Shelter · Shelter Basics
What shelter means in preparedness.
Staying home, sheltering in place, a public shelter, a relative's spare room: each is a kind of shelter, and each depends on knowing what a home has to do.
By Dan Whelan, founder of New World Survival
Researched from government agencies, university extension services, and other published sources. See our sources
The core idea
Shelter is not a building. It is a home that keeps working.
Ready.gov describes sheltering as seeking protection in your home, your workplace, or another location when conditions require it. The stay can be as short as a tornado warning or much longer.[1] In every case the agency gives the same instruction: stay informed and follow local authorities.[1]
Most of the time, that location is your own home. That is why shelter sits underneath every other part of preparedness. Water, food, power, medicine, and communication all need a place to be kept and used, and that place has to stay warm or cool, dry, and safe enough to live in.
This guide explains the four ways a household takes shelter, the difference between being at home and being sheltered, and how to tell when home has stopped doing its job.
In this guide
- Staying home, sheltering in place, mass care shelters, and evacuating to family or friends
- Why being at home is not the same as being sheltered
- Signs that home has stopped working as shelter
- How shelter supports water, food, energy, medical, and communication planning
- Not covered here: step-by-step protocols for each hazard. The Shelter Priorities by Situation guide has those.
Four ways to take shelter
Staying home is only one of them. Each fits a different situation.
Ready.gov separates sheltering into three kinds: staying at home, sheltering in place, and going to a mass care shelter.[1] This guide adds a fourth: evacuating to people you know.
Staying home
Life goes on indoors, with fewer trips out.
- Ready.gov calls this stay-at-home: remain indoors as much as possible and leave only when necessary. Yards, porches, and short walks are still fine.[1]
- Typical cause: a long power outage, a winter storm, or a public health order.
- What home has to provide: heat or cooling, water, food, light, and information for days.
Sheltering in place
Staying exactly where you are because outside is the risk.
- Used when the air outside may be contaminated or debris is flying. Bring people and pets in, close windows and vents, and turn off fans and forced-air systems.[1]
- Sealing a room with plastic sheeting and duct tape is a temporary barrier against contaminated outside air, and it takes planning ahead.[1]
- Typical cause: a tornado warning, a chemical release, or a radiation emergency. A tornado warning may last minutes; Ready.gov says sheltering in a radiation emergency usually lasts at least 24 hours.[1][2]
A mass care shelter
A community or Red Cross shelter when home is not an option.
- Mass care shelters often provide water, food, medicine, and basic sanitation, but Ready.gov still advises bringing your own supply kit.[1]
- All shelters accept service animals. Many public shelters and hotels do not allow pets, so plan a place for pets ahead of time.[1]
- To find an open shelter, text SHELTER and your ZIP code to 43362.[1]
Evacuating to family or friends
Leaving early for a place you have already arranged.
- If officials order an evacuation, go immediately.[3][4]
- Ready.gov suggests making plans with friends or family to stay with them, where you may be safer and more comfortable than in a public shelter.[4]
- What home has to provide: nothing, except a plan for pets, medicines, and documents to take with you.
At home vs. sheltered
Being home is not the same as being sheltered.
A house with no heat in January, no water, or a generator running in the garage is a place you happen to be, not shelter. The difference is whether the home still does five jobs.
The five jobs of a home
- 1Warmth and coolingA safe temperature without the furnace or air conditioner.
- 2DrynessWater kept out, and wet areas dried before mold starts.
- 3SafetyWorking smoke and CO alarms, safe heat, and basic sanitation.
- 4InformationA radio and alerts that work without home power.
- 5A place to think clearlyLight, clear exits, and the basics in one known place.
Each job is laid out step by step on the Shelter Basics page.
