Pre-Event Setup: The Work That Makes Sweeps Fast

A sweep that works in the field was built before the field. There are four things your MAG needs in place before any event—if you are doing any of these for the first time after the disaster, you are already too late to do them well.

• Sweep area defined. Know exactly which households are in your sweep zone. Number them. Have a walk order that minimizes backtracking. Mark it on a hand-drawn map if necessary.
• Sweep form pre-printed. One row per household, eight lifeline columns, status codes (G/Y/R/?) and notes field for each. The companion guide includes a template. Print 20 copies and keep them in your go-bag.
• Vulnerable household list. This is the single most important piece of pre-event intelligence your MAG can hold. Who is oxygen-dependent? Who is on dialysis? Who lives alone and is over 75? Who has an infant? This list must be built with consent and held confidentially by the MAG Medical Lead. It cannot be built from memory at 3 AM when the power is out.
• Reporting channel confirmed. Know before the event which radio net, which CERT contact, or which communication method your sweep report will travel. Test it. A report that cannot be transmitted is wasted effort.

The Sweep Team

A minimum sweep team is two people: one to do the door conversation, one to record and maintain situational awareness. For safety reasons, single-person sweeps are not recommended after events involving structural damage, unknown security conditions, or HAZMAT indicators.

Sweep team members carry:

• Sweep form clipboard (one row per household)
• GMRS or ham handheld radio, charged, on the MAG’s operating frequency — your pre-planned frequency should be recorded in your Family Emergency Plan Workbook; local area frequencies are available in the Area-Specific Assessment Report
• Pen and backup pen
• Flashlight (events often begin or worsen at night)
• N95 respirator (always on person; HAZMAT indicators can appear without warning)
• High-visibility vest or identifiable MAG marker (establishes role to neighbors)
• Small first-aid kit

MAG Roles During a Sweep

The Eight-Question Sequence

Every household receives the same eight questions, in the same order, every sweep cycle. The sequence is designed so that the most time-critical information (life safety, medical) comes first and lower-urgency items follow. The questions are in plain language deliberately—you are talking to neighbors, not filing a report at the door.

Each household takes 90 seconds to 4 minutes depending on what is wrong. If something serious emerges—an injured resident, an oxygen crisis, structural collapse—the sweep team lead transmits immediately by radio without waiting to finish the form. The sweep continues after the urgent item is escalated.

Handling “We’re Fine”

Underreporting is a leading cause of preventable deaths in extended disasters. People say “we’re fine” because they do not want to be a burden, because they are in shock, because they trust that help is coming, or because they genuinely do not yet know what they need. The sweep team is not a poll—it is a welfare check. If the verbal report is “we’re fine” but the visual evidence says otherwise (someone visibly unsteady, a window boarded with a sheet, a generator running in an enclosed space), note both. Record what you see, not just what you hear.

Sweep Cadence by Phase

• Hours 0-12
  Acute Phase — Every 2 hours
  The situation changes rapidly. New needs appear, some resolve. Power may come back in some areas. Medical situations deteriorate. Full sweep every cycle.
• Hours 12-72
  Stabilization Phase — Every 4-6 hours
  Track new issues, escalations, and recoveries. Begin noting which households have resolved independently vs. which remain dependent on MAG support.
• Days 3-14
  Extended Response — Once per day minimum
  Track utility restorations by address, supply distribution locations and times, medical needs that are emerging rather than acute, mental health indicators.
• Week 2+
  Early Recovery — 2-3x per week
  Shift focus to recovery tracking: insurance contacts made, contractors vetted, debris removal scheduled, FEMA registration completed. Welfare checks continue but emphasis changes.

Post-Sweep Consolidation

When the sweep team returns from the block, the coordinator and communications lead consolidate the sweep forms into a single Community SITREP. The process:

1. Assign a color code to each lifeline based on the aggregate of all household observations. If any household has a Red condition in a lifeline, that lifeline is Red for the block.
2. Write one sentence of basis for each color assignment.
3. Extract the priority needs (the specific, actionable, address-identified items that require outside resources) into the Priority Needs field.
4. Set the next report time.
5. Transmit via the pre-established reporting channel.

Total consolidation time for a well-practiced team with a 10-household block: 8–12 minutes. First SITREP transmitted within 45 minutes of the sweep start.