Tool
Your area's emergency map
When the network goes down, a paper map with your key points marked beats any app. Pick your area and style, mark home, water, shelters and meeting points, then print it or take the points to your GPS.
What to mark on your map
- Home, work and school, with two walking routes between them.
- The meeting points in your family plan: one in the neighborhood and one out of town.
- Two exit routes in different directions, in case one is blocked.
- Hospitals, clinics and pharmacies.
- Springs, rivers and water tanks.
- High ground if you live near a river or the coast.
- Schools and sports centers often used as shelters.
- Places to avoid: riverbeds, bridges, unstable slopes, chemical plants.
Write the coordinates of home and your meeting points on your emergency card.
Have it on your phone too
Map apps let you download an area to use offline: do it for the area you just set up, and open the GPX file in them to see your points. Your phone's GPS works with no signal or data as long as the map is downloaded. In airplane mode it uses very little battery. More in the offline maps guide.
Frequently asked questions
Does phone GPS work with no signal or data?
Yes. GPS receives signals from satellites and doesn't need internet. What needs a connection is loading the map, which is why you download or print it beforehand.
What scale should I print?
For getting around your city on foot, zoom in until street names are readable. For exit routes or the wider region, zoom out and print a second sheet. Two sheets at different scales beat one.
How often should I update it?
Once a year, or when you move home, change jobs or schools. Also check that your meeting points are still accessible.