In five days at the end of September 2026, the United States turned down a ceasefire offer from Iran and oil climbed toward $108 a barrel. Danish intelligence warned that Russia will intensify its hybrid war, which could include cyber attacks that "cripple societal functions". Police in England evacuated homes around vehicles near an air base the US uses to strike Iran. And a Nor'easter left 130,000 customers in the Northeast without power. It is a lot for one week, and a good reason to check your family's emergency plan. FEMA's 2023 national survey suggests many families have work to do: in the year before the survey, 37% of adults had made a plan and 18% had tested how their family would reach each other.
Key Takeaways
- The week's news, 24 to 28 September 2026: the Iran ceasefire offer rejected, oil near $108 and gasoline at $4.48 a gallon, a sabotage warning from Danish intelligence, arrests near an air base used by US bombers in England, and a deadly Nor'easter.
- Poland published instructions for its citizens on what to do in an air attack. Sweden asks every household to manage for at least a week without help.
- Ready.gov's kit list includes a battery-powered or hand-crank radio and a phone with a backup battery, and its technology page warns that "Mobile networks can become overwhelmed during emergencies".
- In FEMA's 2023 survey, 18% of American adults had tested a family communication plan in the past year. That is the gap to close first.
- Keep a way for the family to reach each other that does not depend on a phone call connecting, and pair it with a battery or hand-crank radio that hears alerts without power.
What happened in the last five days
A ceasefire offer turned down. On Saturday, 26 September, President Trump rejected a seven-day plan from Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and return to negotiations for a lasting end to the war. The next day he told Axios, "They want to make a deal, but it is not the deal that I want to make," and said resuming strikes was not off the table: "I am always thinking about it". He also said he expects talks with Iran to resume in the coming week (CBS News, 27 September). In an Al Jazeera interview aired on Saturday, Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian said "We have no trust in the American side and do not know on what basis an understanding can be reached with it" (Al Jazeera, 27 September). The war has squeezed the world's oil supply since late February (AP, via the same CBS News page).
Prices at the pump. Brent crude for November traded at $107.35 a barrel early on 28 September, after the rejection pushed it up more than 3% (Al Jazeera). The national average for regular gasoline was $4.48 a gallon on 28 September, against $3.13 a year earlier (AAA).
A warning from Denmark. On 24 September, Denmark's defense intelligence service said that "Russia will intensify its hybrid war by carrying out more frequent attacks against the West and NATO, with greater consequences for the targeted countries than in the past. This could include cyber attacks that cripple societal functions as well as sabotage attacks that carry a high risk of casualties" (Breaking Defense). An Associated Press map of hybrid incidents shows a rise from 59 in March 2025 to more than 200, and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said "All the response options are there" while telling citizens of NATO countries they can remain calm (AP, via WSLS).
Arrests near RAF Fairford. Early on 27 September, British police arrested five people, put a 400 m cordon around three vehicles and evacuated about 85 households near RAF Fairford, the base the US has used since March to strike Iran. Investigators have not tied the case to Iran. Prime Minister Andy Burnham wrote that the incident "will be deeply concerning for local residents and for many people following developments across the country" (Al Jazeera).
A storm at home. A rare September Nor'easter hit the coast from New Jersey to New England from 26 to 28 September. 130,000 customers were without power on Sunday, 27 September, gusts reached 81 mph at Montauk Point, and a city worker in Brooklyn was killed by a falling tree (weather.com). As the rain began, New York Governor Kathy Hochul told residents: "mark my words: Much more is coming" (CBS News).
What other governments are telling their citizens
Governments closer to the fighting are giving their citizens specific instructions. On 24 September, Poland's Interior Ministry began distributing a guide telling citizens where to shelter indoors and outdoors after a government alert, with an emergency bag that includes power banks, documents, medicines, water and food. Deputy Minister Magdalena Roguska said, in UNN's translation, "We need to work on our preparedness, our knowledge, and our readiness so that our response in the event of a threat becomes a confident, almost natural response" (UNN).
Sweden sets the bar higher. Its government wants everyone "to be able to meet their most basic needs in the event of a crisis or war for at least a week without support from society" (MCF, Sweden).
The warnings are economic too. Two days before this week began, on 22 September, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said of inflation and rising interest rates, "Winter is coming", adding: "We should prepare for people being more unhappy" (Semafor).
How ready American households are
FEMA surveys American households every year. The 2023 survey, with 7,604 responses, found that half the country feels prepared but far fewer have done the things that make a plan work (FEMA National Household Survey).
The gap between the 51% who feel prepared and the 18% who had tested a family communication plan in the past year is the one that shows in a real emergency: supplies keep a family fed, but a tested plan is what gets everyone to the same place.
