Medical Preparedness · Disaster-Specific Medical Planning
Disaster-Specific Medical Planning: each hazard asks something different.
The general medical guides cover what applies to most disruptions. This page maps four common hazards to the medical planning adjustment each one needs.
By Dan Whelan, founder of New World Survival
Researched from government agencies, university extension services, and other published sources. See our sources
Planning guidance, not medical advice. This section helps households prepare for medical continuity during disruptions. Work with your doctor, pharmacist, and specialist for your household's specific medical needs.
What this category covers
Same household, same medicines, different hazards.
A power outage threatens equipment and refrigerated medicine. Heat can interact with some medicines. Floodwater can make medicine unsafe. Smoke calls for extra planning for anyone with a heart or lung condition. The starting point for all four is the same: a complete household medical profile.
Each hazard has a specific medical adjustment, and federal agencies have published guidance for each. The sections below summarize what that guidance asks of a household, then point to the full hazard guide in Local Risks.
What these guides do not cover
- Responding to heat illness, hypothermia, or carbon monoxide: Head, Dental, and Environmental Emergencies
- Full before, during, and after guidance for each hazard: Local Risks
- Generator and carbon monoxide safety: Generator Safety for Medical Users
Where to start
Four hazards. One adjustment each.
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Power outage: plan the devices and the cold medicine.
FDA advises telling your electric company and fire department about any device that needs power,1 and CDC advises keeping insulin cool but never frozen.2
Medical Devices and Power Outages
Hazard guides in Local Risks
The full hazard guides, with the medical piece included.
Power Outage
How outages unfold, how long they last, and what to do before, during, and after.
Read the guide
Heat Wave
Cooling, hydration, and checking on people most affected by heat.
Read the guide
Flood
Flood risk, evacuation decisions, and returning home safely.
Read the guide
Wildfire
Smoke, air quality, and evacuation planning for wildfire season.
Read the guide
Common questions
Planning questions, answered plainly.
Can I use medicine that got wet in a flood?
FDA warns that medicines exposed to floodwater or water that may be contaminated can become unsafe to use.4 Ask your pharmacist about a replacement.
Does heat affect medications?
Yes. CDC notes that medications and heat can interact, and that insulin can be degraded by heat. CDC advises not leaving medicines in a car or other places that can get excessively hot.3 Ask your pharmacist whether your medicines are affected.
Should people with lung or heart conditions wear an N95 in wildfire smoke?
EPA's first recommendation is to limit time outdoors when there is smoke in the air. N95 respirators significantly reduce exposure when worn according to the manufacturer's instructions, but EPA advises anyone with heart or lung problems, or who is pregnant, to ask a doctor before using one.5
Sources
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration. FDA Offers Tips about Medical Devices and Natural Disasters. https://www.fda.gov/medical-devices/emergency-situations-medical-devices/fda-offers-tips-about-medical-devices-and-natural-disasters. Accessed October 6, 2026.
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Managing Insulin in an Emergency. https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/articles/managing-insulin-in-emergency.html. Accessed October 6, 2026.
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Heat and Medications: Guidance for Clinicians. https://www.cdc.gov/heat-health/hcp/clinical-guidance/heat-and-medications-guidance-for-clinicians.html. Accessed October 6, 2026.
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Safe Drug Use After a Natural Disaster. https://www.fda.gov/drugs/emergency-preparedness-drugs/safe-drug-use-after-natural-disaster. Accessed October 6, 2026.
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Protect Yourself from Wildfire Smoke and Ash. https://www.epa.gov/wildfires/protect-yourself-wildfire-smoke-and-ash. Accessed October 6, 2026.
Connected guides
Disaster-Specific Medical Planning connects to the rest of your plan.
First Aid
The hands-on half: emergencies, wounds, burns, and the household kit.
Medical Devices and Power
Backup power for equipment.
Medications and Prescriptions
Supply and storage planning.
Chronic Conditions
Condition-specific hazard planning.
Indoor Air Quality During Outages
Ventilating safely when the power is out.