the utility.
Ask family and neighbors what support they would actually want. Plan for accessibility, medication, medical devices requiring electricity, backup caregivers and accessible transport.
Keep a battery or hand-crank radio, printed contacts and two family meeting places. Know where to find NOAA Weather Radio broadcasts. Practice using your plan without a network connection.
Keep a résumé and employment records accessible offline. Save employer and benefits contacts. If work stops, check official unemployment and workforce resources in your state; document any missed wages.
Prepare an accessible, secure list of IDs, insurance details, prescriptions, contacts and key documents. Keep paper copies protected from fire and water. Do not upload sensitive documents here.
Keep small routines, share clear information with children, and spend more time on useful actions than repeated headline checking. Check in with neighbors and ask for help when needed.
This is general information, not a substitute for official emergency orders, medical care or professional financial advice. Most steps can be done with supplies you already own.
Context, not a prediction
Why now?
90days, reported
On September 30, 2026, the Pentagon issued a memo launching FORTRESS America, a program to make major U.S. military bases able to keep running without civilian power, fuel, water, and supply lines. Reporting puts the target at at least 90 days. It's a Defense Department initiative, not a law passed by Congress, and it covers military bases, not households.
We're not reading anything into it. We just like the logic: if the professionals plan to be self-reliant for 90 days, a household can plan for three, then two weeks.
The far more likely reasons to need this page are ordinary: storms, wildfires, ice, floods, a long outage, a water main break. Being ready for those means you're mostly ready for anything.
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