The emergency kit, and the part most kits miss
Ready.gov, the federal preparedness site, lists what a basic kit holds (Ready.gov, Build a Kit). The table follows its list and adds the one question the list leaves to you.
| Item | Why it is there | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Water, one gallon per person per day, for several days | Drinking and sanitation when the supply stops | Ready.gov |
| At least a several-day supply of non-perishable food, and a manual can opener | No power, no shopping | Ready.gov |
| Battery-powered or hand-crank radio, and a NOAA Weather Radio with tone alert | Alerts and news when the power and the internet are out | Ready.gov |
| Cell phone with chargers and a backup battery | Calls, texts and alerts while the networks hold | Ready.gov |
| A battery-powered light, a first aid kit, a whistle to signal for help | Light, injuries, being found | Ready.gov |
| A way for the family to reach each other | The plan only works if you can tell everyone where to go | Ready.gov, "Make a Plan" |
The last row is the one people skip. Ready.gov's planning page puts it plainly: "Know how you'll contact one another and reconnect if separated" (Ready.gov, Make a Plan). And its technology page explains why the phone alone is not enough: "Mobile networks can become overwhelmed during emergencies, making it hard to make and get phone calls" (Ready.gov, Get Tech Ready). The same page recommends texting over calling, because "Text messages require less bandwidth".
Where a network walkie-talkie fits in the bag
In many emergencies the towers stay up and the calls still fail, because everyone is calling at once. The Echo radio is built for that case: each press of the button goes out as a short burst of data rather than a held phone call, so it gets through on a network where a call cannot get a channel. The explainer on push-to-talk over cellular walks through why.
The Echo radio also adds two things a phone does not have. It connects to all major carriers and switches between them automatically, so a family is not tied to one network. And its antenna reaches towers three to four times farther than a phone's. The radios arrive set up as one group, so one press reaches everyone in the family, and a charge lasts up to 5 days.
Storms do knock towers out. On 30 September 2024, after Hurricane Helene, 54.0% of cell sites in the affected areas of North Carolina were reported out of service (FCC). A phone's bars are not the test of whether a working tower is in reach: no bars means one handset on one carrier could not hold a signal, and the Echo radio can use more networks and reach farther towers than the phone. Where no working tower on any carrier is in reach, there is absolutely no coverage at all, and no network radio works there. That is why the kit carries a battery or hand-crank radio as well as the Echo radio. The battery or hand-crank radio tells you what is happening. The Echo radio keeps the family on one button wherever it can reach a working tower on any major carrier. The guide to walkie talkies for families covers the day-to-day side, and the nationwide coverage explainer covers how far the group reaches. The guide to walkie talkies for emergencies goes through what still works in a power cut, a tower outage or an evacuation, and which radio to carry for each.
A family emergency plan you can make tonight
It takes an evening. Do it in this order.
- Pick two meeting places. One just outside your home, and one outside your neighborhood in case you cannot get back.
- Write the contacts on paper. Phones die and lock. Every bag and every wallet gets the list.
- Pack the bag. Water and food for several days, from the table above. If you want Sweden's standard, plan for a week.
- Keep one way to hear alerts with no power. A battery or hand-crank radio, as Ready.gov lists.
- Decide how the family reaches each other when calls fail. Text first, as Ready.gov advises, and give everyone a walkie-talkie on the same group.
- Test it once. Send the message, meet at the place, time it. That test is the 18% bar in the chart above.
What to ask before the next storm: Where would we meet? How would the kids reach us if the calls would not go through? And who has the list on paper?
Frequently asked questions about emergency preparedness
What is emergency preparedness?
Emergency preparedness is getting ready before a disaster: a plan for where your family meets and how you reach each other, supplies for several days, and a way to get alerts without power.
What should be in a go bag?
Ready.gov's list covers water, non-perishable food, a manual can opener, a battery-powered light, a first aid kit, a whistle, a battery-powered or hand-crank radio, and a phone with chargers and a backup battery. Poland's new citizen guide adds documents, medicines and power banks. Add a way for the family to stay in touch.
How many days of supplies should I keep?
Ready.gov says several days, with one gallon of water per person per day. Sweden asks households to manage for at least a week without help. Start with three days and build toward a week.
How do you communicate when phone networks are overloaded?
Text rather than call: Ready.gov notes that a text needs less bandwidth, so it is more likely to go through. Agree on the meeting places in advance so one short message is enough, and keep a second way to talk that the whole family carries.
Ready before the next headline
This week's news will change by next week, and some of it will be frightening again. The plan does not have to change with it. Pick one evening this week and work through the six steps above in order. The Echo radio is one way to cover step five.