Home Shelter Planner

Could your house hold out? Tick what you’ve already got sorted. Sheltering in place is the right call more often than people think — in a tornado warning, when the air outside isn’t safe, and when the roads are worse than staying put. And, obviously, during the outbreak.

0Fresh meat

Tick what you already have. Nothing leaves this device.

Tornado warning: ten minutes to get safe

You won’t have time to plan once the siren goes.

I know our shelter spot +10A basement, a safe room, or an interior room away from windows. Choose it now, not during the warning. Tornado guide →
No mobile home, or we know where we’d go +8A mobile home is not a safe place in a tornado. Know the nearest sturdy building and how long it takes to get there.
A warning would wake us +8A NOAA weather radio with a tone alert, or emergency alerts switched on for every phone. Tornadoes can strike at night. Weather radio in the Survival Kit →
Shoes, a flashlight and a whistle live in the shelter spot +5Walking out over broken glass, seeing in the dark, and a whistle to signal for help if you’re trapped. Whistles →
Everyone in the house knows where to go +4Including guests and babysitters. Practise once; it takes two minutes.

Bad air outside: stay in and seal up

A chemical spill, a fire’s smoke, or contamination where officials say stay put.

We’ve picked an inside room +6An interior room with few windows. You’ll lock doors, close windows, air vents and fireplace dampers.
Plastic sheeting and duct tape are stored, ready to use +8Thick plastic sheeting and duct tape to seal the room’s windows, doors and vents. Cut it to size in advance; it’s slow to do in a hurry. Plastic sheeting →
We know how to switch off the air +6Turn off fans, air conditioning and forced-air heating, so they don’t pull outside air in. Know where the switch or thermostat is.

Days without power, or no way out

A winter storm, a hurricane’s aftermath, or an outbreak that keeps everyone indoors.

Water: a gallon per person per day, for several days +12For drinking and sanitation, for at least several days. Water storage in the Survival Kit →
Food that needs no cooking, for several days +8Non-perishable, and a manual can opener for the cans. Food and can openers in the Survival Kit →
Light and power without the grid +6Flashlights, extra batteries, and a backup battery for phones. Power and light in the Survival Kit →
Medicines that would last +6Prescriptions and essentials for the household, enough to wait out the delay.
A first aid kit +5Somewhere everyone can find it. First aid in the Survival Kit →
News without power +5A battery-powered or hand-crank radio, so you hear what officials are saying when the phone dies. Crank radio in the Survival Kit →
Copies of important documents in a waterproof bag +3IDs, insurance, prescriptions. If you have to leave after all, they go with you.

If staying put stops being safe

Sheltering in place is a plan, not a promise. If officials tell you to evacuate, or the house itself becomes the danger — fire, flooding, structural damage — leave. The Outbreak Shelters page shows every emergency shelter open in the country right now, and how to find one when disaster hits.

Guidance from Ready.gov: Shelter, Ready.gov: Build a Kit and the National Weather Service. The score is a nudge, not a certification. As an Amazon Associate, WeatherZombie earns from qualifying purchases; product links open an Amazon search.

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