Preparedness tips for Older Adults.

Disasters or emergencies can have a greater effect on older adults.

There are several factors that can contribute to these increased effects, but there are preparedness tips you can follow to better protect yourself from disasters or emergencies that may occur.

Understanding Emergency Challenges for Older Adults

Older adults with chronic illnesses, disabilities, or conditions that require extra assistance during an evacuation can be significantly affected by unexpected disasters or emergencies. By taking key preparedness steps, older adults can better protect themselves, reduce risks, and strengthen their ability to navigate and recover from potential emergencies.

Emergencies and disasters can take many forms, including weather‑related events common in Onondaga County such as snowstorms, extreme cold, high winds, and flooding. In addition, power outages or medical emergencies can also create serious challenges for older adults.

When these events occur, it’s important to already know the answers to key preparedness questions. Do I have an evacuation route, and have I identified a shelter plan? Do I have an emergency kit ready, including at least three days of shelf‑stable food and water for everyone in my household? Do I have a plan in place for my pets? Are there any medical needs I must consider, such as medications that require refrigeration or equipment that relies on electricity? And finally, what is my communication plan if I lose access to cell service or internet reception? If you don’t yet have answers to these questions, the following preparedness steps can help you become better equipped to handle these situations should they ever occur.

Steps to preparedness

Know Your Risks

Preparedness starts with understanding the hazards you may face—large or small. Learning about the disasters common to your community helps you assess your needs and begin building a solid preparedness plan.

Learn about the types of emergencies that could impact your area:

Talk with long‑time residents about past disasters and their effects.

Review local news sources and community message boards.

Explore FEMA’s Ready.gov Hazard Information Sheets to learn how to prepare for specific hazards.

Assess Your Needs

Everyone’s situation is different. Asking the right questions helps you plan effectively.

Do I have medical conditions or dietary needs that require specific care or medication?

What mobility challenges or disabilities should I plan for?

How will I ensure the safety of my pet or service animal?

Have I established communication strategies with neighbors and local emergency services?

Will I need help transporting supplies or assembling my emergency kit?

Will I require translation services?

Do I have a completed will?

How might my daily routine be disrupted during an emergency, and how will I adapt?

What accommodations or assistive devices will I need during an emergency?

Have I identified accessible evacuation routes and shelters?

Are my caregivers aware of my emergency plans?

What daily‑living aids will I need if I’m displaced longer than expected?

Older Adults With Limited Resources

What resources do I already have that could support me during an emergency or evacuation?

What community services are available to assist me?

What affordable transportation options exist if I need to leave quickly?

How do I currently meet basic needs (food, water, shelter), and how would that change in an emergency?

Older Adults in Rural Areas

What local resources can I rely on before and during an emergency?

What is my plan if I lose cell or internet service?

Do I have reliable transportation if evacuation becomes necessary?

Do I have enough supplies at home if services are disrupted?

Where do I currently go for support, and will those providers be available during an emergency?

Making a Plan

It is important for everyone to make an emergency plan—whether you are an older adult, part of a family, or someone who lives alone. Each plan will look different based on the specific needs of the individuals involved, and for older adults, the plan may require additional details to ensure their needs are fully addressed. While some of these steps overlap with assessing your needs, they are essential components of building a complete emergency plan and should be discussed and included.

Step 1: Put a plan together by discussing the questions below with your family, household, or workplace to start your emergency plan.

1. How will you receive emergency alerts and warnings?
2. What is my shelter plan?
3. What is my evacuation route?
4. What is my family/household communication plan?
5. Do I need to update my emergency preparedness kit?
6. What is our reunification plan once the crisis has ended? How do we plan on getting back to meeting up and returning home?

By sitting down with your family, household, or workplace and discussing these questions, you begin an important first conversation about the various vulnerabilities you may face during a crisis. If you or others don’t yet have answers to some of these questions, it’s important to come together and determine them so everyone is better prepared.

Step 2: Consider specific needs in your household.

