Prepared and Protected: Disaster Readiness Tips for Seniors

It’s an unseasonably warm spring evening and the sky is growing dark. You’re nervously watching the weather radar and wondering if you should take cover.

Disasters such as tornadoes, fires, and power outages can cause significant anxiety, especially if you or a loved one has limited mobility. Having a simple plan can reduce anxiety and make it easier for you to act when the unexpected happens.

In this article, we’ll share important safety tips and mobility specific planning to help you stay calm, stay mobile, and stay connected during severe weather and other emergencies.

Understanding Your Risks

Common emergencies vary by region. Wildfires, floods, severe winter storms, and tornadoes are more likely in some areas, while power outages and house fires can affect any community. Understanding which emergencies are most likely where you live helps you plan how to move to safety with your mobility devices.

If you or a loved one experiences mobility challenges, your response plan needs to account for extra time, stair free routes, and specialized equipment like power wheelchairs, walkers, or scooters. Clear communication about these needs helps everyone stay calm and reduces last-minute scrambling.

If you don’t already have a trusted local source for emergency alerts, find one you can rely on, such as your city or county alert system, local news station, or weather radio. Ready.gov and many state emergency management offices also offer disability and access needs planning tips that can help you stay connected during an emergency.

Build a Personalized, Mobility Friendly Emergency Plan

A good emergency plan is built around your physical abilities, home layout, mobility devices, support network, and the specific emergencies you might face. For example, if you live in an area that’s prone to tornadoes, choose an accessible, safe place to go when you hear the tornado siren. If you need to leave the house due to a fire, pick a safe meeting point for everyone in your household that you can reach using a wheelchair or walker.

Establish an emergency contact chain and designate helpers who can assist quickly in the event of an emergency. Helpers may be neighbors, family, caregivers, or members of your personal support network, and they should understand your mobility needs and how to help you evacuate safely. Make or find an evacuation route that accommodates mobility equipment with ramps, wide doors, and elevators where needed for your living space.

Tip: Keep your emergency plan, including contact information and a simple evacuation map, clearly visible inside your home, such as on the refrigerator or near the main entry.

You can also contact your local fire department and emergency management team to let them know that someone in your home relies on a wheelchair, power chair, or other essential mobility equipment.

If your wheelchair is battery-operated or you depend on powered medical devices, let your power company know; some maintain lists of customers who depend on electricity so they can prioritize power restoration when possible.

Create a Ready Kit for Mobility Needs

Ready.gov offers extensive resources to aid in emergency preparedness, including guidance for people with disabilities and access needs. Recommendations include having enough food, water, and supplies to last you several days. In addition to basic items, you may need supplies for pets, service animals, or the older adults you care for.

For a basic emergency supply kit, you’ll need:

• One gallon of water per person per day (for drinking and sanitation)
• Several days’ supply of nonperishable food
• Battery powered or hand crank radio and/or NOAA Weather Radio with tone alert
• Flashlight or battery powered lantern
• First aid kit
• Extra batteries
• Whistle
• Dust mask
• Wrench or pliers to turn off utilities
• Cell phone with chargers and a backup battery
• Plastic sheeting, scissors, and duct tape (to shelter in place)

Other helpful items include soap and hand sanitizer, prescription medications, over-the-counter medications such as pain relievers and antacids, prescription eyeglasses, cash or traveler’s checks, sleeping bags or warm blankets. You may also want to keep copies of important documents such as insurance policies, identification, and bank account records in a waterproof, portable container or saved electronically.

Keep your “go bag” in good condition and replace expired or used items as needed. Update your kit regularly as your family’s needs and mobility equipment change.

If you or a loved one uses a mobility device, keep extra batteries or chargers for power chairs and scooters easily accessible. It’s a good idea to have a manual mobility backup option if needed; a transport chair, lightweight walker, or cane often works well for short-term use. Nonslip gloves and sturdy shoes can help you navigate uneven ground or debris more safely. Store your kit near the main exit of your home or by your bedside so it’s within easy reach if moving is difficult.

Staying Safe During Specific Emergencies

Being prepared for different situations can help you and your family avoid indecision in the event of an emergency. Below are tips for handling tornadoes, fires, and floods or power outages, with mobility challenges in mind.

