What are the most important emergency preparedness steps for older adults?

The five highest-priority steps for older adult emergency preparedness: (1) Build and store a household medical profile — diagnoses, medications, devices, insurance, and emergency contacts in one accessible document. (2) Establish a 30-day medication buffer for all maintenance prescriptions. (3) Stock spare hearing aid batteries, a backup pair of glasses, and at least a few days of denture supplies. (4) Have a written caregiver backup chain — if the primary caregiver is unavailable, who comes next? (5) Register with your county's special needs registry and your utility's medical program if you use power-dependent equipment.

What should adult children do to prepare for emergencies involving aging parents?

Three specific actions: First, obtain or help build a household medical profile for the parent — medications, diagnoses, providers, insurance, and emergency contacts — and receive a digital copy so you can coordinate care remotely. Second, have a direct conversation with the parent's primary caregiver (home health aide, neighbor, friend) to confirm they have the medical profile and know the caregiver backup chain. Third, identify the county Area Agency on Aging — they can connect families with local resources including emergency assistance, meal delivery alternatives, and caregiver support programs.

How do I plan for a caregiver absence during an emergency?

A caregiver backup chain should be written before any emergency: Who is the primary caregiver? If they are unavailable, who is the first backup? If that person is also unavailable, who is the second backup? And at what point do community resources — home health agency, faith community, neighbor network — step in? Each person in the chain should have the household medical profile and know the daily routine. This conversation and documentation should happen at a calm time, not during an emergency when the primary caregiver is already unavailable.

Medical Preparedness for Older Adults

Planning guidance, not medical advice

This page helps older adults and their caregivers plan for medical continuity during emergencies. It does not provide clinical guidance, dosage recommendations, or treatment protocols. Consult physicians, pharmacists, and specialists to ensure this planning fits the specific medical situation.

What this guide covers

The planning gap that most emergency guides leave open.

Most emergency preparedness content is written for a single household with one decision-maker. Older adults are more likely to have multiple dependencies that affect emergency planning: medications managed by a caregiver, transportation provided by a home health aide, meals delivered daily, equipment powered by the grid.

When a disaster affects those dependencies — and it often affects all of them simultaneously — the household needs a plan that accounts for every one of them, not just the food and water. Ready.gov identifies older adults as a population with specific preparedness needs that require individualized planning beyond the standard household checklist.¹

This guide serves two audiences simultaneously: older adults planning for themselves, and family members or caregivers planning on their behalf. Many of the planning actions here are conversations — between an older adult and their family, between a caregiver and a backup caregiver, between a patient and their physician before storm season.

Scope — what this guide does not cover

Dementia and cognitive care planning in depth → Dementia & Cognitive Care guide

Mobility and evacuation planning in depth → Disability & Access Needs

Backup power for CPAP, oxygen concentrators → Medical Devices and Power

Clinical management of any health condition — consult your physician and specialist

The three planning relationships this guide addresses

The older adult planning for themselves

The eight planning categories in this guide are each something an older adult can act on directly — building the medication buffer, stocking spare hearing aid batteries, calling the utility to register for the medical program. Many older adults live independently and are their own primary planner. This guide treats that as the default.

The family member or adult child who helps

Adult children — especially those who don't live nearby — frequently discover during a disaster that they don't have the basic information they need to coordinate care: what medications a parent takes, who the doctor is, what the insurance card number is. The household medical profile solves this. Getting one, having a copy, and knowing the backup caregiver chain is the planning this guide recommends for remote family members.

The caregiver who needs a backup plan

Home health aides, visiting nurses, and family caregivers are often also affected by the same disaster that affects the person they care for. The caregiver backup chain — who provides care when the primary caregiver can't — is the most commonly missing piece in older adult emergency planning, and the one covered in dedicated detail in Section 3 of this guide.

¹ Ready.gov. "Older Americans." Ready.gov/older-americans — identifies specific preparedness planning needs for older adults, including medications, medical equipment, transportation, and caregiver arrangements.

What to plan for

Eight categories. Each with specific actions to take before any emergency.

Medications

Older adults typically take more maintenance medications than younger people — and many of those medications cannot be safely skipped or interrupted. The buffer and documentation strategies from the general Prescription Preparedness guide apply here, with added complexity from polypharmacy (managing many medications across multiple providers).