When home stops being shelter
Staying put is not a test of toughness. These are the signs that leaving is the safer choice:
- The home is too hot or too cold to stay in safely. The Red Cross advises leaving for a warming or cooling center, a library, or a friend's home when that happens.[5][6]
- Someone depends on a medical device that needs power the home cannot supply.[5]
- The building is damaged. After an earthquake, Ready.gov says to go outside, move away from a damaged building, and not go back in.[7]
- Water is rising and the only way up is a closed attic. Go to the highest level instead, and onto the roof only if necessary.[3]
- Local officials order an evacuation.[3][4]
Decide ahead of time where you would go. The decision is easier to make on a calm afternoon than at 2 a.m. in a cold house.
Why it comes first
Every other part of preparedness needs a home that works.
Each domain on this site assumes a place to keep supplies and use them. Shelter is that place.
Water
Ready.gov's kit list plans one gallon per person per day, for drinking and sanitation, for several days.[8] Stored water needs a cool, dry place in the home to sit.
Food
A closed refrigerator keeps food cold for about four hours, and a full freezer holds for about 48.[5] After that, a shelf of non-perishable food is what you eat.
Energy
Backup power only helps if it runs safely: generators outdoors, more than 20 feet from windows, doors, and vents.[9]
Medical
The Red Cross advises a power outage plan for refrigerated medicines and powered medical devices, made with your provider.[5]
Communications
A battery or hand-crank radio keeps working when other forms of communication fail.[2]
Community
Checking on neighbors and relatives who live alone is part of what keeps a street sheltered.[6]
Common mistakes
Five ideas about shelter worth correcting.
Is it always safer to stay home in an emergency?
No. Staying home is right for many situations, but not all of them. Ready.gov says some chemical incidents call for sheltering inside and others for evacuating, and the instructions depend on the threat.[10] Follow local officials, and leave if the home is too hot, too cold, damaged, or flooding.
Should I seal a room with plastic for every emergency?
No. Sealing a room is a temporary barrier against contaminated outside air, such as a chemical release.[1] It is not a way to keep warm in a power outage. For warmth, use one small room with the doors closed and heat it only with equipment made for indoor use.
Will a public shelter take my pets?
Not always. All shelters accept service animals, but many public shelters and hotels do not allow pets inside.[1] Arrange a pet-friendly place with family, friends, or a boarding option before you need it.
Does shelter preparedness only apply to homeowners?
No. Most of the five jobs are about habits and supplies, not construction. Renters can do nearly all of it, and the renters guide covers the parts that need a landlord.
Is a generator the same as being prepared to shelter at home?
No. A generator covers one job, power, and only when it runs safely outdoors, more than 20 feet from windows, doors, and vents.[9] Warmth, dryness, smoke and CO alarms, information, and light still need their own plans.
Connected guides
Where to go from here.
Shelter Priorities by Situation
Stay, go, or shelter in place: the right response for fire, tornado, flood, earthquake, chemical release, and more.
The Home Preparedness Walkthrough
A room-by-room check of how well your home does each of the five jobs.
Emergency Zones in the Home
One known place for light, radio, first aid, power, and water.
Shelter-in-Place
Protocols for staying put by hazard, including sealing a room.
Staying Home Through a Long Disruption
When staying home runs into weeks instead of days.
Staying Safe in a Disaster Shelter
What to bring and what to expect in a mass care shelter.
Sources
- FEMA. "Shelter." Ready.gov. Accessed October 2026.
- FEMA. "Radiation Emergencies." Ready.gov. Accessed October 2026.
- FEMA. "Floods." Ready.gov. Accessed October 2026.
- FEMA. "Wildfires." Ready.gov. Accessed October 2026.
- American Red Cross. "Power Outage Safety." redcross.org. Accessed October 2026.
- American Red Cross. "Winter Storm Safety." redcross.org. Accessed October 2026.
- FEMA. "Earthquakes." Ready.gov. Accessed October 2026.
- FEMA. "Build A Kit." Ready.gov. Accessed October 2026.
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Basics." January 2026. cdc.gov. Accessed October 2026.
- FEMA. "Chemicals and Hazardous Materials Incidents." Ready.gov. Accessed October 2026.
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