Make a Plan

Make a plan with your family/flatmates/friends to get through an emergency. Think about the things you need every day and work out what you would do if you didn’t have them.

Fill in the form then print it out, stick it on the fridge and make sure everyone knows the plan. Or save it as a PDF and email it to your family/flatmates/friends.

Before you start

Make sure you have considered all the needs of your household including:

Babies and young children

People with special requirements

Pets and other animals

Who is this plan for?

Household members

Name

Contact Details

Does anyone have special requirements?

Will anyone in your household need assistance to evacuate, or while stuck at home during an emergency? Does anyone rely on mobility or medical devices or other special equipment? Does anyone rely on prescription medicine? Do they have supplies to last three days or more or alternatives if power is not available?

Any babies or young children?

Do you have nappies, formula, etc. to last three days or more if shops and roads are closed? Do you have supplies in a grab bag in case you need to leave in a hurry as well?

Any pets?

Your animals are your responsibility, so make sure you include them in your emergency planning. Do you have food and water to last three days or more? Do you have cages or carriers to transport them and keep them safe? Do you have someone to collect and look after your animals if you can’t get home?

Anyone else who might need help?

Are there any friends, family or neighbours who might need your help to get through an emergency at home or to evacuate?

Name

Contact Details

Useful contacts

Name

Contact Details

Name

Contact Details

Always dial 111 in an emergency. Think about your council’s emergency hotline, medical centre/doctor, landlord, insurance company, power company, day care/school, work and family members.

If we can’t get home

Our meeting place

Add an address and instructions.

Where will you meet if you can’t contact each other and are separated when an emergency occurs? How will you get there?

Who will pick up the kids?

Name

Contact Details

If you are not able to pick children up from school, day care, afterschool care, etc., who will? Do they know? Does the school / day care have their details?

If we can’t get hold of each other

Name

Contact Details

Who will you check in with (someone out of town in case local phone lines are down)?

We will get updates by

Radio station/website/social media channel

How will you find the latest news/alerts? Which radio stations will you listen to? Which websites and social media pages will you check?

If we are stuck at home

Do we have emergency supplies

Make detailed notes on where these items are stored

Food and drink for three days or more (for everyone including babies and pets)? Torches, a radio, and batteries for both? First aid/medical supplies? They don’t all need to be in one big box, but you may have to find them in the dark.

Do we know how to turn off water, power and gas?

Details on how to turn off the water, power and gas

Only turn these off if you suspect a leak or damaged lines or if you are instructed to do so by authorities. If you turn the gas off, you will need a professional to turn it back on.

If we have no power

Make notes on what your household needs to do

What will you need to do if there is no power? How will you cook, stay warm, see at night (do not use candles as they are a fire hazard)? Do you have spare cash in case ATMs are not working? Do you have enough fuel in case petrol pumps are not working?)

If we have no water

Make notes on what your household needs to do

What will you need to do if there is no water? Do you have enough drinking water stored (three litres per person per day for three days or more)? Do you have water for your pets? What will you cook and clean with? What will you use for a toilet?

If we have to leave in a hurry

Do we have grab bags?

Make detailed notes on where the grab bags are stored

Does everyone have grab bags* in case you need to evacuate? At home, at work, in the car?

* A small bag with warm clothes, a torch, radio, first aid kit, snack food and water.

Where will we go?

Make detailed notes on where you will go and how you will get there

Where you will go in case you have to evacuate? How will you get there? If you live near the coast, make sure it is outside of all tsunami evacuation zones. Where will you stay if you can’t get back to your home?

Translated information about making a plan

Find information on making a household emergency plan on Get Ready, Get Thru. Available in multiple languages.

خطة الطوارئ المنزلية — Household emergency plan in (Arabic) عربي (getthru.govt.nz)

घरेलू आपातकालीन योजना — Household emergency plan in हिन्दी (Hindi) (getthru.govt.nz)

세대별 비상 계획서 — Household emergency plan in 한국어 (Korean) (getthru.govt.nz)

Te Mahere Ohotata Mō Te Kāinga — Household emergency plan in Te Reo Māori (getthru.govt.nz)

Fuafuaga Fa'ata'atia mo lou aiga mo taimi o Fa'alavelave Fa'afuase'i — Household emergency plan in Gagana Samoa (getthru.govt.nz)

Palani ki ha Fakatamaki Fakatu'upake ma'a ho 'Api´ — Household emergency plan in Lea Faka-Tonga (Tongan) (getthru.govt.nz)

家庭紧急情况应变计划 — Household emergency plan in 简体中文 (Simplified Chinese) (getthru.govt.nz)

家庭緊急情況應變計畫 — Household emergency plan in 繁體中文 (Traditional Chinese) (getthru.govt.nz)

Download PDF plan template

Do you prefer to hand write your emergency plan? Feel free to download and print the PDF paper version of the Make a Plan template, available in 24 languages.