Emergency & Disaster Preparedness

The 2024-26 reality: Watch Duty has become the default wildfire app in the western US, post-Helene / Milton hurricane prep sharpened apps in the Southeast, and Nextdoor / municipal alerts matter more than the federal apps for most events. For backup-power / generator integration see EV & Solar and Smart Home Hubs; for photographing valuables for insurance see Home Inventory & Insurance; for vital-document backup see Insurance & Vital Documents; for backup / DR philosophy generally see Backup & Disaster Recovery; for family location during an event see Family Location Sharing.

Disaster-specific apps

• ★ ★ Watch Duty — free; the 2026 default for wildfires in the western US (now expanding); volunteer reporters + scanners; clean map + push alerts. Donor-funded nonprofit. Saved many homes in 2023-25 fire seasons.
  • https://www.watchduty.org/
• ★ FEMA App — free; federal alerts (NWS, weather, shelter info, disaster-declaration), preparedness checklists. Useful but slow vs. local sources.
• Red Cross First Aid + Emergency + Pet First Aid — free; first-aid reference + emergency-prep checklists. (Pet First Aid noted but pet care is out of scope here.)
• CitizenAlert / Citizen — free + paid; city-level real-time incidents; loud / over-stimulating; useful in dense cities.
• PulsePoint — free; CPR-needed alerts (you opt in to be notified if someone nearby needs CPR and an AED is nearby). Hero-tier app.
• Hurricane apps: NWS Hurricane Center, Hurricane Tracker, MyRadar — free; tied to NHC data.
• Earthquake apps: MyShake (UC Berkeley) — free; ShakeAlert-driven phone alerts; USGS earthquake notifications.
• Tornado apps: RadarScope (paid; pro-grade), MyRadar (free), iWant (free).

Local / community alerts

• ★ Nextdoor — free + paid; neighborhood alerts (downed power lines, suspicious activity, lost / found dogs, "the road is closed"). Often faster than official sources for hyperlocal stuff.
• Local emergency management Twitter / X / Facebook / Bluesky — free; varies by jurisdiction.
• NOAA Weather Radio — paid hardware ($30-100); the no-internet failsafe.
• Ham radio — paid hardware + license; the no-cell failsafe; see also SDR / Ham.
• Municipal opt-in SMS alerts — most US counties have one (Nixle / Smart911 / OnSolve); free.

Preparedness apps

• ★ The Red Cross suite — free; emergency + first-aid + tornado + earthquake + hurricane apps. Checklist-flavored. Underrated.
• FEMA app — same.
• Ready.gov — free website; the federal preparedness reference; not an app, but the canonical checklist source.

Document + valuable photo strategy

• Photograph everything for insurance — see Home Inventory & Insurance.
• Vital docs in a fire safe + a cloud copy + an off-site copy — see Insurance & Vital Documents.
• A grab-and-go thumb drive with scanned vitals, encrypted (Cryptomator / VeraCrypt).

The go-bag (the canonical list)

Updated annually. Stored by the door / in the car.

• Documents: photocopies of passports, IDs, insurance cards, medical info, kids' info, a thumb drive with the rest.
• Cash: $200-500 in small bills (ATMs go down).
• Water: 1 gallon per person per day, 3 days minimum.
• Food: 3 days non-perishable.
• Medications: 7-day supply minimum + prescriptions list.
• First aid kit.
• Phone chargers + power bank.
• Flashlight + batteries.
• Local maps (paper, in case data is out).
• Whistle, multi-tool, gloves, dust mask (N95), hand-warmers, weather-appropriate clothes.
• Comfort items for kids — a stuffed animal, a coloring book.
• A list of phone numbers memorized or written.

Backup power

• Portable solar generator (EcoFlow Delta, Bluetti, Anker SOLIX, Jackery) — paid; the 2024-26 sweet spot for most homes; runs the fridge for 1-2 days off a single charge.
• Whole-home battery (Tesla Powerwall, Enphase IQ Battery, FranklinWH) — paid; pairs with solar; see EV & Solar.
• Standby generators (Generac, Kohler) — paid; natural-gas / propane; for "the power is out for 4 days" rural areas.
• Honda EU-series inverter generators — paid; the camping / backup default; loud but reliable.

Communication during outages

• iMessage / SMS still work without much bandwidth.
• Apple's emergency SOS via Satellite — free with iPhone 14+; works without cell.
• Garmin inReach / Spot X — paid hardware + subscription; satellite messaging anywhere.
• Ham radio — see above.

License / pricing

• Watch Duty, FEMA, Red Cross, MyShake, NWS, PulsePoint: free.
• Citizen: free + paid Citizen Protect.
• Nextdoor: free + paid premium.
• RadarScope: paid (~$10).
• NOAA Weather Radio, ham radio, Garmin inReach: paid hardware (+ subscription for inReach).
• Solar generators, whole-home batteries, standby generators: paid hardware.

Pick this if…

• Western US wildfire risk: Watch Duty (now the default; install today).
• Hurricane risk: NWS Hurricane app + your county's alert SMS + Nextdoor.
• Earthquake (CA / OR / WA): MyShake.
• Default everywhere: FEMA app + Red Cross emergency app + Nextdoor + your county's opt-in SMS.
• Backup power, basic: an EcoFlow / Bluetti portable + a manual transfer.
• Backup power, whole-home: Powerwall + solar (see EV & Solar) or a standby Generac.
• No-cell-no-internet failsafe: an NOAA radio + a Garmin inReach + a ham license.
• Most important free thing you'll do today: make a go-bag and back up your vital docs off-site.