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Guide · GUIDE 37

Create a family emergency plan: template & guide

Last reviewed on 05.07.2026

A family emergency plan notes in writing: two meeting points (nearby and outside), a contact list with relatives, school and neighbours, who picks up the children, assigned roles for children, elderly and people needing help, pets and medications plus emergency numbers. Create it once together using the free Alertswiss template, print it out and practise it once a year.

A family emergency plan is a written document that clarifies the most important questions of an emergency situation in advance: meeting points (one nearby, one outside the area), important contacts, who picks up the children, who takes which responsibility and what applies in an evacuation. The Swiss Federal Office for Civil Protection (FOCP) provides a free template via Alertswiss that answers three basic questions: «How do I contact my relatives? Where do I go? What do I take with me?». What matters is to create the plan together, print it out (it must be readable without power) and run through it with everyone – including the children – once a year.

Why a written plan?

In an emergency, the family is rarely in the same place: work, school, on the move. If something happens then, there is no time to calmly think about who picks up whom and where you meet. A plan agreed on beforehand takes the pressure off in that exact moment.

The plan must exist on paper. Precisely in the situations you need it for – power outage, overloaded or failed mobile network – a plan that only exists on a smartphone is not accessible. Printed, it belongs in the document folder and emergency bag.

A plan is not a one-off document for a file; it is a living document: it is created together so everyone knows it, and updated regularly when addresses, phone numbers, school or family situation change.

This plan is the lasting foundation for every situation. How you organize the first three concrete days of an emergency and why «72 hours» is an EU recommendation (the official Swiss provisions recommendation aims at about one week) is described in the guide «72-hour plan for the family».

Which meeting points should a family plan set?

Decide on two meeting points. The first is nearby – for example in front of the house or at a known spot in the neighbourhood – in case you have to leave the flat quickly and meet there.

The second is outside the neighbourhood or municipality, in case the closer area is not accessible (closure, evacuation, incident). Choose a place everyone knows and that is also reachable on foot or by bicycle.

Note each meeting point with address and a simple description that even children understand. Decide how long to wait at a meeting point before moving to the second one.

Additionally know your municipality's emergency meeting point: this is an official contact point run by canton and municipality during larger events – more on this in the communication section.

Contacts and the person outside the region

Keep a contact list on paper: family members, phone numbers of school and childcare or caregivers, neighbours, GP, employer. These details are also fixed parts of the Alertswiss emergency plan template.

One person outside the region as a central contact point: additionally appoint a contact person living further away where all family members check in once they are safe. That way all information flows to one place even if the family cannot reach each other directly. The idea is: in a local event, lines locally are often overloaded, while a connection from the affected area outward is more likely to get through. (This practice comes from international emergency guidance – US disaster management FEMA/Ready.gov – and is not officially required in Switzerland; it is proven, simple addition.)

Keep emergency numbers readily available on the plan: 112 (European emergency number), 117 (police), 118 (fire brigade), 144 (paramedics), 1414 (Rega mountain rescue), 145 (Tox Info Switzerland, poisoning).

Distribute roles and responsibilities

Who picks up the children? Decide who picks up the children from school or childcare in an emergency – and who steps in second if the first person is unavailable. Store the numbers of school and care in the plan and coordinate with neighbours or acquaintances; where appropriate, you can arrange carpools for the children. (There is no uniform official requirement in Switzerland for who is authorized to pick up children – you clarify the pickup rules with the school/childcare directly.)

Elderly and people needing help: who looks after relatives who depend on help? Note who contacts or visits them in an emergency. For people with special needs – such as medication dependence, limited mobility or hearing impairment – there is a separate guide.

Medications and documents: decide who takes personal medications and the document folder and where both are kept in daily life so they are quickly accessible in an emergency.

Pets: clarify who looks after pets, who takes the pet carrier and some food. In emergency shelters, animals are not always allowed – think ahead of a solution.

Emergency bag: decide who takes the emergency bag in case of evacuation. What belongs in it is described in the guide «Pack an emergency bag».

How does the family communicate when the network is down?

Rely on the meeting point, not the phone: the main reason for fixed meeting points is that you find each other even when no one is reachable. In doubt, rely on the agreed meeting point rule rather than a connection that may not come through.

Short text messages instead of calls: if the network is overloaded, an SMS gets through more easily than a voice call and uses less capacity that emergency services need. Keep calls short and switch to text messages. (This rule too comes from international disaster management FEMA/FCC; Switzerland does not name it explicitly, but Alertswiss also advises in an emergency not to unnecessarily burden telephone lines.)

