Emergencies
Get warnings you can see, hear, or feel, reach 911 your way, and make a plan.
Alerts you can use
- Smoke and carbon monoxide alarms with strobe lights or bed shakers. Some fire departments and state equipment programs give them free.
- Emergency alerts on your phone: turn them on in settings. Many phones can flash and vibrate.
- Sign up for your county's emergency alerts by text and email.
- Ask local emergency managers for accessible alerts and ASL in public messages.
Reaching 911
- Text to 911 works only where your local 911 center accepts texts. If it does not, you get a message back telling you to call. The FCC says: call if you can, text if you can't.
- You can call 911 directly from a TTY, or through video relay or captioned phone service.
- For a mental health crisis, you can call or text 988, or call 988 from a videophone to reach ASL counselors.
Make your plan
Fill this in, print it, and give a copy to someone you trust.
Help during a disaster
Disability and Disaster Hotline
Call or text 800-626-4959, any time.
FEMA: people with disabilities
Make a plan and a kit.
In danger right now
Call or text 911.
Last reviewed: October 2026. Laws, dollar amounts, and program rules change. Check with the agency named on this page before you make a decision. Report outdated or wrong information.