Build a 30-day buffer on every maintenance medication by refilling at 10-14 days remaining instead of near zero

Keep a printed medication list — brand name, generic name, dose, prescribing doctor, pharmacy — accessible to every person in the caregiver chain

Ask the pharmacist which medications require refrigeration and what the short-term room-temperature window is for each

Confirm that every person who manages medications (the older adult, a family member, a home health aide) knows the complete list — not just the bottles they personally handle

Ask the prescribing physician about emergency refill authorization before storm season

Hearing Aids, Glasses, and Dentures

These three categories are missing from nearly every general emergency preparedness guide — and among the most consequential items for older adults. A hearing aid with dead batteries during an emergency effectively isolates a person when verbal communication is most critical. Broken or lost glasses dramatically reduce independence and evacuation capability. Forgotten dentures affect both nutrition and communication.

Hearing aids: Keep a 60-day supply of batteries in the go-bag and at home. Label the supply with the battery size (10, 312, 13, 675). Include a portable battery charger if using rechargeable hearing aids.

Glasses: Keep a spare pair with current prescription in the go-bag. Even an older pair is better than nothing. Document the prescription in the household medical profile so a replacement can be ordered if the spares are lost.

Dentures: Keep denture adhesive and cleaning supplies in the go-bag alongside any emergency food supplies. If dentures are damaged, soft foods become the dietary option — plan the emergency food supply accordingly.

Include a note in the household medical profile: "Requires hearing aids," "Wears corrective lenses," "Full dentures" — so anyone providing care knows immediately

Mobility and Evacuation Planning

A household evacuation plan that doesn't account for mobility limitations is incomplete. If stairs, ground-floor exits, or vehicle transfers require assistance, that assistance must be named and available — not assumed. The mobility planning here is brief; the full treatment is in the Disability and Access Needs guide.

Walk the household evacuation route and identify every point that requires assistance — stairs, doorways, vehicle transfer, distance to the car

Name who provides that assistance — specifically, by name, not "a neighbor"

Note any assistive devices in the household medical profile: walker, cane, wheelchair, crutches, prosthetics — and who handles them during an evacuation

For powered wheelchairs: charge before any forecast event and include the chair's power cable in the go-bag staging area

Register with the county special needs registry — emergency management offices use this to prioritize transportation assistance during evacuations²

Power-Dependent Equipment

Oxygen concentrators, CPAP and BiPAP machines, powered wheelchairs, electric hospital beds, and nebulizers all require power. The full backup planning process — wattage, battery sizing, utility registration — is covered in the Medical Devices and Power Outages guide. The summary for this page:

Locate the wattage of every powered medical device — it is on the label on the back or bottom of the unit

Identify an appropriate backup power source for each device before an outage — the device type determines whether a battery station or generator is needed

Register with the electric utility's medical baseline or life-support program — call customer service and ask for this specifically

Establish the relocation threshold: at what outage duration does relocation become the right choice? Discuss with the prescribing physician, not during the outage

Heat and Cold Vulnerability

Older adults are disproportionately affected by temperature extremes during power outages and weather events. The CDC identifies older adults as a high-risk population for both heat-related illness and hypothermia.³ Some blood pressure and diuretic medications can increase heat vulnerability — ask a physician whether any medications in the household have this effect and what the monitoring or response plan should be.

Identify the nearest cooling center and warming center before summer and winter seasons — local emergency management offices maintain these lists

Have a specific plan for extended power loss during both summer and winter — not "we'll figure it out," but a named destination, a named person who assists with travel, and a threshold for when to go

Ask the prescribing physician whether any medications increase heat sensitivity or cold vulnerability — this is a planning question for a routine appointment, not an emergency question

Include a battery-powered fan and emergency blanket in the household go-bag staging area regardless of season

Meal Delivery and Food Supply

Meals on Wheels and similar programs are often suspended during major weather events and disasters. For older adults who depend on daily meal delivery for a significant portion of their nutritional intake, the disruption of this service is a direct health risk — particularly for those with limited mobility who cannot easily prepare food independently or shop during an emergency.

Maintain a 3-5 day supply of shelf-stable foods that require little or no preparation — crackers, peanut butter, canned goods with pull-top lids, nutrition drinks

If the household has medical dietary requirements (renal, diabetic, low-sodium), ensure the emergency food supply meets those requirements — standard emergency food is often inappropriate for medical diets

Include the meal delivery program's contact number in the household emergency contacts — they may have a disaster check-in protocol for recipients

Identify a neighbor, family member, or community volunteer who can bring food during a service disruption — this is a named person, confirmed in advance

Dementia and Routine Disruption

For older adults with dementia or significant cognitive impairment, emergency disruptions carry an additional layer of risk: routine disruption itself is distressing and can accelerate cognitive symptoms. This topic is covered in depth in the Dementia and Cognitive Care guide. The key planning notes for this general guide:

