Hurricane Preparedness Checklist for Real Families
Hurricanes are predictable if you start early. This is the calm, complete hurricane preparedness checklist we built for the families we work with: check your hurricane zone at your exact address, build a 72-hour hurricane survival pack that actually matches your household, and wire up local alerts so you never hear about the storm from the neighbor's TV. No doom language, no prepper theater. Just the steps that matter, in the order that matters.
Before you buy a single can of beans, find out what you are actually planning for. Your address determines your hurricane evacuation zone, your storm surge exposure, and your FEMA flood zone. A home three blocks from the coast has a very different plan than a home thirty miles inland, even in the same county.
BeAware pulls FEMA flood-zone overlays, NWS alert zones, and local evacuation zone maps for your exact address so you can see your real hurricane risk in one place, without reading five different government sites.
Check my address for hurricane riskBuild your hurricane survival pack
A hurricane survival pack is a 72-hour kit that keeps your household self-sufficient while utilities are out and help is on the way. Tap each item as you check it off. Your progress is saved on this device.
0 of 21 checked
Water
Non-perishable food for your hurricane kit
Power and light
Medical, sanitation, and prescriptions
Communication and wireless emergency alerts
Documents and cash
Want the whole kit assembled in one box, sized for your household, and matched to your hurricane zone? BeEquipped curates hurricane kits where every item is chosen for the storm you are actually facing, not a generic checklist.
Shop the BePrepared hurricane kitYour 7-day hurricane timeline
Most hurricane damage is not caused by the storm itself but by things that were not done before it arrived. This timeline is what actually needs to happen, in the order it needs to happen.
72 hours before landfall
Fuel every vehicle, fully charge all devices, request early prescription refills, confirm your evacuation routes and your out-of-state contact, and review your family emergency plan with everyone in the household.
48 hours before landfall
Board windows if you are in a surge zone, secure outdoor furniture and loose objects, make a final grocery run for perishables, and fill ice chests so refrigerator food lasts longer into the outage.
24 hours before landfall
Fill bathtubs and sinks with water for flushing and cleaning, move valuables to upper floors, park your car on high ground, position the survival pack by your exit, and charge every backup battery one more time.
During the storm
Stay inside an interior room on the lowest non-flooded floor, keep WEA alerts and a NOAA weather radio on, never use candles for light, do not open the refrigerator unless you have to, and stay away from windows until the all-clear.
24 to 72 hours after the storm
Photograph all damage before you move anything for insurance. Avoid downed power lines and standing water which can be energized. Do not return to evacuated areas until local authorities reopen them, and boil tap water until the utility confirms it is safe.
Your family emergency plan for hurricanes
A family emergency plan turns a stressful hour of decisions into a list of things you already agreed on. For hurricanes specifically, four elements matter more than anything else.
Two evacuation routes
Hurricanes close interstates, flood surface streets, and turn single-route neighborhoods into traps. Map a primary and a backup route inland, not along the coast. Share both with everyone in the household, including any caregivers.
An out-of-state contact
Local phone lines get overwhelmed during a hurricane, but long distance calls often still work. Every household member calls or texts the same out-of-state relative to check in, so no single local number has to connect everyone.
Two meeting points
One meeting point near your home for small emergencies, one well outside your neighborhood for evacuations. Both should be places every household member can reach on foot or with a stranger's help.
Pets, prescriptions, and accessibility needs
Most shelters accept pets only if they are crated and documented. Know which shelters in your evacuation zone are pet-friendly before you need one. Flag any family member with medical equipment, mobility needs, or cognitive conditions that require special planning.
Wireless emergency alerts (WEA) for hurricanes
Wireless Emergency Alerts are short messages pushed directly to every phone in an affected cell. They do not use your data, they bypass notification silencing, and they continue working when cell towers are congested. The National Weather Service uses WEA for hurricane warnings, tornado warnings inside the storm, and flash flood emergencies. FEMA uses WEA for evacuation orders.
WEA is enabled by default on most phones, but it is worth verifying:
- iPhone:Settings → Notifications → scroll to Government Alerts and enable every category.
- Android:Settings → Notifications → Wireless Emergency Alerts and enable every category.
WEA tells you a hurricane warning exists for your area. BeAware tells you what it means for your address, which utilities are out near you in real time, and what historical risks apply to your specific property. Both working together is the pattern we recommend.
Evacuate or shelter in place?
The decision is simpler than it looks. If local officials issue a mandatory evacuation order, evacuate. If you are in a storm surge zone for a Category 3 or higher storm, evacuate even without an order. If you are inland, well outside the surge zone, and your home is a modern framed structure, sheltering in place with a fully stocked hurricane survival pack is usually safer than fighting gridlocked evacuation traffic.
Category, for reference, describes sustained wind speed and its expected impact:
| Category | Sustained winds | Typical impact |
|---|---|---|
| Category 1 | 74-95 mph | Widespread power outages possible. Older manufactured homes at risk. Large branches down. |
| Category 2 | 96-110 mph | Major roof and siding damage. Extended power outages measured in days, not hours. |
| Category 3 | 111-129 mph | Major damage even to well-built framed homes. Long power and water outages for a week or more. |
| Category 4 | 130-156 mph | Severe damage to framed homes. Outages lasting weeks to months. Most area uninhabitable for extended periods. |
| Category 5 | 157+ mph | Catastrophic damage. A high percentage of framed homes destroyed. Area uninhabitable for weeks or months. |
Hurricane preparedness FAQ
Sources
The safety guidance on this page follows these sources. Where our wording differs from theirs, theirs is correct.
- Hurricane Preparedness — NOAA National Hurricane Center
Supports: the watch versus warning definitions and the official preparedness timeline this page follows.
- Hurricanes — Ready.gov
Supports: the evacuation guidance and the supply and planning checklist framing.
Deep dives from our article library
These pair well with hurricane preparation. Each goes deeper on a single part of the plan than space allows above.
How to Create a Family Emergency Communication Plan
Phone calls fail when networks are overwhelmed; texts get through. Build a plan that works when your family is scattered and cell service is spotty.
Essential Documents Checklist for Family Emergencies
Missing paperwork delays disaster assistance more than any other factor. The exact papers to scan, laminate, and load in your evacuation go bag.
Medicine Storage Guide for Emergencies
Bathroom cabinets cook your medications. The three-principle system that keeps critical prescriptions viable through a week-long outage and an evacuation.
Emergency Food Distribution Systems for Communities
Centralized food systems collapse within 72 hours during major disasters. How community-scale food resilience is engineered when grocery chains fail.
Preparedness that goes beyond hurricane season
Hurricanes are one of many risks your address might face. BeAware monitors all of them, BeReady builds the plan, BeEquipped ships the kit, and BeAdvised puts you in a room with an expert when you want one.
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