National Preparedness Month 2026
This September, Wake County Emergency Management is focusing on the families who have the most to protect and the least time to plan for it: households with infants and young children.
Raising little ones means being ready for anything — snacks, spare clothes, backup everything. This year’s theme, the Family Readiness Roadmap, helps you extend that same everyday readiness to emergencies. Follow four simple stops to get your whole family prepared — no overwhelm required.
Stop 1: Get Informed
Being prepared starts with knowing what to expect. Do you know:
- What kinds of emergencies may happen in Wake County?
- Where to find fast, trustworthy alerts?
Between school pickups, nap schedules, and everything else, who has time to track it all down? Here’s an easy step you can take: sign up for custom alerts in just two minutes, so you know what’s happening before it impacts your family.
Stop 2: Make a Plan
Now that you’re informed, it’s time to make a plan. Have you thought about:
- What to do if you aren’t with your family when an emergency happens?
- How to quickly get in touch with everyone?
Planning doesn’t take as long as you think!
- Take ten minutes to fill out our contact list (or copy it down) and put it somewhere easy to find.
- Talk with your family for five minutes at the dinner table.
- Choose an out-of-town contact everyone can call during an emergency.
- Pick a backup meeting place where everyone can go if you’re separated.
Stop 3: Build a Kit
You have a plan – the next step is gathering supplies! Think about:
- What you and your kids need to survive without help for three days.
- Items you would need if power or water is shut off.
- Babies, pets and family members with special needs.
Starting an emergency kit doesn’t have to be expensive! You might have some items at home already. Review our checklist to get started.
- Take stock at home. What do you have already? What’s missing?
- Take one trip to the store and grab items for your kit.
Stop 4: Research and Reach Out
You’ve gotten informed, made a plan and built a kit. But readiness doesn’t stop here. Think ahead and do your research about what happens in case of emergency.
Take twenty minutes to answer these questions:
- How can you get an emergency supply of your family’s prescription medications?
- Are there friends or family members outside this area you can stay with in case of evacuation? Give them a call or send a text!
- Can your pets come with you to your evacuation location? If not, where can they stay safely?
- Find planning resources just for pets at wake.gov/petprep
- What important documents would you need to bring with you? Think about IDs, insurance cards, pet’s info and medical documents.
- Consider making photocopies so you have extras.