Note: If you have a pet or service animal, find a safe place to take them if you need to evacuate, since some hotels and shelters won't allow pets. Ensure your pets are microchipped and keep the contact information up to date, including an emergency contact who doesn’t live in your immediate area.

Tornadoes

Determine where safe shelter options are for people with limited mobility in your home. A basement or storm shelter is ideal, but if you don’t have one or it’s difficult to access with a wheelchair or walker, an interior room on the lowest floor is best. Look for a closet, hallway, or bathroom and stay away from windows, putting as many walls as possible between you and the outdoors.

If you use a power chair or wheelchair, plan to shelter in it when possible, but turn off the power to preserve battery life and use manual mode until you’re clear to exit. Flying debris causes most tornado injuries, so protect your head and neck with a pillow, mattress, blankets, or your arms. A bike helmet/hard hat, safety goggles, a large winter coat, and closed toed shoes can all be valuable additions to your emergency go bag to help protect your body during a tornado.

After the tornado, check the area for dangerous debris or any items that might fall before you try to exit your shelter. If you’re trapped, move as little as possible and keep your mouth covered with a cloth or mask to avoid breathing dust. Leave right away if you smell gas or notice spills that might be flammable.

Fires

Take time to find the fastest ways to evacuate your building using your power chair, scooter, or manual wheelchair, and ensure these paths stay clear. If you live in a multi-unit building, ask management about their evacuation procedures for wheelchair users and whether they have designated Areas of Refuge or evacuation chairs.

Install smoke alarms with visual and vibration alerts if you have hearing or vision impairment. Designate a safe meeting place away from your home to use if you need to evacuate quickly and make sure everyone in your support network knows where it is. If you live in an area that is prone to wildfires, prepare to leave the area as soon as possible if your home is in the danger zone and arrange accessible transportation in advance through family, friends, or local services.

Floods or Power Outages

Keep your essential devices charged and be prepared to evacuate if flooding is anticipated, especially if you need extra time to move with mobility equipment. If you can’t leave, find a way to get to higher ground or to a higher floor in your building safely, using accessible routes whenever possible.

Power outages can be especially challenging if you use a power wheelchair or medical equipment. Consider backup options such as manual mobility devices, portable chargers, or asking local emergency management about accessible shelters that can accommodate charging needs.

Evacuating from a Building with Stairs

If you need to evacuate from a building with stairs and can't use the elevator, the United Spinal Association offers several strategies for wheelchair users and people with limited mobility.

Get to know the Areas of Refuge or designated stairwells in your building before an emergency. Wheelchair users can call emergency services for assistance from these locations if they are alone or cannot be carried.

If you live in a building with multiple floors, consider keeping a backup wheelchair on the ground floor in case you need to be carried down the stairs; ask building management where you can safely store this chair and what plan they have for evacuating wheelchair users who aren’t on the ground floor.

Alternatively, find out if an evacuation chair is available and where it’s located in the building, and practice how to use it with your support network whenever drills are offered.

Communication Is Key

Staying connected before, during, and after a disaster helps you and your family save time and reduce stress. You can’t predict exactly what might happen, but having a clearly defined plan for how to handle the most common disasters in your area can make communicating easier and help you all stay safe. Maintain a written plan with relevant contact information in an easy-to-find location and share it with your caregivers, neighbors, and family.

Alert systems can also be very helpful, particularly if you live alone. Medical alert bracelets, phone apps, emergency text alerts from your city or county, and weather radios with alerts are all options to explore with your loved ones.

Being prepared for disasters can reduce fear and confusion when the unexpected occurs. Light practice drills or “readiness days” with family, neighbors, or caregivers can help everyone feel more confident and give you a chance to test evacuation routes with your mobility equipment. Being prepared gives you and your loved ones peace of mind and helps you maintain your independence.

Strength in Readiness

Over the years, you’ve handled some of life’s biggest challenges, and you can handle this, too. The best emergency plan is one you’ve practiced, so take the time now to make and rehearse your mobility-friendly preparedness plans.

Download our free printable preparedness checklist today, share it with your care team, and take the next small step toward feeling safer and more confident—no matter what the weather brings.