Radio and Alertswiss for situation updates: behaviour instructions and alarms run through sirens, radio (FM/DAB+) and Alertswiss (app and website). A battery-operated radio belongs therefore in the plan or emergency bag.

Municipality emergency meeting point: if communication fails broadly – for example in long power outage – the emergency meeting point is the official contact. There the municipality provides information about the situation and emergency calls can be made if the usual channels do not work. Locations are available on the federal geoportal map (map.geo.admin.ch, layer «emergency meeting points»); find yours now and enter it in the plan.

Create the plan – step by step

  1. Get the Alertswiss emergency plan template (free PDF or in the Alertswiss app under «Preparedness»)
  2. Set two meeting points: one nearby, one outside – each with address and simple directions
  3. Fill in contact list: family, school/childcare, neighbours, GP, employer, emergency numbers
  4. Appoint a person outside the region as central contact and enter details
  5. Distribute roles: who picks up children, who looks after people needing help and pets, who takes emergency bag, medications and documents
  6. Find your municipality's emergency meeting point (map.geo.admin.ch) and enter it
  7. Print plan – put in document folder and emergency bag, everyone knows where it is
  8. Go through plan together so everyone understands – then practise it once a year and update

Practise and keep current

  1. Once a year run through with everyone – especially with children: walk the route to the meeting point together, name the roles
  2. Explain to children in age-appropriate ways: which meeting point they go to, whom they call, how an emergency number works
  3. Update the plan when addresses, numbers, school or family situation change
  4. Replace the printed plan in the emergency bag and document folder when it becomes outdated
  5. Additionally keep personal emergency plan in the Alertswiss app – but paper remains the reliable foundation

Common mistakes

  1. Keep the plan only in your head – under stress in an emergency, no one remembers all the details
  2. Keep the plan only digitally – inaccessible in a power outage or empty battery
  3. Create the plan but never practise with the children – unpractised it is ineffective in an emergency
  4. Set only one single meeting point that then gets closed or becomes inaccessible
  5. Everyone phones at once in an emergency and overloads the network further
  6. Do not know your own municipality's emergency meeting point
  7. Never update the plan – outdated numbers and addresses are worthless in an emergency
Family emergency plan – components at a glance
Plan component Content / example
Nearby meeting point Location in neighbourhood, with address + simple directions (e.g. in front of house)
Outside meeting point Location outside municipality, reachable on foot/bicycle, known to everyone
Contact list Family, school/childcare, neighbours, GP, employer – on paper
Person outside the region Central contact where everyone checks in (proven practice, not official CH requirement)
Emergency numbers 112 Emergency · 117 Police · 118 Fire brigade · 144 Paramedics · 1414 Rega · 145 Poison control
Role: children Who picks them up from school/childcare, who steps in as backup
Role: people needing help Who contacts/cares for elderly or dependent relatives
Role: pets Who takes animal, carrier and food
Role: emergency bag & documents Who takes rucksack, medications and document folder
Municipality emergency meeting point Official contact, find location via map.geo.admin.ch
Format & maintenance Printed in document folder + emergency bag; practise and update yearly

Template and components: Alertswiss emergency plan from FOCP (alert.swiss). Emergency meeting points: FOCP / map.geo.admin.ch. July 2026.

Frequently asked questions

What belongs in an emergency plan?

Two meeting points (one nearby, one outside), a contact list with family, school/childcare and neighbours, who picks up the children, assigned roles for people needing help, pets, emergency bag and medications plus emergency numbers (112, 117, 118, 144, 1414, 145). FOCP provides a free template via Alertswiss. Important: print and practise yearly.

Why a contact person outside the region?

Because in a local event, telephone lines locally are often overloaded, while a connection from the affected area outward is more likely to work. If each family member checks in with a distant contact, all information flows to one place even if you cannot reach each other directly. This practice comes from international emergency guides and is a simple, proven addition.

How do we practise this with children?

Run the plan once a year together: walk the route to the meeting point so the children know it. Explain in age-appropriate ways which meeting point they go to, whom they call and how an emergency number works. Regular, calm practise builds confidence – the plan becomes familiar so it is accessible in an emergency.

What if the mobile network fails?

Then rely on the agreed meeting points instead of the phone – that is exactly what they are for. If the network is overloaded but not completely down, a short text message gets through more easily than a call and uses less capacity. For situation information, use a battery-operated radio and Alertswiss; in widespread failure, the municipality's emergency meeting point is the official contact.

Official sources