Make a plan today. Your family may not be together if a disaster strikes, so it is important to know which types of disasters could affect your area. Know how you’ll contact one another and reconnect if separated. Establish a family meeting place that’s familiar and easy to find.

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

• How will I receive emergency alerts and warnings?
• What is my shelter plan?
• What is my evacuation route?
• What is my family/household communication plan?
• Do I need to update my emergency preparedness kit?

Step 2: Consider specific needs in your household.

As you prepare your plan tailor your plans and supplies to your specific daily living needs and responsibilities. Discuss your needs and responsibilities and how people in the network can assist each other with communication, care of children, business, pets or specific needs like operating medical equipment. Create your own personal network for specific areas where you need assistance. Keep in mind some these factors when developing your plan:

• Different ages of members within your household
• Responsibilities for assisting others
• Locations frequented
• Dietary needs
• Medical needs including prescriptions and equipment
• Disabilities or access and functional needs including devices and equipment
• Languages spoken
• Cultural and religious considerations
• Pets or service animals
• Households with school-aged children
  
  

Step 3: Fill out a Family Emergency Plan

Download and fill out a family emergency plan or use it as a guide to create your own.

Family Emergency Communication Plan

Step 4: Practice your plan with your family/household

During an emergency affecting Carlsbad, the city will post updates in several places:

Ongoing updates as they happen

City website

City social media

AlertSanDiego

2-1-1 San Diego (call or visit website)

Know what to do during the types of emergencies we might expect in Carlsbad:

• Earthquakes
• Wildfires
• Tsunami
• Terrorism
• Power outage
• Extreme weather

The Emergency Preparedness Bureau supports the Carlsbad Fire Department's overall mission by coordinating emergency preparedness planning and training for city staff and the Carlsbad community.

A focus on cross-department and multi-agency planning for large-scale incidents distinguishes the Emergency Preparedness Bureau from day- to-day emergency response planning performed by other Fire Department Bureaus and the Carlsbad Police Department. 

The Emergency Preparedness Bureau maintains the capability to manage large-scale incident response actions through the Emergency Operations Center. The bureau maintains a close relationship with the San Diego County Unified Disaster Council and County Office of Emergency Services to maximize mutual aid support to city disaster recovery efforts. 

The Emergency Preparedness Bureau trains city personnel and provides resources to establish shelters at city facilities should the need arise. The bureau also manages the City of Carlsbad Community Emergency Response Team and is co-chair of the Ready Carlsbad Business Alliance, a relationship between the Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce, the city and local businesses.