Important: This guide provides general information for preparedness purposes only.
It does not cover every possible situation, does not establish binding rules, and does not replace current official guidance, medical advice, manufacturers' instructions, or professional inspection of electrical, gas, water, or medical-equipment systems.
During an actual emergency, follow the instructions of the relevant authority and the conditions on site.
The information is based on authoritative sources listed at the end of the guide (Home Front Command, Water Authority, Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure, Ministry of Health, Israel Police, National Emergency Management Authority, and State Comptroller).
How to use this guide
A combined disruption, or blackout scenario, is a situation in which several services fail at the same time or one after another. For example, a power outage may stop a water pump and elevator, disrupt refrigeration of medicines and food, and make communication and transportation more difficult. The purpose of this guide is to help a household set priorities, identify deterioration, and decide when it is still safe to remain at home and when assistance or temporary relocation is needed.
Six questions to ask first
- Is there an immediate danger that requires protection, evacuation, or contacting emergency services?
- Which services have actually failed, and which are still operating?
- Is anyone at home dependent on electricity, water, medication, an elevator, or recurring treatment?
- For how long can you maintain safe drinking, food, medication, hygiene, and communication?
- When is the next official update expected, and which body is responsible for each failure?
- What is the decision point at which you remain at home, ask for help, or move elsewhere?
1. Prepare in advance
Map household dependencies
- Check which home systems, beyond ordinary electrical appliances, depend on electricity—for example a water pump, gate, elevator, shutter, stove, medical equipment, internet, or heating/cooling system.
- Identify who in the household needs special continuity: a baby, a person who needs substantial assistance with daily activities, a person with a disability, someone with a chronic condition, or someone taking medication that requires refrigeration.
- Keep a printed list of phone numbers: local authority hotline, water corporation, Israel Electric Corporation, health fund, medical-equipment supplier, and personal contacts.
- Choose an alternative destination that can be reached safely and suits household members' needs.
- Prepare an accessible go-bag that does not require prolonged collecting during the event.
Basic supplies
- Water and food that do not require refrigeration or cooking, in line with Home Front Command guidance and your household characteristics.
- Emergency lighting, radio, batteries, power banks, and working charging cables.
- Regular medications, medical equipment, hygiene products, and supplies for a baby or dependent person.
- Keys and official documents in an accessible place.
- A reasonable amount of cash in smaller denominations. During an extended power outage, cards, payment apps, and ATMs may not work.
- A manual can opener and basic eating utensils.
Important: There is no need to buy expensive specialized equipment that is not required by your household action plan. Familiar, functioning equipment that is checked regularly is preferable.
2. Build a situation picture
At the start of the event, do not try to solve everything at once. First distinguish immediate danger, essential services, and services that can be postponed.
| Priority | What it includes | Decision question |
|---|---|---|
| Immediate | Protection, fire, gas, exposed electricity, injury, breathing difficulty | Is there an immediate threat to life? |
| Essential in the next few hours | Drinking water, medications, medical equipment, medically necessary heating/cooling, sanitary toilets | Can safe functioning be maintained until the next update? |
| Important for the next day | Food, charging, transportation for treatment, communication with family | What will run out or stop working first? |
| Can be postponed | Laundry, nonessential cleaning, travel, leisure use | What can be stopped to conserve resources? |
3. When the power goes out
- Write down the time of the outage and keep refrigerator and freezer doors closed.
- Disconnect sensitive appliances if it is safe, and leave one light switched on to indicate when power returns.
- During a power outage, or when there is concern about supply disruption, do not use the elevator. After power returns, follow Home Front Command, local authority, or building-management instructions.
- Conserve phone battery and reduce continuous news viewing.
- Immediately check medical equipment, refrigerated medication, and building water pumps.
- Operate a generator only outdoors, away from openings, and according to the manufacturer's instructions and professional installation requirements.
- If electricity returns only for short periods, do essential tasks first: charge medical equipment and phones, fill water through a pump, prepare food, provide necessary heating or cooling, and contact distant family members to check their status. Do not spend the electricity window on leisure use.
Important: Never connect a generator to a household outlet, operate it in a stairwell, enclosed balcony, or near a window, or improvise electrical connections.
4. When water or sewage is disrupted
- Check the exact wording of the official notice: interruption of supply, boil-water notice, do-not-drink notice, or do-not-use notice.
- Do not waste safe drinking water. Prioritize it for drinking, taking medication, and food preparation before cleaning or other uses that can be postponed.
- Stop using toilets and sinks if sewage is backing up or drainage is not working.
- Do not drink water from a private, natural, or improvised source that has not been approved.
- Contact the authority or water corporation early if there is a dependent person, baby, or difficulty carrying water.
- If there is no safe solution for drinking, toilets, and hygiene, consider temporary relocation.
- Even after electricity returns, separately check water, sewage, elevators, medical equipment, communications, and food condition. Do not assume every service has returned just because the lights came on.
5. Food, medications, and health
- Prefer food that does not require refrigeration, without repeatedly opening the refrigerator.
- Do not taste food to decide whether it is safe; follow Ministry of Health guidance.
- Continue regular medication doses according to the established treatment plan. Do not skip treatment to conserve supply.
