Since having to evacuate my house during the Southern California wildfires back in 2005, I have been meaning to put together an emergency kit. What are the basic items everyone should have on hand for an emergency?
Aaron: This is a good question and one where lots of people and organizations seem to have their own opinions. My advice for you is to follow the general guidelines from the American Red Cross. Mainly because needs can vary from state to state. The most important element is water. One gallon per person, per day. I would recommend the same ratio if you have pets. Generally speaking, you should have a three-day supply for evacuation, two-week supply for the home.
The emergency kit itself should be something that is easy to carry, like a backpack. Below are the basic recommended contents for an emergency kit:
* Food, non-perishable (freeze dried is a great option given the long shelf life)
* Flashlight – Battery-powered, solar or hand-crank
* Radio (NOAA Weather Radio, if possible)
* First aid kit
* Medications (seven-day supply)
* Multipurpose tool
* Sanitation and personal hygiene items
* Copies of personal documents
* Cell phone with chargers
* Family and emergency contact information
* Extra cash
* Emergency blanket
What is the one “must-have” item we should all be buying from you?
Aaron: A water storage container. You can have a tremendous supply of food and more flashlights than you know what to do with. You can have radios, blankets, first aid kits, and shelter. However, the simple fact is that without water your body cannot survive for more than three or four days.
What about those of us who have pets?
Steve: Treat your pets as another person that needs to be included in your emergency preparedness plan. There are two things to plan for regarding pets: the supplies you need if you are going to evacuate and take them with you, and the plan if you have to leave them behind.
If you take them with you, get a separate pet survival kit. If you need to leave pets behind, there is a great kit available from the ASPCA.
Are there different items someone might need, depending on what part of the country they live in? I may be worried about earthquakes here in California but the chances of a tornado or hurricane are pretty slim. How does that effect what you need?
Steve: There is conflicting data on this out there on the Internet. My advice to you is to prepare for disasters in general, but not specific disasters. 95% of us in the United States are living in one type of disaster zone or another, and we are all generally aware of the threats we face living in the geographic area that we live in. There is historical proof showing earthquakes, tornados and wildfires striking in just about every state. Just because you don’t remember it happening in your lifetime doesn’t mean it isn’t going to happen again in the future.
Also remember this: widespread power grid failure can strike anywhere at any time. If our power grid is attacked or hacked by terrorists, over half the country could lose power for two weeks or more. No food delivery, no water, no gas, and no banks. Think about that. Your personal overall emergency preparedness plan should be planning for that. If you’re ready for an emergency of that scale, then you will be ready for anything!
How often do you need to change the items in your emergency kit? For example, batteries go bad …
Steve: The only consumables (such as food, water, batteries, gas, etc.) that don’t need to be rotated every six months are the long-term food storage items you may have. Items like these have a 15 to 20 year shelf life. Everything else should be rotated every six months.
As a reminder, put it on the list of things to do when you change the batteries in your smoke and carbon dioxide detectors. This rotation is extremely important because you should be keeping all of your emergency preparedness supplies in a storage shed at least 25 feet from your home and not in your garage like so many people mistakenly do. Natural disasters, especially earthquakes, cause fires that burn down homes. Your shed will be ready with all of your supplies safe and sound if you heed this advice. Keeping supplies in the shed means that the temperature is going to vary greatly and consumables stored under widely variable temperatures need to be rotated.
If you missed yesterday’s Q&A about why it’s important to have a disaster preparedness plan, you can read it here.
What if you don’t have a shed or outside building? I live in a townhouse and don’t have either. Thanks
Monique,
Not having an outdoor shed or outside building will mean you are going to need to maintain a well fortified BOG (Bug Out Bag). The larger camping or backpacking packs work well for this. Get as much of the recommended survival gear in there and leave as much room as possible for food and water. When space is so limited you may need to consider a good portable water purifier so you can focus on packing more food and purifying your water on the go. Here is an excellent kit…..http://www.afterac.com/katadyn-hiker-microfilter-unit/
There are ready made BOG’s on our site as well that would work fine if you don’t want to assemble one yourself.
Hope this helps!
Steve Miller
Afterac
Great advice! This is something I’ve been meaing to do for a long time but just keep putting it off for some reason. We are a family of 6 plus one pet so it seems overwhelming to think of storing that much stuff – but I know it’s very important.