4 meeting places. One card in every pocket.

What is a family emergency meeting place?

A family emergency meeting place is a spot everyone agrees on in advance, so you can find each other when you can't stay home or can't get there. FEMA's Family Emergency Communication Plan form (2019) asks for four of them, from a room inside the house to a relative's home out of town, because different emergencies push you different distances.

The American Red Cross version is shorter: its family plan guidance asks for two places, one "right outside your home in case of a sudden emergency, such as a fire," and one "outside your neighborhood, in case you cannot return home or are asked to evacuate." The four levels below include both.

1. 1
   IndoorFor a tornado or high-wind storm, when you stay put. FEMA's example: an interior room with no windows. Example: the downstairs bathroom.
2. 2
   In your neighborhoodFor a sudden emergency like a house fire. Close enough to walk out to, far enough from the house. Example: the mailbox at the end of the drive.
3. 3
   Outside your neighborhoodFor when you're out and can't get home: a road is closed, or the block is evacuated. Example: the public library on Main Street.
4. 4
   Outside your townFor a wider evacuation. Usually a relative's or friend's home. Example: Aunt Rosa's house, two hours north.

One meeting place covers a house fire; four cover the day your family is in four different places when it happens.

Build your meeting place card

Fill in what you have; blanks print as a line to write on. Add up to six names and you get one wallet card each, sized like a bank card (3.375 × 2.125 inches) with dashed cut lines when printed. Nothing you type leaves this page, and it's gone when you close the tab.

The cards carry FEMA's tip on the bottom line: a text may get through when a call won't.

How to choose a meeting place your kids will find

1. Pick places everyone already knowsReady.gov's plan for kids asks for meeting places that are "safe, familiar, accessible" and "easy to find." A spot a nine-year-old can name without thinking beats a better spot they've never been to.
2. Name one out-of-town contactReady.gov says to "pick the same person for each family member to contact" and to choose someone out of town, since they may be easier to reach. FEMA's form adds that a text message may get through when a phone call will not.
3. Walk it, then write it downWalk to spots 2 and 3 once with the kids. The Red Cross says everyone should have emergency contact information "in writing or saved on their cell phones." FEMA's form says to review and practice the plan at least once a year.

Here's how the four places compare at a glance.

The best meeting place is the one your youngest can find without you.

Keep the rest of the plan with Family Ready

A wallet card holds four places and a phone number. Family Ready holds everything around it. It's free to download, and the Emergency Card never needs a subscription.

1

1. An Emergency Card for each person. Who to call first, allergies, current medications and important health information, saved on your iPhone so it opens without internet once the phone is unlocked.

Make one for yourself, your child, a parent, a partner, or someone you care for with their permission.

2

2. Emergency Mode. One tap opens a high-contrast, large-text screen with no ads and no purchase prompts. Tap a contact to start a call yourself.

Family Ready never calls or messages anyone automatically.

3

3. A household plan, at your own pace. Sections for contacts, health, important documents, money and insurance, home, dependants and pets, and more. Skip what doesn't apply.

Choose a 3, 6 or 12-month review schedule, and print a dated Emergency Snapshot PDF for free.

A Tuesday, 2:40 p.m.

Meeting place questions

Honest limits

We made these cards paper on purpose: Family Ready's own App Store listing says no app can help if a phone is lost or out of battery, and the card still works then. The trade-off is that paper goes stale, so set a review date. Family Ready organizes information you enter. It is not an emergency-response service and does not contact emergency services; in an emergency, call your local emergency number. Who should pick something else: if what you want is to see where everyone is right now, your phone's built-in location sharing does that, and Family Ready doesn't.