Skip to main content
Three neighbors gather around a dry neighborhood map and animal carrier beneath a covered apartment breezeway while light rain falls outside.

People Nearby

Start with one person.

You don't need a committee, matching vests, or a heroic group chat. You need one person who'll notice when something's off—and a simple way to work with whoever is there.

Before anything happens

Make the first circle small enough to be real.

Most of us don't know every person nearby. That's normal. Begin with the neighbor, building manager, friend, relative, or shopkeeper you already talk to.

  1. Choose a way to check in.

    A knock, text, lobby note, radio channel, or meeting place can all work. Pick the thing people will actually remember and use.

  2. Name the few things worth noticing.

    Who may need more time to leave? Who depends on powered medical equipment? Who has an animal, needs mobility or language support, or holds a key to a shared space?

  3. Trade useful offers, not biographies.

    A first-aid course, a hand truck, a camp stove, a way to translate, or the ability to lift safely may matter. Nobody has to explain more than they want to.

  4. Write down the arrangement.

    Keep it where the people involved can reach it. Memory is useful. Paper is easier to share.

Open the printable inventory Add household meeting places

Useful questions

Ask what changes the next decision.

You don't need to catalog everyone. Find out what might get in the way, who can help, and who's still unconnected.

People

  • Who may need help receiving or understanding a warning?
  • Who may need more time, another person, or accessible transportation?
  • Who should be checked on if power, water, heat, or phone service stops?

Places and routes

  • Where can people gather without blocking a road or entrance?
  • Which stairs, bridges, gates, elevators, or slopes could become a problem?
  • Where will a simple public status board be visible and protected?

Skills and equipment

  • Who has current training and is willing to use it?
  • What can be shared safely, and who controls access?
  • What depends on fuel, batteries, water, or a particular person?

Information

  • Which official local sources should everyone know?
  • How will you label what was observed, what was reported, and what still needs checking?
  • Who can carry a concise message if networks are down?

After an interruption

Build a common picture, then do the next useful thing.

Keep the job practical: notice urgent needs, coordinate safe work, and pass accurate information to the people responsible for the response.

01

Use the eight-step method

Gather safely, account for people, separate facts from reports, set priorities, assign work, and recheck.

02

Put paper to work

Use separate sheets for quiet-day arrangements, event status, tasks, messages, and official handoffs.

04

Keep authority visible

Find the current public source for alerts, evacuations, roads, weather, utilities, health, and hazard information.

Good local programs already exist

For fuller neighborhood-program models, see Washington Emergency Management's Map Your Neighborhood resources and Seattle's SNAP and Community Emergency Hub resources. Use your own local program when one is available.

Reviewed July 25, 2026. Program names, forms, and official contacts should be checked with the responsible local authority.