You've prepared for this. You've practiced your plan. Now it's time to put it into action.

GRAB Prep2Survive's official "How to manage the first hour of preparedness" checklist and supply list. 

When an emergency happens, the first hour can feel overwhelming. Your phone may be buzzing with alerts. The power might be out. News reports may be confusing, and friends or family members may be calling to find out what's happening.

It's easy to panic, freeze, or waste precious time trying to figure out what to do first.

That's exactly why you prepared ahead of time.

You already thought through the possibilities. You gathered your supplies. You made a plan for your family. You identified what you would need if normal services were interrupted.

Now, pull out your plan. Take a breath. Follow the steps you've already practiced.

You don't need to solve every problem in the first hour. You need to protect life, gather reliable information, communicate with the people who matter, and take the immediate steps that will make the next several hours easier.

Here's how to get started.

Minutes 0–10: Protect Life and Assess What's Happening

Before you worry about supplies, water, or phone calls, make sure everyone is safe.

Check for immediate danger. Is there a fire, gas leak, structural damage, flooding, or another immediate threat?

Follow official instructions. If authorities order you to evacuate, leave promptly. If they instruct you to shelter in place, follow their directions.

Check on household members. Make sure children, older adults, people with disabilities, animals, and anyone who depends on medical equipment or assistance is accounted for.

Address urgent medical needs. Call 911 for life-threatening emergencies.

Get reliable information. Check official emergency alerts, local emergency-management updates, and trusted public-safety sources.

Don't assume every social media post is accurate.

During a crisis, misinformation can spread just as quickly as legitimate warnings.

Your first priority is safety—not completing your checklist.

Minutes 10–20: Pull Out Your Emergency Plan

This is the moment your preparation pays off.

You don't want to be making important decisions from scratch while you're stressed, distracted, or dealing with an outage.

Pull out your written emergency plan and work through it.

Your plan should identify:

Where household members will meet if separated.

Who needs to be contacted and how.

Where your emergency supplies are stored.

How to receive alerts if the internet or cell service fails.

What to do if you need to evacuate.

What to do if you are instructed to shelter in place.

Where essential medications, medical supplies, documents, flashlights, and backup batteries are located.

You've practiced this. You are ready. Now follow the plan.

If your household has agreed on an out-of-area contact, send a brief update when it is safe to do so. Text messages may work when calls are congested, although neither is guaranteed to work during a communications outage.

Keep messages short and useful. Let people know you're safe, where you are if appropriate, and what your immediate plans are.

Don't drain your phone battery with repeated calls, endless scrolling, or unverified rumors.

Minutes 20–30: Make the Calls You Need to Make

Now is the time to make essential calls or send messages—but prioritize them.

Contact the people who need to know your status or whose safety you need to confirm. If you have children at school, family members who require assistance, or someone who depends on you for care, follow your established communication plan.

Depending on the situation, you may need to:

Confirm that immediate family members are safe.

Coordinate a pickup or meeting location.

Contact a caregiver or someone who assists a vulnerable household member.

Notify a trusted neighbor if someone nearby may need help.

Contact a medical provider or pharmacy about an urgent, legitimate medical need.

If emergency services are needed, call the appropriate emergency number. Don't use emergency lines to request routine updates.

If the situation requires evacuation, do not delay leaving to finish making calls or collecting belongings. Safety comes first.

Make the necessary calls, communicate the essentials, and then conserve your battery. 

Now is a great time, to pull out all those phone batteries, make sure they are charged to 100%.  If not, plug them in STAT.   

Minutes 30–40: Secure Water and Assess Your Supplies

Water is one of the most important things to think about during an emergency.

If authorities have not issued a water-use restriction, contamination warning, or evacuation order, use this time to assess your available water and make sure you have access to what your household needs.

Should You Fill the Bathtub?

YES. If it's safe to do so, fill your bathtub early. Matter a fact, fill every sink, tub, bucket you can find.  Better safe than sorry!

If you receive an emergency alert or have reason to believe your water supply could be interrupted, don't wait until the taps stop running to think about water. Fill a clean bathtub or use a purpose-made bathtub water storage liner so you have extra water available when you need it.

You may never need it. That's okay! You can use the water afterward for appropriate non-drinking purposes, such as watering ornamental plants, rather than letting it go to waste.

This is what preparedness is all about: thinking ahead, taking action early, and giving yourself options.

A few important reminders:

• Only do this if it's safe and you aren't being told to evacuate.
• Follow local instructions if there is a water contamination warning or restriction.

• IMPORTANT: Keep bathtub water away from children and pets to prevent drowning.

• Treat bathtub water as non-drinking water unless it has been made safe using an appropriate method.

Don't wait until everyone else realizes they need water. Take a few minutes now to prepare.

Don't panic. Don't hesitate. Prepare early.

Better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it.

Bathtub water is generally best reserved for uses such as flushing toilets, when appropriate, rather than drinking or cooking. A bathtub is not a substitute for properly stored drinking water.

But don't stop there. Your emergency supplies should include more than stored water.

If you've followed the plan, you already have what you need. 

Stored drinking water: Keep sealed bottled water or water in clean, food-grade containers. A common guideline is at least one gallon per person/animal per day for three days, with extra for heat, illness, and special needs.