- If you use refrigerated medication or receive recurring treatment, contact the health fund or supplier early to confirm supply arrangements and storage instructions.
- Seek treatment for any medical deterioration even if there is congestion, a roadblock, or an alert. If unsure, contact Magen David Adom at 101.
6. Communication and information
- Rely on one or two official sources for each subject, not message chains or social media.
- When networks are overloaded, prefer a short text message over repeated calls.
- Set fixed check-in times with distant family members to conserve battery and reduce anxiety.
- Keep a radio or another information channel that does not depend on the internet.
- Do not post locations of impacts or deployment of forces. Do not share information about evacuated people or an empty home.
- Write down when the next official update is expected. If no new information is published before then, do not assume that the situation has worsened and do not rely on rumors.
- Do not spread speculation about the cause of a blackout. Knowing the cause is not required for immediate protective actions, and early explanations may be wrong.
7. Transportation and building function
- Do not make nonessential trips when there are roadblocks, alerts, or fuel shortages.
- Check transportation options in advance for a person without a car or someone who needs treatment.
- In a high-rise building, check water pumps, emergency lighting, gates, and elevators.
- Do not open or work on an electrical room, pump, generator, or gas system without authorization and training.
- In a shared building, coordinate practical help among residents for carrying water and general welfare checks, without exposing more personal information than necessary. In a high-rise, also check on residents who have difficulty using the stairs. Do not rely only on a messaging group, which may not work.
- If you cannot leave the building or there is no water, report it to the authority and consider evacuation.
8. Decision points
| Situation | Remain at home | Ask for help or relocate |
|---|---|---|
| Water and food | There is a safe supply until a clear update time. | Safe water is running out or essential food cannot be prepared. |
| Health | Treatment and equipment are working and there is backup. | Essential equipment or medication is at risk, or recurring treatment cannot be accessed. |
| Sanitation | Toilets and sewage are functioning safely. | There are no usable toilets, sewage overflow, or contamination. |
| Building | You can enter, leave, and reach the protected space. | An essential elevator is not working, exit is blocked, or there is structural danger. |
| Communication | There is a basic update and communication channel. | There is no way to receive instructions or summon help for a person at risk. |
| Mental and functional load | Household members can sleep, eat, and function. | There is confusion, exhaustion, extreme anxiety, or loss of ability to care for a dependent person. |
9. People who need additional planning
Person dependent on medical equipment
A personal action plan should be prepared with the health fund or supplier, including safe power backup and a suitable alternative destination. If relevant, check in advance with the health fund and local authority whether a generator-supported center or another alternative service exists, where it is, who may use it, how to reach it during an alert, and what to do if it is unavailable. Do not assume such a solution will necessarily be available.
Person with a disability
Check mobility, accessible alerts, communication, elevator availability, assistive equipment, and agreed assistance.
Babies and toddlers
Ensure safe drinking water, suitable food, diapers, safe sleep arrangements, and evacuation capability.
Person living alone
Arrange two contacts, a welfare-check mechanism, and, when needed, a spare key or agreed way to enter.
High-rise building
Assess dependence on elevators, pumps, gates, emergency lighting, and fire-safety systems.
Reminder: what not to do
- Do not improvise electrical, generator, gas, water, or medical-equipment connections.
- Do not go looking for fuel, water, or cellular reception through a dangerous area.
- Do not use water contrary to an official notice.
- Do not change medical treatment or use medication stored under unknown conditions without professional advice.
- Do not remain at home merely to protect property when basic needs cannot be safely maintained.
- Do not wait until the last moment to seek assistance for a dependent person.
- Do not spread unverified information or details that endanger privacy or security.
10. Short action sheet
| Step | Action |
|---|---|
| 1. Danger | Protection, evacuation, or 100/101/102 as needed. |
| 2. Situation picture | Write down which services failed and when. |
| 3. Dependent person | Check medications, equipment, water, mobility, and care. |
| 4. Resources | Prioritize drinking, health, hygiene, and communication. |
| 5. Information | Check an official source and the time of the next update. |
| 6. Assistance | Contact the local authority, health fund, supplier, or water corporation early. |
| 7. Decision | Remain only while safe functioning can be maintained. |
| 8. Relocation | Take essential supplies and tell someone where you are going. |
This page is a summary of the guide and does not replace real-time official instructions.
This guide is an independent publication of the Prepared Home project. It is not produced, approved, or operated by Home Front Command or any other government body.
Sources checked in August 2026.
Main sources
Home Front Command. Preparing for emergencies with the required equipment.
Home Front Command. Preparing for extended power outages.
Water Authority. Emergency information.
Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure. Ministry responsibilities and emergency activity.
Ministry of Health. Food safety in a refrigerator or freezer after an extended power outage, 2023.
Ministry of Health. Emergency preparedness — older adults.
Israel Police. Life-saving information and instructions for emergencies.
National Emergency Management Authority. NEMA website.
State Comptroller. Drinking-water supply during emergencies, 2022.
State Comptroller. Local-authority treatment of special populations during emergencies, 2025.
State Comptroller. Ensuring Israel's food needs during emergencies, 2025.