There are several answers to this question, and there should be.
First, you want an immediate meeting place similar to, if not the same as, the one in your home fire plan. The most common reason to evacuate is a household fire, so this is a top priority. A place everyone knows they need to get to in order to be safe and so that adults will know they are there. This last is vital, nothing is more tragic than someone who dies attempting to rescue someone who has already gotten out of the building.
If you only have to abandon your home, not your entire geographic area, where can you go? If you’re going to try to stay with friends or family, make sure you discuss it with them when you are making your plans. Have a couple of options planned in case your first or second choice doesn’t work out.
You also want a short-term meeting place in case there is an area-wide evacuation and your family is scattered (one parent at home, one at work, one kid home, one in school, etc.), a prearranged location where everyone will gather before leaving the area. Most of the time this intermediate meeting place will be the home/apartment itself.
Now, if you have to evacuate your city or county, where will you go? Would or could anyone take you in? You might also want to have places to go scouted out in more than one direction since area-wide evacuations are often coordinated along specific routes and you may not be able to get to where you want to go. Talk to out of town friends and family you may want to go to, even if it is just to re-group, or as a meeting place if your extended family is all in the same geographic area so they’ll know where to meet.
For example, my in-laws, the ones who fled from Rita, all live on the Texas coast, within five miles of one another. They all know they are welcome at our house if they have to evacuate and that if they fail to communicate with one another we will serve as a central hub, a place for all three households to meet and make plans for the future. This is safer for everyone involved so that no one stays behind trying to track down someone who may or may not already be gone.
I’ll have more evacuation information here in the future, so keep your eyes peeled and get to work on those lists!
‘Til then, stay safe!