By the Health Within Reach Editorial Team
Before you share a shelter update, trace it back to whoever actually runs the shelter or to your local emergency officials. Find it on their own official channel, and write down when it was posted and exactly where it applies. If you can’t confirm all three, don’t repeat the claim. Share the official contact instead, so people can check for themselves.
What the Official Sources Say
FEMA’s page on common disaster-related rumors asks people to do three things: find trusted sources of information, share information from those trusted sources, and discourage others from sharing information from unverified sources.
Ready.gov explains where official alerts come from. On its emergency alerts page, it says Wireless Emergency Alerts are sent by authorized public safety officials, including state, local, tribal and territorial officials and the National Weather Service. It also describes NOAA Weather Radio, which broadcasts continuous information from the nearest National Weather Service office. Ready.gov’s Know Your Alerts and Warnings guide (PDF) suggests searching your town, city or county name plus the word “alerts,” or visiting your local emergency management or public safety website, to see which alerts your area offers.
The CDC’s health literacy overview defines personal health literacy as the ability to find, understand and use information and services to inform health-related decisions and actions for yourself and for others. A shelter update is not always health information, but the habit carries over: make sure you understand a message and can support it before you use it to help someone else.
The Source Confirmation Chain
Work through these steps in order. Stop at the first one you can’t complete. That is where the update stops being confirmed.
1. Capture the original
Save the link or a screenshot. Write down who posted it and what it claims: open or closed, who can stay, hours, address, or what to bring. If the claim is vague, it can’t be confirmed.
2. Identify what kind of source it is
Ask whether it came from the shelter operator, from local emergency officials, or from someone repeating it. A forwarded message, a screenshot, or a “my friend said” post is a lead, not a confirmation. It tells you what to check, not what to share.
3. Find it on an official channel you reach yourself
Don’t rely on links or phone numbers inside the post. Look up the operator’s or the county’s official page or phone number on your own. Then see whether the same update appears there.
4. Check the timestamp
Look for the date and time the update was posted, and whether it has been revised since. An update with no time on it isn’t ready to share. Forwarded messages and screenshots can lose the original date, so a message that looks current may not be.
5. Check the location
Confirm the site name, the street address, and the city or county the update covers. Similar names or more than one site can cause mix-ups. If the post doesn’t say which site it refers to, treat it as unconfirmed.
6. Confirm it a second way
Look for a second official channel, such as your local alert system or the local officials’ page. You can also call the operator directly. If two official sources disagree, don’t share either version as fact. Share how to reach the source instead.
7. Decide what to share
- Confirmed at every step: share it with the source, time and place attached.
- Confirmed only in part: don’t share the claim. Share the official contact and say you haven’t been able to confirm it.
- Not confirmed: hold it, and don’t add to the chain of forwards.
Timestamp and Location: What a Usable Update Looks Like
These two details are the ones most often missing. Compare a weak update with a stronger one.
- Weak: “The shelter is full.”
- Stronger: “[Organization] posted on its official page at [date, time] that [site name, address] is [status]. I checked again at [time]. Confirm with [official contact you looked up yourself].”
The stronger version tells readers who said it, when, and where it applies. It also tells them how to check whether anything has changed. If you can’t say how old the information is, say that too.
A Fill-In Format for Sharing
Use this format when you pass an update along. Fill in only what you verified. Leave a field out rather than guess.
- Source: the organization or agency, and the channel where you found it
- Posted: the date and time on the original
- Applies to: the site name, address, and area
- I checked: the date and time you confirmed it, and how
- To confirm or ask questions: the official contact you looked up yourself
What Is Still Uncertain
- This article can’t tell you whether any particular shelter is open, full, or accepting people. No specific shelter or area was checked for it.
- The official channels available differ by county and city. The sources above describe federal alerting systems and general practice, not the channels used in your area.
- Rules such as hours, pet policies, and what to bring are set by whoever runs each shelter, so ask them directly.
- A confirmation is only good as of the time you checked. Recheck before you share again later.
Keeping Your Own Channels Working
If power or phone service is disrupted, you may not be able to check anything. Ready.gov’s emergency supply kit list includes a battery-powered or hand-crank radio, a NOAA Weather Radio, a cell phone with chargers and a backup battery, and local maps. Those items help you keep receiving official information when normal channels are down.
Your Next Decision
If you have a chain you trust, share the update using the format above. If you don’t, share only the official contact and leave the claim out. If someone needs shelter, call the shelter or your local emergency management office directly and follow their instructions. If anyone is in immediate danger or needs urgent medical care, call 911.
Limits of This Article
This article is general educational information. It cannot confirm whether any shelter, including any shelter named elsewhere on this site, is open, full, or accepting people. It is not a shelter status update, an evacuation instruction, or medical or legal advice. Follow the directions of local emergency officials, and confirm any shelter detail with the operator.