The risks on this site are large, but your best preparation is dull and local: water, food, light, medicine, a way to get news and a plan your household has practised. The same kit covers an earthquake, a flood, a long power cut or a pandemic wave. Nothing here asks for an account, and your ticks never leave this device.
Stores this site, the checklist and the latest data on your device so they open with no connection (works after the site is served over HTTPS). The map background still needs internet. You can also install it as an app from your browser menu.
Steps from Ready.gov: Make a plan.
Choosing a scenario fades items that matter less for it. Nothing is hidden.
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Official guidance (Ready.gov) is three words: get inside, stay inside, stay tuned.
Source: Ready.gov: Nuclear explosion · WHO iodine thyroid blocking guideline
Start simple: a written contact list, a meeting place and a battery radio to hear official instructions. Two-way radio is a bonus; learn it before you need it.
| Method | Where | Licence | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Text messages | Anywhere with a signal | None | Emergency agencies generally advise texting rather than calling in a disaster: texts need less network capacity. |
| AM/FM (and shortwave) broadcast radio | Everywhere | None (receive only) | Battery or hand-crank sets keep working without cell towers or internet. Local authorities use broadcast radio for official instructions. |
| NOAA Weather Radio | United States | None (receive only) | Seven channels from 162.400 to 162.550 MHz; models with tone alert wake you for warnings. |
| PMR446 walkie-talkies | Europe and other CEPT countries | Licence-free | About 446.0–446.2 MHz, maximum 0.5 W. Range is typically a kilometre or a few in towns, more in open terrain. Rules differ by country: check your regulator. |
| FRS / GMRS | United States | FRS licence-free; GMRS needs an FCC licence | UHF channels around 462 and 467 MHz. FRS radios are sold everywhere; higher-power GMRS requires a licence. |
| Amateur (ham) radio | Worldwide | Licence required to transmit | Calling frequencies include 146.520 MHz (2 m, United States), 446.000 MHz (70 cm, United States) and 145.500 MHz FM (IARU Region 1 calling). Check your national society's band plan before use. |
Radio rules differ by country and change. Never transmit on emergency-service or public-safety channels, and do not use amateur frequencies without a licence. Check your regulator: FCC (United States) · Ofcom (United Kingdom) · BTK (Türkiye) · IARU Region 1 (amateur radio, Europe/Africa/Middle East) · CEPT / ECC (European radio rules).
For most people the easiest option is a phone app with downloaded regions. If you are technical and want a map file you control, the tool below builds the extraction command for a circle around a place.
Command
pmtiles extract https://build.protomaps.com/<BUILD_DATE>.pmtiles my-area.pmtiles --bbox=28.5038,40.6507,29.4562,41.3693 --maxzoom=14
Replace <BUILD_DATE> with a build listed on the Protomaps builds page. Add --dry-run first to see how many tiles and how much data it would download. Needs the free pmtiles command-line tool.
These are links, not copies: guidance changes, and the issuing health and emergency agencies keep it current. For medicine and doses, follow them, not this page. Save the ones you need before a crisis (print to PDF or open them in a reader such as Kiwix).
This page gives general information, not medical or safety advice for your situation. Follow instructions from local authorities.