Every household will need to prepare differently, as each has unique needs during an emergency. As an older adult, it’s important to discuss your specific needs with family members or friends so they can be included in your emergency plan. Some of the factors you may want to consider include the following.

1. If you are more prone to becoming ill from extreme temperatures you may want more medical supplies in your home and emergency kit.
2. If you need assistance moving around your home or evacuating during an emergency, it’s important to identify a nearby neighbor or family member who can help you when needed.
3. Pets or service animals.
4. Dietary needs, medical needs including prescriptions and equipment.
5. Disabilities or functional needs including devices and equipment.

Step 3: Create a Family Emergency Plan.

The following information should belong in your Family Emergency Communications Plan.

1. Household information (Phone numbers and address)
2. Family members (their names, numbers, social medias, emails, and important medical or other information)
3. Emergency plans should include the following, healthcare, caregiver. The details about the organization (Address, emergency phone number, website, emergency plan/pick-up)
4. Emergency contacts should include the following. (Names, phone numbers, emails, addresses)
5. Emergency Meeting places should include locations and instructions upon arrival.
6. Medical information should include the following (doctors name & number, pediatrician name & number, allergies & prescriptions, medical insurance name & policy, any assistive devices you use, veterinarian name)

When you create a family emergency plan, you’re not just putting together a checklist—you’re building a lifeline for moments when everything around you becomes uncertain. Each piece of information you include fills a specific gap that might otherwise slow you down, create confusion, or put someone at risk.

Step 4: Practice your plan with your family/household.

Practicing your family preparedness plan is crucial to ensure that everyone knows how to respond in case of an emergency. By practicing your plan it also, enhances communication, reduces panic, improves response, and builds trust.

Plans should be practiced with your family, household, or workplace at least every six months. After each exercise, it’s important for everyone involved to sit down and talk about how the plan worked. Discussing what went well, what didn’t, and any concerns or questions helps improve the plan, correct misunderstandings, and build confidence in how to respond during a real emergency.

Once an emergency or disaster has occurred and your plan has been put into action, it’s important to debrief after the event—once everyone and everything has been declared safe. Taking time to talk through what happened helps identify what worked well and what didn’t. These conversations allow you to improve the plan, address any concerns or misunderstandings, and build confidence in how your household will respond to future emergencies.

Step 5: Create a Family Reunification Plan.

Emergencies can separate households quickly, especially for older adults who may rely on caregivers, medical equipment, mobility aids, or regular support services. A reunification plan helps ensure that you and the people you depend on can reconnect safely after an evacuation, shelter‑in‑place order, communication outage, or other disruption. Planning ahead reduces stress, speeds up recovery, and helps emergency responders focus on those who need immediate assistance.

Begin by identifying the family members, caregivers, neighbors, or support partners you would need to reconnect with after an emergency. Choose a meeting location near your home and another outside your neighborhood in case nearby roads or buildings are unsafe. Make sure everyone involved in your care knows these locations and understands when to use each one.

Select an out‑of‑area contact who can help relay information if local phone lines are overloaded. Share this person’s name and number with your family, caregivers, and anyone who regularly assists you. If you become separated, checking in with this contact can help others track your status and location.
Include your medical providers, home‑care agencies, senior centers, and adult‑day programs in your plan. Ask how they communicate during emergencies and where they relocate clients if evacuation becomes necessary. Make sure your reunification plan aligns with their procedures so you know what to expect and where to go if you are moved for safety.

Building a Kit:

After an emergency occurs you may be forced to survive on your own for several days. Building a kit can be the difference between having the items needed to stay alive or not.

There are basic supplies that belong in every emergency kit, but additional items will vary based on individual needs. For older adults, items such as medications, extra hearing‑aid batteries, a spare pair of glasses, a backup cane, walker tips, wheelchair batteries, or mobility‑aid repair tools are especially important and may be more essential than they are for younger adults.

