Maps and Escape Routes

Since different events can change your plans dramatically, it's critical to have multiple responses pre-planned. With multiple ways to respond to an event, you also need to know multiple ways to get to or away from a given place. If Mom is responsible for picking up the daughter who is in Kindergarten, Mom needs to know as many possible ways to and from the school as she possibly can. The normal route from home or work to the school may be impassible.

Teach yourself and as many members of your family alternate routes to and from important places. Not everyone will be able to memorize every potential route and every potential detail, but some residual memory will help more than not having any idea.

The best approach is to keep maps of your local area on hand. Put them into each vehicle that you drive regularly, and put them into your emergency kits and bug out bags. If desired, you can even prioritize each route option as a family, and mark them on each map as part of your household emergency plans.