GuidesEnvironmental and housing risk7 min read

New York City emergency preparedness

City risk looks different from suburban risk: the building, the block, and the transit system fail before the region does, and most households have one closet to work with.

Know your zone and your building

Two lookups cover most of the city's planned emergencies.

Check your hurricane evacuation zone and the nearest evacuation center
Check whether your address is in a FEMA flood zone, including basement units
Learn where your building's stairwells, standpipes, and shutoffs are
Sign up for Notify NYC alerts and enable Wireless Emergency Alerts

Plan for a high-rise outage

Above the sixth floor, a power loss usually means no elevators and no water pressure.

Store water in the apartment, not just in the car you may not have
Keep headlamps and power banks, and avoid candles
Plan how anyone with mobility needs stays or leaves before an outage
Know a friend's place at a lower floor or outside the borough

Build an apartment-sized kit

One labeled bin plus a go bag fits in a closet and covers most events.

Three to seven days of water and food that needs no cooking
Medications, copies of documents, cash in small bills
N95 masks for smoke days and a basic first aid kit
A go bag by the door for building fires and evacuation orders

Plan around transit, not cars

Most city disruptions show up as a commute you cannot make and a school you cannot reach.

Pick a walking route home and know the distance in comfortable shoes
Agree on a meeting place per borough and an out-of-state contact
Confirm your school's release and pickup policy in writing
Carry renters insurance with loss-of-use coverage sized to local rents

Common questions

How do I find my hurricane evacuation zone in New York City?

Use the city's evacuation zone lookup by address. Zones run from 1 to 6, and officials order evacuations by zone before a coastal storm, so check yours before the season rather than during a warning.

What should high-rise residents prepare that others do not?

Plan for elevators and water pressure failing together. Store drinking water in the apartment, keep lights and power banks charged, and arrange in advance how anyone who cannot use stairs will get help.

Do New York City renters need flood insurance?

Renters in ground-floor, basement, or coastal units should consider it. Renters insurance does not cover flood damage, and separate contents-only flood coverage is available.

See where your household stands

The Household Resilience Check scores this dimension along with seven others in about five minutes.

Take the Household Resilience Check →