Emergency Preparedness

Be ready when the next emergency strikes! Disasters can happen at any time and being prepared for the next emergency is critical. Start planning now and take the time to assess how prepared you and your family and community are. Make sure you: 1) get a kit, 2) make a plan and 3) are informed.

Being prepared can be easy with these simple steps:

1. GET A KIT - We recommend that you have enough supplies to help yourself and your household for seven days. Your emergency preparedness kit should include food, water, blankets, clothing, sturdy shoes, medications, flashlight, radio and any other supplies you rely on daily. Here's a handy checklist to get started. For more special supplies, see FAQ's below.

2. MAKE A PLAN - Every household, business and organization should have an emergency plan. Create a household communications plan, emergency meeting locations, and routes to get to the meeting places. Consider the needs of your household especially those of children, older adults, and pets. Make plans on how to handle specific medical, dietary, language needs.

3. BE INFORMED - Know your local hazards and how to get emergency information. Find natural hazard zones in Santa Monica using the MyHazards tool created by CalOES. Get timely and trusted information during an emergency. Sign up for SMAlerts and Santa Monica social media pages. Receive emergency messages and important community updates and share them with your neighbors.

Please take a moment to check your emergency supplies, update your contact information, and sign up to receive SMAlerts, our community emergency alerts.

Scroll to our FAQ's below for additional emergency preparedness information and select specific emergencies in our Top Resources section for topic related responses.

**LOCAL HAZARD MITIGATION UPDATES**

Thank you for sharing your comments on the City's Local Hazard Mitigation Plan (Draft)

The draft document can be viewed at the links below; however, the survey is now closed.

Local Hazard Mitigation Plan (Draft)

Santa Monica LHMP Volume 1_Action Plan provides background on the LHMP, progress updates on past mitigation items, and the city's 2025-2030 mitigation action priorities.
Santa Monica LHMP Volume 2-Hazards provides detailed local information on the eight hazards covered in the LHMP, such as earthquake, tsunamis and wildfires.
Santa Monica LHMP Volume 3- Appendices contains LHMP appendices with additional information and resources for hazard mitigation planning.

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The Local Hazard Mitigation Plan (Draft) was adopted by City Council on 11/18/25. City staff are working to incorporate feedback provided during the Council meeting. The document is pending Cal OES and FEMA review and approval.

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To view a recording of the "Local Hazard Mitigation Plan-Community Online Presentation" from 05/21/24, please CLICK HERE.

To learn more about the City’s process to update the Local Hazard Mitigation Plan and Safety Element, please visit santamonica.gov - Safety Element Update.

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To contact the Office of Emergency Management, email OEM@santamonica.gov

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In partnership with the Santa Monica Fire Department, the Office of Emergency Management (OEM) is encouraging everyone to create a life and safety profile on the City's Community Connect platform. Community Connect is technology that provides critical information about your household or business before an emergency happens. Share floor plans or information on pets and/or specific medical needs. Create a profile and find additional information here.

OEM recommends Community Connect, IN ADDITION to SMAlerts.

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FAQ

What is included in a disaster communications plan?

Communication networks, such as mobile phones and internet, could be unreliable during disasters, and electricity could be disrupted. Planning in advance will help ensure that all members of your household – and their support systems – know how to reach each other. Developing a communications plan is as easy as 1,2,3:

Collectthe contact information (cell phone, home phone, internet address, mobile application information, address) for your family and immediate support network. Create a paper copy compiling all the information. Include an out-of-state contact who may be easier for all household members to reach. Consider also adding schools, critical service providers, and medical facilities.

Sharea copy of the plan with each member of your household. Keep the paper copy in a backpack, purse, wallet, or car disaster kit. Store an additional copy of the plan in a central, designated place in your home.

Practicemakes perfect. Have regular household meetings to review and practice the plan. If you have persons in your home who are not familiar with mobile devices, use this time to help teach them the basics to remain in contact.

Remember, text is best!If you are using a mobile phone, a text message may get through when a phone call will not. This is because a text message requires far less bandwidth than a phone call. Text messages may also save and then send automatically as soon as capacity becomes available.

How do you identify emergency meeting locations?

Emergencies can happen at any moment; therefore, we encourage everyone to identify designated meeting locations for your family to reconnect if an emergency occurs while you are apart. Follow these 3 steps :

Designate a Location: Identify a familiar place that is easily accessible for each member of your family. It is best to designate two locations: One outside your home but in your neighborhood and a second outside your immediate neighborhood but familiar to all household members and accessible when people are either at work, school, or around the community.

Neighborhood Example: Meet at the neighbor’s house across the street.
Community Example: If we’re unable to get home, meet at the playground in our local park a mile from our home.

Share the Plan: Develop a plan that includes pictures of the meeting locations, an address, phone numbers, and routes to the location from commonly visited places (e.g., work and school). Share this plan with each member of your household and place in vehicles, school backpacks, digitize and store in your mobile device, and store in your home emergency kit.

