Plan Ahead Nevada - Preparedness Information

There are many proactive steps you can take to stay safe and prepared before a disaster strikes. This page is designed to empower Nevadans and visitors with essential information on awareness, preparedness, and safety. Our goal is to help individuals and communities plan effectively for any potential disaster, ensuring a more resilient Nevada for all.

13 Critical Ways to Protect Yourself, Your Loved Ones, and Your Community

Small, proactive steps taken at home and within your community can have a powerful impact during a disaster, strengthening resilience and making a meaningful difference when it matters most. It could save your life!

  1. Be Informed - know what disasters and hazards could affect your area
  2. Make an Emergency Communications Plan
  3. Create an Emergency Supply Kit (Update supplies every six months) 
  4. Test Family Communication Plan 
  5. Practice Emergency Drills
  6. Know Evacuation Routes
  7. Sign up for Alerts and Warnings
  8. Save for a Rainy Day
  9. Safeguard Documents
  10. Plan with Neighbors
  11. Protect Your Home Make It Safer
  12. Get Involved in Your Community programs and activities
  13. Document and Insure Property

Plan Ahead Nevada Guide

The Nevada Office of Emergency Management has developed this comprehensive guide to provide Nevadans with information, helpful tips, checklists and techniques on preparing your family, friends and pets for all emergency conditions. 

Preparing before an emergency incident plays a vital role in ensuring that everyone in your household, employers and workers have the necessary equipment, know where to go, and know how to keep themselves safe when an emergency occurs. This guide provides information on how to prepare and train for emergencies and the hazards to be aware of when an emergency occurs.

Threat and Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment

The Threat and Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment (THIRA) process helps communities identify capability targets and resource requirements necessary to address anticipated and unanticipated risks.

The THIRA is a three-step risk assessment completed every three years. It helps answer the following questions:

  • What threats and hazards can affect our community?
  • If they occurred, what impacts would those threats and hazards have on our community?
  • Based on those impacts, what capabilities should our community have?

The THIRA helps communities understand their risks and determine the level of capability they need in order to address those risks. By understanding its risks, a community can make smart decisions about how to manage risk, including developing needed capabilities. Risk is the potential for an unwanted outcome resulting from an incident, event, or occurrence, as determined by its likelihood and the associated consequences.

Home Emergencies and Safety Measures

Access and Functional Needs

Access and Functional Needs (AFN) refers to individuals with and without disabilities, who may need additional assistance because of any condition. That may limit their ability to act in an emergency.

No two disasters are the same, yet all have a disproportionate effect on our most vulnerable populations - individuals with access and functional needs such as people with disabilities, older adults, children, those with limited English proficiency, and those with transportation disadvantage. Nevada Office of Emergency Management (NV OEM) works hard to use a whole-community approach, offering training and guidance to emergency managers & planners, disability advocates, and other service providers to plan for, respond to, and help communities recover from disasters. NV OEM understands the realities of disasters and takes steps to ensure AFN are incorporated into everything we do.   

NV OEM's AFN coordinator assists with identifying the needs of individuals with disabilities and others with access or functional needs before, during, and after disasters and to integrate them into the State’s emergency management plans and systems. NV OEM’s AFN coordinator plans for the realities of disasters by integrating access and functional needs into everything the division does including partnership development, outreach, training, guidance and providing technical assistance. NV OEM’s goal is to ensure all Nevadans are prepared for and supported during an emergency.

Nevada 211

Nevada 211 is a special phone number reserved to provide information and referrals to health, human and social service organizations. Dialing 2-1-1 in almost every part of the United States will connect you to human and social services for your area. Services included in 2-1-1 are: places to find emergency food, housing and emergency shelter locations, children’s services, support for seniors, and people with disabilities, and mental health and counseling services, among many others. Nevada 2-1-1 is committed to helping Nevadans connect with the services they need.

Neighborhood Watch Programs

The National Neighborhood Watch program empowers citizens to become active in community efforts through participation in Neighborhood Watch groups. Neighborhood Watch programs help keep neighborhoods and communities safe. Starting your own crime prevention program—or reviving one that’s already been started in your neighborhood—can reduce crime in your area and give you a greater sense of security, and can even help improve your property’s value.

National Preparedness Month

National Preparedness Month (NPM) is recognized each September to raise awareness about the importance of and to promote family and community disaster planning now and throughout the year. As our nation continues to respond to various disasters and emergencies, there is no better time to start planning and get involved.

Disasters and emergencies can happen any time. Are you prepared Nevada?

Developing and Maintaining Emergency Operations Plan

Comprehensive Preparedness Guide provides guidance for developing emergency operations plans. It promotes a common understanding of the fundamentals of risk-informed planning and decision making to help planners examine a hazard or threat and produce integrated, coordinated, and synchronized plans.

Kids Corner - Fun Educational Resources

The resources available on this page provides children, parents and teachers with educational information, games and videos for kids to develop awareness and skills with all aspects of preparedness and safety.