Before disaster strikes, talk with friends and relatives who live both inside and outside your immediate area about a reciprocal emergency plan. Make arrangements for them to obtain your pets if you should never return home. Or, if you are faced with a temporary disaster, the other party would be able to house your pets until you are on your feet again, and vice versa.
Attach id tags to your pets. Be sure to include the name and phone number of a friend or family member that is outside of your area. You may also want to consider having your pets microchipped.
If you are in the military, make arrangements in advance for friends or family to care for your pets incase you are deployed. Draft a written contract outlining the arrangement and cover important issues such as what will happen to your pet should your caretaker no longer be able to keep it and what will happen if you're unable to reclaim your pet.
A list of various hotels that accept pets. If you have advance warning, as in the case of a hurricane, make reservations and plans to leave as early as possible. If you wait, hotels could be booked.
Again, collect all these supplies and information ahead of time. Don't make the mistake of thinking that you can assemble necessary items at the time of a crisis.