The caregiver backup chain (Section 3) is particularly critical — routine disruption is compounded by caregiver unfamiliarity

Include in the household medical profile: current diagnosis, daily routine (meal times, sleep times, comfort items), and what to do if the person becomes agitated

Medical alert ID — a wearable tag with name, address, and caregiver contact — is recommended for anyone who might wander during an emergency disruption

Relocation planning should account for the cognitive disruption of an unfamiliar environment — whenever possible, relocate with familiar items (blanket, family photos, preferred foods) and familiar people

Community Connection and Registration

Most older adults who need assistance during emergencies do not need an institution — they need a neighbor who checks in, a transportation volunteer who calls, or a community organization that knows their address. These connections are built before emergencies, not during them.

County special needs registry — register with your local emergency management office for evacuation assistance and welfare checks. Find your office at Ready.gov.

Area Agency on Aging — find your local AAA at eldercare.acl.gov. They connect older adults with local emergency resources, caregiver support, and meal alternatives⁴

Utility medical program — register for priority notification if you use power-dependent medical equipment

Identify two neighbors by name who have agreed to check in during a power outage or major storm — not "the neighbor" but two specific named people with phone numbers in the household contacts

² Ready.gov. "People with Disabilities and Access and Functional Needs." Ready.gov/people-disabilities. ³ CDC. "Extreme Heat and Your Health: Older Adults." CDC.gov/extreme-heat. ⁴ Administration for Community Living. "Eldercare Locator." Eldercare.acl.gov — connects older adults and caregivers with local services including emergency assistance programs.

The most commonly missing piece

The caregiver backup chain — written down before anyone needs it.

The single most common gap in older adult emergency preparedness is not the medication list or the go-bag. It is the caregiver backup chain. Who provides care when the primary caregiver — home health aide, visiting nurse, family member — is also affected by the same disaster?

This question should have a written answer before any emergency, not an improvised one during it. The chain does not need to be elaborate. It needs to be specific: named people, phone numbers, and a shared understanding of what they're agreeing to do.

The four-link backup chain

Primary caregiver

Name, relationship, phone number. What they do on a typical day. This person has the household medical profile.

First backup caregiver

A specific named person — family member, neighbor, friend — who has agreed in advance to cover when the primary is unavailable. They also have the household medical profile. The agreement should be explicit ("will you be my backup during an emergency?") not assumed.

Second backup caregiver

A second specific named person, different from the first backup. During a major regional disaster, the first backup may also be affected.

Community resources

The Area Agency on Aging, faith community, home health agency (even if not currently using one — having the number), or a community volunteer program. The fallback when all personal contacts are unavailable.

What every person in the chain needs

A copy of the household medical profile

The location of medications and emergency supplies in the home

Knowledge of the daily routine (meal times, medication schedule, sleep schedule)

The names and numbers of the other people in the chain, so they can coordinate

For adult children and remote family members

Three things to do before the next major storm.

Get a copy of the household medical profile

A password-protected digital copy of your parent or family member's medical profile means you can answer the questions a physician, pharmacist, or emergency room will ask — without a panicked phone tree. If this document doesn't exist, build it together during the next visit. If it does exist, confirm you have the current version and the password to open it.

Confirm the caregiver backup chain exists and is mutual

Ask directly: "Who is your backup if [primary caregiver] can't be there?" If the answer is "I don't have one" or "I'll figure it out," that is the gap to close on this visit. Help identify the two backup people. Make the calls. Confirm the chain is real — not just named but agreed to by the people in it.

Find the local Area Agency on Aging

Every region has an AAA — federally-funded local agencies that connect older adults and caregivers with services including emergency assistance, meal alternatives, caregiver respite programs, and transportation help. Note the number before any emergency. Eldercare Locator: eldercare.acl.gov or 1-800-677-1116.

Who to contact

Primary care physician — for the emergency refill conversation, heat/cold vulnerability discussion, and to review the household medical profile for accuracy.

Pharmacist — for the medication list, refrigeration requirements, emergency dispensing protocols, and whether a 90-day supply is available.

Area Agency on Aging — for local emergency resources, caregiver support, and meal delivery alternatives. eldercare.acl.gov or 1-800-677-1116.

Local emergency management office — for special needs registry registration and evacuation assistance programs. Find your office at Ready.gov.

Electric utility — for medical baseline or life-support program registration if power-dependent equipment is used.

For older adults and the people who help them.