Portable water-filter straws: These can help make water from certain natural sources safer to drink when used according to the manufacturer's instructions. Check what each filter removes; many do not remove viruses, salt, or chemical contaminants.

Water purification tablets: Keep an appropriate supply and learn the correct dosage and contact time before an emergency. Not every tablet works against every type of contaminant.

A water filter or purification system: Consider a portable system suited to your household's needs and likely emergency conditions.

Clean water containers: Have food-grade containers available for collecting and storing safe water.

A way to boil water: If you have a safe means to heat water, boiling can kill many disease-causing germs. Follow public-health instructions, especially if chemical contamination is suspected.

Basic sanitation supplies: Keep soap, hand sanitizer, moist wipes, garbage bags, and other hygiene essentials available.

Important: If authorities issue a boil-water notice, do exactly what they recommend. If they warn that water may contain chemicals, fuel, or other toxins, boiling may not make it safe. Use a trusted alternative source and follow official guidance.

We cannot stress this enough - Keep bathtub water away from children and pets, and treat it as non-drinking water unless it has been made safe using an appropriate method.

The goal is to have more than one option if your normal water supply is interrupted.

Prepare now. Know how to use your equipment before you need it. When it comes to safe drinking water, having a backup plan matters.

Take a quick inventory

Check your emergency supplies:

Drinking water.

Shelf-stable food.

Prescription medications and essential medical supplies.

Flashlights and batteries.

Charged power banks.

First-aid supplies.

Hygiene products.

Pet food and water.

You don't have to unpack everything. Just confirm that you know where the essentials are and can access them quickly.

Minutes 40–50: Prepare for a Power or Communications Outage

If electricity is still available, use this time wisely.

• Charge phones and backup batteries.
• Locate flashlights and headlamps.
• Find your battery-powered or hand-crank radio.
• Identify any medical equipment that needs backup power.
• Keep refrigerator and freezer doors closed if an outage occurs.
• Save your phone battery by reducing screen brightness and limiting unnecessary use.

If you have a generator, use it only outdoors and well away from windows, doors, and air intakes, following the manufacturer's instructions. Never operate a generator, charcoal grill, or camping stove inside a home, garage, or other enclosed space.

If you rely on powered medical equipment, follow your backup plan and contact your medical equipment provider or emergency services if you cannot maintain safe operation.

Don't wait until the lights go out to look for the flashlight.

Minutes 50–60: Reassess, Check on Others, and Prepare for the Next Several Hours

By now, you should have a clearer picture of the situation.

Take a moment to reassess:

• Has the official guidance changed?
• Are all household members accounted for?
• Is it safer to remain where you are or to evacuate?
• Do you have enough drinking water, medications, and essential supplies?
• Does anyone nearby need help, and can you assist safely?
• What will you need if the disruption lasts overnight or longer?

Check on neighbors when it is safe, especially older adults or people who may have difficulty receiving emergency information. You can help one another without putting yourself or your family at risk.

If officials direct you to evacuate, go. Do not remain behind simply because you have supplies.

If sheltering in place is appropriate, organize your supplies, keep your phone available for essential communications, and stay informed through trusted sources.

The first hour is not about doing everything. It is about making the next decision easier and safer.

What NOT to Do in the First Hour

When information is incomplete and emotions are high, a few common mistakes can make a difficult situation worse.

Don't panic-buy. You prepared in advance so you wouldn't have to rush into crowded stores.

Don't spread unverified information. Confirm important claims through official sources before sharing them.

Don't waste time collecting nonessential belongings. If you need to evacuate, follow the evacuation instructions.

Don't assume tap water is safe. Pay attention to local advisories and contamination warnings.

Don't use unsafe heating, cooking, or power sources indoors. Carbon monoxide is invisible and potentially fatal.

Don't forget medications, medical equipment, or vulnerable household members. These needs may require special arrangements.

Don't assume the emergency will be over in an hour. Use your initial plan to prepare for the next stage.

The First Hour Is Why You Prepared in the First Place

Preparedness is not about predicting the exact day something will happen. It's about reducing uncertainty when an unexpected event occurs.

You may never need to use your emergency plan. You may never experience a prolonged power outage, water interruption, or major supply-chain disruption.

But if you do, having a written plan, knowing where your supplies are, and practicing your first steps can help you respond more calmly and effectively.

You don't need a perfect plan. You need a plan you can actually follow.

Pull it out. Take a breath. Protect your family. Make the necessary calls. Secure your water if it's safe to do so. Follow official guidance.

Then take the next step.

Download Your FREE 72-Hour Emergency Preparedness Checklist

If you haven't started preparing yet, don't wait for an emergency to figure out what you need.

Our free 72-hour checklist helps you organize the essentials, including water, food, medications, lighting, communications, hygiene, and special household needs.

Work through it at your own pace. Fill the gaps in your supplies gradually. Practice your plan with the people who may need to follow it.

Preparedness isn't fearmongering. It's a practical way to take care of yourself and the people you love.

Start now. Practice before you need it. And when an emergency happens, you'll know what to do.

Grab the First Hour Checklist as well as supplies you'll need that first hour.