Protecting your family and yourself: a practical guide

Plan, roles, children, older people. A guide based on official advice. The same text is in the free SurvivalZone app and works without internet.

Family plan

1. Agree on two meeting points: near home and outside the area. Save them in the app under the 72h plan.
2. Pick one person outside your town whom everyone contacts to say they are safe.
3. Split the jobs: who takes documents and medicines, who takes the children, who takes the pets.

Children

1. Talk calmly and clearly. Children pick up on adults' emotions.
2. Put a card in your child's pocket with their name, parents' numbers and the meeting point.
3. Teach your child to call 112 and give their address.

Older and ill people

1. Keep at least 7 days of medication and a written list of medicines and doses.
2. If someone relies on powered medical equipment, plan backup power or a place to wait out the outage.

Yourself

1. Eat, drink and sleep, even briefly. A tired person makes worse decisions.
2. Check official news every few hours instead of constantly. It reduces panic and saves battery.
3. Help your neighbours. A community that works together gets through a crisis more easily.

Watch out

• If life is in danger, always call 112 first.

Keep it on your phone

SurvivalZone is a free app for every emergency, with no account and no app store. It works without internet and shows the nearest shelters and help points, local radio, a 72-hour plan and a mountain trip planner.

Other guides

• 💧 How to make water safe
• 🍲 Food without power
• ⛺ Shelter at home and outdoors
• 💊 Run out of medicine

All scenarios →

Sources

• Polish government safety guide (MON, MSWiA, RCB, 2025)
• BBK guide "Vorsorgen für Krisen und Katastrophen" (Germany)

Official sources are checked automatically every day. Last check: 2026-10-18.

General guidance only; it does not replace the emergency services. If a life is in danger, call 112.