Click on the emergency supply list button below to learn about what items could belong in your kit. You can download a printable version of these items below to take with you to the store.

Emergency Supply list

Once you’ve assessed your needs, created your emergency plan, and built your preparedness kit, the next step is activating your support network. A strong network—made up of family, friends, caregivers, neighbors, faith‑based community members, and others—plays a critical role in helping you stay safe before, during, and after an emergency.

Your support network should understand your plan, know your needs, and be ready to assist when it matters most.

Support Network Checklist:

Use this checklist to make sure the people you rely on are informed, prepared, and able to help:

I have identified a support network of family, friends, caregivers, fellow congregants, and others who can assist me during an emergency.

I have shared my emergency plan with my support network, and we have practiced it together.

My support network understands any specific medical, mobility, communication, or daily‑living needs I have.

Someone in my support network has an extra key to my home, knows where my emergency supplies are stored, and understands how to use lifesaving equipment or administer medication if needed.

I know my clinic or hospital’s emergency procedures and have identified backup service providers.

My support network and I are signed up for local emergency alerts and updates.

I have participated—or plan to participate—in a community preparedness event or initiative to strengthen my readiness and connections.

There are many types of emergency alerts designed to notify you during a crisis. Understanding what each alert means—and how it can help you respond—allows you to make informed decisions when every second counts. Below are the different types of alerts you can sign up for to stay informed about incoming weather events, disasters, or other emergencies.

The NY Alert Emergency Notification System is utilized to notify Onondaga County residents in emergency situations where events have occurred and special instructions to residents in a specific neighborhood are needed.

Examples of alerts you could receive include weather warnings, hazardous material spills and other emergency conditions.

IPAWS is FEMA’s national system for local alerting.

It gives federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial public safety agencies the ability to send WEAs, EAS alerts, weather and non-weather-related emergency messages simultaneously through NOAA weather radios, and alerts through systems like sirens and digital billboards.

Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA): Short emergency alerts authorities can send to any WEA-enabled mobile device in a locally targeted area.

WEAs have a unique tone and vibration, both repeated twice. WEA messages are free and will not count towards texting limits on your wireless plan.

The Emergency Alert System (EAS) is a national public warning system that allows the president to address the nation within 10 minutes during a national emergency.

The President has sole responsibility for determining when the national-level EAS will be activated. FEMA and the FCC are responsible for national-level tests and exercises.

The FEMA App allows you to receive real-time weather and emergency alerts, send notifications to loved ones, get preparedness strategies and more.

Receive real-time weather and emergency alerts from the National Weather Service for up to five locations nationwide.

NOAA Weather Radio All Hazards (NWR) is a nationwide network of radio stations broadcasting continuous weather information directly from the nearest National Weather Service office.

NWR broadcasts official Weather Service warnings, watches, forecasts and other hazard information 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Click here to go to our full receiving emergency alerts and notifications page to learn more.

Get Your Benefits Electronically

A disaster can disrupt mail service for days or weeks. If you depend on Social Security or other regular benefits, switching to electronic payments is a simple, important way to protect yourself financially before disaster strikes. It also eliminates the risk of stolen checks.

The U.S. Department of the Treasury recommends two safer ways to get federal benefits:

Direct deposit to a checking or savings account. If you get federal benefits you can sign up by calling 800-333-1795. Or:

The Direct Express® prepaid debit card is designed as a safe and easy alternative to paper.

The Direct Express® Debit Mastercard® is a U.S. Treasury-recommended prepaid card that allows recipients to receive federal benefits safely and conveniently without a traditional bank account.

These are the key pillars to focus on when preparing for emergencies as an older adult. We encourage you to explore the additional citizen preparedness tips available on our website to learn more steps and strategies that can further strengthen your readiness.

Resources:

Disaster Preparedness Guide for Older Adults – Ready.gov

*Credit: Portions of the information on this page are adapted from FEMA and Ready.gov resources. Their materials were used as foundational guidance and adapted to provide Onondaga County–specific preparedness information.