Emergency Preparedness Jeopardy

Evacuation routes, shelter-in-place, severe weather, and go-kits in a drill-day quiz. Copy this free board and have staff buzz in from their phones.

6 categories · 30 clues · Final Jeopardy · everyone buzzes in from their phone

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Evacuation Basics

$200
During a fire evacuation, use these instead of the elevators to get out of the building.
What are the stairs?
$400
Before opening a door during a fire, test it for heat with the back of this body part.
What is the hand?
$600
Once outside, evacuees gather at this designated spot so leaders can take a head count.
What is the assembly point?
$800
If smoke fills a hallway, you should do this to stay beneath it where the air is cleaner.
What is crawling low?
$1,000
OSHA standard 1910.38 requires many employers to keep this written plan covering exit routes and evacuation procedures.
What is an emergency action plan?

Shelter in Place

$200
Shelter-in-place advice for a chemical release says to close and lock doors and these.
What are windows?
$400
When sheltering from an outdoor chemical release, turn off fans and this building system that pulls in outside air.
What is the HVAC system?
$600
Along with plastic sheeting, Ready.gov suggests this sticky roll for sealing a room during a chemical emergency.
What is duct tape?
$800
For a radiation emergency, officials advise three steps: get inside, stay inside, and this.
What is stay tuned?
$1,000
Unlike sheltering from weather or chemicals, this response to a threat inside or near a building means locking doors and staying out of sight.
What is a lockdown?

Severe Weather

$200
Lightning safety advice says that if you can hear this, you are close enough to be struck.
What is thunder?
$400
The National Weather Service slogan for flooded roads begins with 'Turn Around' and ends with these two words.
What is don't drown?
$600
This scale rates tornadoes from 0 to 5 based on the damage they cause.
What is the Enhanced Fujita Scale?
$800
The National Weather Service warns that just this many inches of fast-moving floodwater can knock an adult down.
What is six?
$1,000
Hurricanes of Category 3 or higher are called major hurricanes on this five-category wind scale.
What is the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale?

Build a Kit

$200
Ready.gov recommends storing one gallon of this per person per day.
What is water?
$400
Pack this light source and extra batteries rather than relying on candles, which are a fire risk.
What is a flashlight?
$600
Kits should hold food of this kind, which keeps without refrigeration, plus a manual can opener.
What is non-perishable food?
$800
Keep copies of these, such as insurance policies and identification, in a waterproof container in your kit.
What are important documents?
$1,000
Ready.gov lists this small, loud item in a basic kit so you can signal for help.
What is a whistle?

Make a Plan

$200
A home fire escape plan should identify at least this many ways out of every room.
What is two?
$400
When voice calls won't go through during a disaster, these short messages often still can.
What are text messages?
$600
Because not every emergency shelter accepts them, your plan should include arrangements for these animal members of the family.
What are pets?
$800
Because local lines can be jammed, a family plan names this person who lives far away and whom everyone checks in with.
What is an out-of-town contact?
$1,000
This three-letter label, for In Case of Emergency, marks an emergency contact stored in a phone.
What is ICE?

Alerts and Warnings

$200
A tornado this, the lesser of the two main alerts, means conditions are favorable for tornadoes to form.
What is a watch?
$400
A step above a watch, this alert means a hazard is happening or about to happen and you should act now.
What is a warning?
$600
These short government alerts reach cell phones in an affected area with a special tone, and need no app or sign-up.
What are Wireless Emergency Alerts?
$800
Run by the National Weather Service, this round-the-clock radio network broadcasts forecasts and warnings on dedicated frequencies.
What is NOAA Weather Radio?
$1,000
Carried over TV and radio, this national public warning system replaced the Emergency Broadcast System in 1997.
What is the Emergency Alert System?

Final Jeopardy — Preparedness

FEMA's Ready campaign observes National Preparedness Month every year during this month.

What is September?

How to run this board

This board covers what people need to know before an emergency, not during one: evacuation, shelter-in-place, severe weather, building an emergency kit, family and workplace communication plans, and the alerts and warnings that tell you something is coming.

It is a refresher to go alongside your organization's emergency action plan and drills, not a replacement. Edit the evacuation clues to name your own assembly points, wardens, and procedures so the game rehearses the real thing.

It works best just before or after a drill, while the route is fresh. A house rule worth using: any team that answers an evacuation clue has to point toward the nearest exit from where they are sitting.

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