Practice the Plan: Review and exercise the plan with each member of your household. Ensure each person is familiar with the plan and aware of when they should meet at the emergency meeting location.

What special supplies should I have in a disaster kit?

There are many "off the shelf" disaster kits, but we encourage everyone to build a kit which works for them. Whether you wear eyeglasses or contacts, need life-sustaining medication, or require support while walking or standing, below are a few suggestions to personalize your disaster kit:

Disaster communications and emergency meeting location plan
Prescription medications OR list with the name(s) of your medications. Include information about your diagnosis, dosage, frequency, allergies, and medical insurance
Cash in small bills and bank account information
Change of clothes and sturdy shoes for each household member
Bedding or blankets
Feminine hygiene products
Extra hearing-aid batteries
Keep handheld electronic devices charged and loaded with videos and activities for persons with intellectual or developmental disabilities or small children
Infant formula, bottle, diapers, wipes
Games and activities for kids, like playing cards and books
Pet care items for service animals and pets
Non-prescription medications such as pain relievers, anti-diarrhea medication, antacids or laxatives
Assistive device model number and purchase information
If you use a power wheelchair, have a lightweight manual chair available as a backup if possible.
Purchase an extra battery for a power wheelchair or other battery-operated medical or assistive technology devices. If you can't purchase an extra battery, find out what agencies, organizations or local charitable groups can help you buy one. Keep extra batteries charged at all times.

For more information on preparedness considerations for persons with access and functional needs, visitready.gov/disability

Are there any disaster kit supplies I need for my pet or service animal?

Anyone who has a pet or service animal knows they're part of the family or critical for your accessibility. Just like you, pets and service animals need a disaster plan. Make sure you have seven days' worth of food, water, medications, and sanitary supplies for each animal. You should also include a copy of your animal’s veterinary record, recent photo of your pet, food/water dishes, leash, and collar with ID in your disaster kit. Many disaster shelters accept pets or can make accommodations for your pet but having a portable pet carrier and bedding helps keep you and your pet comfortable.

Microchipping your pet is one of the most important things you can do for your pet or service animal to be prepared for disasters. In the event of an emergency, animals may get separated from their families. By microchipping your pet or service animal, and having the chip activated, your pet may be easily identified in an emergency and reunited with your family. Microchipping is offered by most veterinarians.

Learn more pet preparedness tips atRedCross.org.

I am not directly impacted by this emergency but would still like to help; what can I do?

When an incident occurs in Santa Monica, but you are not directly impacted, we know many of our community members still want to help. Although the City does not accept donated supplies, we encourage everyone to support an incident before, during, and after by helping in the following ways:

Connect: Make contact with loved ones, friends, and neighbors who may be impacted by the incident to see if they need assistance. During an emergency, text or knock on someone’s door to check on how they are doing. Oftentimes, these quick and easy actions are the ones that will save someone’s life and help first responders the most.

Time:Local volunteer organizations such as the American Red Cross, the Santa Monica Community Emergency Response Team(link to page),and Los Angeles Regional Food Bank are always looking for disaster response volunteers. We encourage members of the community to get registered and trained as a volunteer with one of these trusted volunteer organizationsbeforethe disaster occurs. Connecting with a volunteer agency before an emergency ensures you’re able to quickly serve the community and those in need.

After an emergency, organizations may accept disaster "spontaneous volunteers." Requests for this type of volunteer will be published by the organization or by the local jurisdiction. Stay connected using social media or an organization’s website to find these types of volunteer opportunities.

Talent:If you or the people in your organization have verifiable professional credentials, certifications, or skills, many volunteer organizations need your support. Whether you have a license to drive earth-moving construction equipment, can serve as a translator, or you are a licensed medical professional; your talents can lead to a faster recovery and allow volunteer organizations to do their best work. Check out these sites to learn more about ways you can volunteer after a disaster event.

Emergency Network Los Angeles -enla.org
Medical Reserve Corps Los Angeles - mrclosangeles.org
California Disaster Healthcare Volunteers - healthcarevolunteers.ca.gov

Donate:Not everyone can financially donate to local non-profits, but if you have the capacity, the City recommends making financial contributions to trusted non-profits and volunteer organizations. During emergencies, you may see multiple advertisements for donating to various non-profit groups, but the City highly recommends that you identify local organizations in advance and determine which organization best suits your financial contribution.

Emergency Preparedness

Jump to Section:

Earthquake

Tsunami

Wildfire

Extreme Weather

Utility Outage

What is included in a disaster communications plan?

How do you identify emergency meeting locations?

What special supplies should I have in a disaster kit?

Are there any disaster kit supplies I need for my pet or service animal?

I am not directly impacted by this emergency but would still like to help; what can I do?