Emergency preparedness based on functional needs

How to use this guide

This guide is organized by functional need rather than diagnosis. One person may need several adaptations at once, and people with the same disability may need different solutions. Choose only the relevant sections, write a personal action plan, and practice it with the people who are expected to help. Start with alerts, a safe place, medications, mobility aids, and a contact person; then add backup equipment and practice.

Five questions to ask first

• How do you receive an alert—sound, light, vibration, written message, or another person?
• Can you act safely at home, work, your daytime setting, and while traveling, according to the event type and without depending on an elevator?
• Which essential equipment must remain with you during every move?
• How do you give and receive information in noise, darkness, stress, or communication outages?
• Who helps you if your usual caregiver or companion is unavailable, and what evacuation destination is suitable?

1. A personal plan before an event

• Prepare a short emergency card: name, preferred communication method, essential assistance, contacts, and what helps you under stress. Keep detailed medical information separately and securely.
• Choose two people who can help you and are not dependent on one another; practice who contacts you and who comes to assist. If you do not have an available personal network, ask the local authority what assistance channels exist.
• Ask the local authority whether information about you is included in a database intended to assist people with disabilities during emergencies, and whether the recorded details and needs are current. Inclusion in such a database does not guarantee an immediate response or assistance.
• Check the route to the safe place at home and in places where you regularly stay, and remove obstacles.
• Prepare alternatives for failure of an elevator, electricity, electric door, intercom, or cellular network.
• Keep printed copies of important documents and instructions, not only on your phone.
• Ask Home Front Command and the local authority in advance what instructions, assistance services, accessible evacuation, and adapted reception facilities are available in your area. Do not treat an answer as a guarantee of immediate assistance or evacuation when needed.

2. Adapted equipment

Privacy protection: the card and action sheet may contain personal information. Do not carry detailed medical information visibly on your body or leave it exposed. Keep it in a sealed envelope or protected file and share it only when needed, with the right person, and after considering the circumstances.

Pack essential equipment in a bag that can be taken quickly. Do not overload it with items that you or your helpers cannot carry safely. Regularly check expiration dates, charging, and working condition.

3. Mobility difficulties

• For a threat that requires protection, choose in advance the most accessible protected location that fits Home Front Command guidance and warning time. For other event types, follow the relevant event-specific instructions.
• Keep the route clear of furniture, objects, rugs, and cables.
• Keep shoes, mobility aids, medications, and phone close by.
• If you need transfer assistance, decide in advance who is trained to help and which equipment is used.
• Elevator use depends on the event type, condition of the building, and current instructions. For example, do not use an elevator during a fire, when instructed not to, or when the elevator or electricity supply is unsafe.
• If advance checking suggests there is no safe way to follow instructions within the available time, contact Home Front Command and the local authority in advance to ask what adapted instructions, assistance services, or solutions are available. Do not wait for an alert to begin checking.

During evacuation

• If you use a wheelchair, specify in advance what type of vehicle is needed, whether the chair folds, and whether securement is required.
• Keep your mobility aid with you and label it with a name and phone number.
• Emergency teams have specific procedures: during planned evacuation, do not allow yourself to be carried on stairs without trained personnel and appropriate equipment.
• In life-threatening danger, call emergency services, tell them about your situation, and follow their instructions.

4. Hearing difficulties during an emergency

• Enable visual and vibration alerts on your phone and supporting devices, and test them in advance.
• Keep batteries or charging options for hearing aids and implant processors.
• In a noisy or dark place, ask for a short written message and confirm that you understood it.
• Prepare a card: “I am Deaf/hard of hearing; face me, write, or use the following communication method.”
• Choose someone who will make sure you receive alerts when technology is unavailable.
• Do not let anyone remove your hearing aid or implant unless you request it or there is a clear safety reason.

5. Vision and navigation difficulties

• Practice the route to the protected space and count steps or touch points if that is helpful.
• Mark equipment with large print, high contrast, tactile labels, or Braille.
• Keep your cane, glasses, and phone in a fixed accessible place.
• Before guiding you, ask the helper to identify themselves, explain where you are going, and offer an elbow; they should not pull your arm or cane.
• Ask for focused descriptions of obstacles, stairs, doors, and changes in level.
• Keep a guide dog with you whenever possible; prepare water, food, leash, and documentation.

6. Communication, language, and cognitive challenges

Write in advance how people should address you and present information. If you are helping someone with communication, language, or cognitive challenges, write down how to approach that person and share these points with anyone assisting:

• Speak one sentence at a time using familiar words.
• Present one action, wait for the person's response, and only then move to the next action.
• Use pictures, gestures, a communication board, or demonstration when speech is not enough.
• Keep a familiar person, object, or sequence of actions available when possible.
• Reduce noise, crowding, and conflicting messages.
• Do not assume a person does not understand because they do not speak; address them directly and wait for a response.
• Write down how the person expresses pain, fear, agreement, refusal, and the need to use the toilet.

7. If the event continues

• Follow your treatment plan and check equipment, batteries, medications, and worrying changes such as pain, skin injury, breathing difficulty, dehydration, or reduced function. Contact a medical provider when needed.
• When possible, divide assistance among several people so you are not dependent on a single helper and to reduce caregiver fatigue.
• Update the plan when your place of stay, medical condition, or service availability changes.
• If you do not have access to toilets, bathing, charging, communication, or treatment, contact the authority before the situation becomes dangerous.

8. Decision points: when to seek help or relocate

• You do not have a safe way to reach the protected space or leave home.
• Essential equipment is not working and there is no backup.
• Your only helper is unavailable or cannot continue.
• You cannot receive alerts.
• Your place of stay or reception facility is not accessible to you.
• Your condition is worsening.
• An evacuation order has been issued or the authority has designated an adapted destination.

9. What to make clear to people who help you

• Explain that you should not be separated from your mobility aids, communication equipment, medications, or guide dog without a clear safety need.
• Ask not to be lifted, transferred, or restrained without skill, appropriate equipment, and your consent whenever possible.
• Explain that your name, condition, location, or personal need should not be posted in a public group without consent.
• Evacuation or treatment should be coordinated with a relevant authority when required.
• Make clear that you should not be left alone in a place you cannot leave or from which you cannot summon help.

10. Personal action sheet

Print the action sheet or save as PDF

Main sources

Home Front Command. People with disabilities and older adults.

Home Front Command. Earthquake preparedness.

Commission for Equal Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Accessibility of population evacuation and reception during emergencies.

Ministry of Welfare and Social Affairs. Emergency information for people with disabilities and populations needing assistance.

Equal Rights for Persons with Disabilities Regulations (Accessibility of Population Evacuation and Reception Events during an Emergency), 2022.

Commission for Equal Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Guides and information by type of disability.

Equal Rights for Persons with Disabilities Regulations (Information Database for Assisting People with Disabilities in Emergencies), 2024.

Sources checked: September 2026. During an emergency, check updates on the national emergency portal, local-authority website, and accessible channels of the competent body.