Emergency Preparedness and Response Guides
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The Guides below will help you better prepare for and respond to a disaster – click on any Guide image to view or download
Check this page often as new Guides will be added.
This Evacuation Guidelines flyer will help you prepare for and respond to an evacuation order. Please note that these are guidelines only and not absolute rules. You will need to make your best decisions and take your safest actions when the event actually occurs.
Neighborhood Organization during COVID-19
Now is the time to organize your neighborhood so that neighbors can better help each other during Shelter-in-Place restrictions! Tips for organizing (or re-organizing) your neighborhood during this time of the COVID-19 pandemic are available in this guide.
Guide #01 – Neighborhood Organization
Safe communities begin with well-organized and prepared neighborhoods. Learn how to create or restart your own organized neighborhood to address issues of local concern, to prepare for emergencies and to build stronger and better-connected communities.
Guide #02 – Notifications and Warnings
Understand emergency warnings and notifications, including from AC (Alameda County) Alert, Oakland emergency sirens, social media applications and radio and TV. Know what Red Flag Warning days mean and how to respond to them.
Guide #03 – Personal & Family Preparedness Before a Disaster
Prepare yourself and your family before a disaster occurs by making plans for evacuations and communications, minimizing hazards around your house, storing emergency supplies and assembling important records.
Guide #04 – Personal & Family Response During & After a Disaster
Know how best to respond during an earthquake or wildfire disaster, including evacuating or sheltering-in-place. Understand what to do afterwards and how best to recover from a disaster.
Guide #05 – Emergency Planning
Planning for an emergency should take place long before such an event occurs. Understand how to create an emergency plan for yourself and your family, how to dress for survival and how to create an emergency Go-Bag.
Guide #06 – Emergency Evacuations
Any emergency evacuation will be a stressful and chaotic time. Understand evacuation terminology, 4 critical evacuation steps, how to choose your best evacuation route and when and how to shelter-in-place.
Guide #07 – Evacuation and Go-Bag Checklists
Checklists for steps to take before, during and after an evacuation and items for you emergency Go-Bag are covered in more detail. Prepare your Go-Bag in advance and keep this checklist accessible for a disaster.
Guide #08 – Public Safely Power Shutoffs
PG&E may turn off electricity for an extended time during high fire danger periods. Learn what you can do in advance to prepare for PSPS so that you can best get through these events.
Guide #09 – Home Hardening Against Wildfire
Most structural losses from wildfires can be minimized with proper materials and maintenance. Understand how to create a defensible zone around your house, how to protect from embers and other ways that you can harden your home against a wildfire.
Guide #10 – Home Hardening Against Earthquake
In an earthquake or other disaster, many items in and around the home can become hazards. Take steps now to minimize the amount of damage to your family and property by hardening your home against an earthquake.
Having the right amount and type of insurance and well-organized records makes a world of difference after a disaster. Learn how to inventory your property and how to ensure you have the right home insurance to cover a large or total loss.
The National Fire Protection Association’s Firewise USA program teaches how to adapt to living with wildfire. Learn how your neighborhood can implement Firewise USA and work together to make your community more firesafe.
Guide #13 – Defensible Space and Landscaping for Fire Safety
A defensible space around your home will greatly improve its chance of surviving a wildfire. Understand how to design and maintain your landscape for fire safety.
Guide #14 – Firesafe Planting Checklist
Planting and maintaining firesafe vegetation is very important to help resist the spread of fire on your grounds and to your home. Plant smart and choose the right fire-resistant vegetation for your property.
Guide #15 – Checklist for Home Wildfire Hardening
Take a walk around the outside of your home and answer all of the checklist questions that apply. Determine what needs work and prioritize projects around preparing your home to be more fire-resistant.
Guide #16 – Preparedness for Older Adults
Older adults may face particular safety and health challenges during a disaster. Understand recommended steps that as an older adult, or with a caregiver’s assistance, you can take to better prepare for an emergency.
Guide #17 – Preparedness for Children
It’s important that children know what to do in an emergency. Learn how kids can be involved in the steps of disaster readiness with age-appropriate activities.
Guide #18 – Preparedness for Pets
For many, animals are an important part of our lives and households. Learn how to prepare for your pet’s safety and wellness in the event of a disaster, including what supplies to have on-hand.
Guide #19 – Disaster Mental Health
Experiencing and then recovering from a major disaster can be highly stressful for everyone impacted. Learn how to better prepare for and respond to the emotional aspects of an emergency and to be more effective in helping others.
In the event of PG&E Public Safety Power Shutoffs (PSPS) or during an emergency such as a wildfire or earthquake, the power grid may be unavailable for an extended period-of-time. Understand your options for backup power during these events.
Guide #21 – Emergency Generators
An emergency electrical generator can be a viable source of power during an outage. Understand your options for selecting and safely operating the right generator for your needs.
Guide #22 – Emergency Communications
Communications are crucial during and after a disaster, including being able to call for help, to coordinate response and to check on family members. Understand your options for communicating.
Zonehaven is a commercial software application designed to help manage emergency evacuations and to better inform the community when and how to evacuate.
Guide #24 – Smoke Preparedness
Breathing smoke from a wildfire, even if distant, can be harmful to your health. Prepare for smoke and take action when the air is unhealthy.
