Prepared disaster kits for any emergency

The one page 'everything you need to know about disaster kits' website. Get prepared while you have time.

The basics of a disaster kit include food, water, and warmth. Consider what you need to stay alive for several days? When you really think about it, most of what we use during the day isn't necessary or is just for comfort (think music, technology, communication, etc). Your personal disaster kit needs to focus on the essentials and be customized to the environment you live in. While essentially the same, a disaster kit put together for a person/family in Alaska will be slightly different than one for somebody living in Arizona. Prepare for disaster now by getting your disaster kit ready.

Every disaster kit needs food, water, and warmth. Everybody in the family should have their own disaster kit (stored near a door with easy access to it). Everybody should understand what is in their disaster kit, why it's there, and how to use it. Kits should be designed with specific family members in mind (include medicine avoid certain foods that cause allergies, etc). Good disaster kits fit into a backpack for easier travel.

A basic disaster kit would provide 3 days supply of non-perishable food per person. This food should be things like freeze dried foods, MRE'S, granola bars, soup mixes, some canned goods, or other foods that won't go bad readily. The food should be storable for long periods of time, heat tolerant, easy to prepare, and most importantly: something you will eat. When preparing a disaster kit, consider who you are creating or purchasing it for. Is it for you? Do you eat stew but refuse to eat MRE's? If so, pack it according to what you would eat. If the disaster kit is for a child, consider their food preferences and allergies. All of the peanut butter in the world wouldn't help my entire family since some of us have a severe peanut allergy. We built our disaster kits around this, included light foods with long shelf life, easy preparation and cleanup, and things we eat. Stews, soups that just require water, freeze dried meals that require a bit of water to restore, etc. We also have candy and a few snacks in each disaster kit we own. Preparing a disaster kit now means you can add whatever you want....add a few comfort foods.

Note about disaster kits: check them every 6 months. Remove spoiled food or food near it's expiration date. If you pack the right foods, it shouldn't spoil (especially if you're checking your disaster kits every 6 months!).

In an emergency, you need at least a gallon of water per person per day. This will cover basic cooking, drinking and sanitation. The more water, the better, except that water is difficult to move. We keep a few water containers in our basement and several 5 gallon containers (with chlorine) in our garage. We also have several rivers within a quarter mile of where we live, so that is plan B. That means that a water filter is a necessary disaster kit item.

The loss of water lines to your home could spell disaster without a water filter to purify nearby sources of water. No basic disaster kit is complete without one. Water sources might be a river, lake, or swimming pool. A person cannot survive without access to water...clean water. Depending on the type of disaster (imagine a hurricane) water sources might become contaminated with parasites. The right water filters or purifying methods can decrease your chance of becoming ill. So, plan on having a water filter or iodine tablets in your disaster kit to cleanup drinking water. Another way to clean water is to boil it for several minutes. That requires fire, fire source, and large pot, of course. A water filter fits into a diaster kit / backpack much easier.

To store water, fill a sealable container with tap water. Add 16 drops of chlorine bleach per gallon. Seal the container as tightly as possible. Store the water out of direct sunlight (do decrease the risk of things growing in it). When sealing the container, do not touch the inside of the container directly with your hands. Keep it as sanitary as possible. Water stores better in the dark and in moderate temperatures...so, think basement if possible.

Keep a box of matches, a lighter and a candle in a waterproof container in each disaster kit. If you need a fire, be able to start one!

Trust us, keep extra socks in each disaster kit. Keep your feet dry and avoid blisters by having access to clean, dry socks.

If you lost power, how would you know what is going on? Alarm clocks wouldn't work, obviously. Anything relying on electricy would be powerless. You could run your vehicle for awhile (but gas is precious in emergencies!) and turn on the vehicle radio. Having a battery powered radio (with extra batteries) or a hand cranked radio is essential for a basic disaster kit.

In an emergency, especially a wide spread one, communication is cut off. Powerlines are down, internet won't be working, cell phone repeaters are likely out. A radio can be a fanastic means of one way communication. You can listen to radio broadcasts from emergency personnel warning of additional threats (fires, a second hurricane, heaven forbid, etc). You can find out where to report, where there is food available (don't count on anybody else--prepare your own disaster kit today!). Without a reliable radio, you would not be able to get this information.

Every basic disaster kit should include a first aid kit. First aid kits provide a person the ability to immediately treat a burn, cut, or wound. First aid kits should (at a minimum) include tweezers, band aids, gauze, antibacterial cream, and asprin. These kits can be fairly small, but it's a tradeoff. The purpose of the first aid kit in a basic disaster kit is to provide aid right away, but hospitals might be over run or impossible to reach. So, keep a simple first aid kit in your disaster kits and have a larger one available in the basement, garage, or vehicle.

A disaster kit is not complete without a sleeping bag. In an earthquake, you might need to be outside for several days before help arrives. Your disaster kit needs to be ready to keep you warm at night. The great thing about sleeping bags is that they can often be put into very small bags and easily kept by your disaster kit. Think of kids. If you were outside overnight, one sleeping bag will not be enough for a family. Plan these things today before the emergency strikes!

When talking about disaster kits, a tent is outside of the realm of a 'basic disaster kit'. However, I keep a camping tent with my disaster kits so that if we had to grab the kits and run, we would have shelter. Imagine the earthquake has just finished. Your home is still standing, at the moment, but powerlines are down, water is severed to homes, the threat of aftershocks is real. First thing is to grab your family, get your disaster kits, and get outside. A tent in this situation is invaluable. You have shelter from the weather now (since you fear the house is no longer stable. It is recommended to keep a tent near your disaster kits. Know how to set the tent up and be sure it's in working order (no missing poles, ripped canvas, etc).

Life without electricity can be extremely dark. Flashlights with extra batteries is necessary. Every disaster kit should have a workable flashlight with several backup batteries. This would allow you to work at night (setting up a tent, starting a fire, etc). Glowsticks are also useful and very light. Pack a few of those in as well.

The piercing sound of a whistle can be heard much more clearly than a voice. A whistle can be used to alert emergency personnel that you are near by and need assistance. Have you tried shouting over the wind? Good luck. Keep a whistle tied to the outside of every disaster kit backpack.

In an emergency, possibly with trees down on the roads and roadsides down, could you get to where you need to be? What if a bridge is out? Local maps would enable you to get around obstacles. Local maps in at least one disaster kit for a family is a necessity. Helps you locate rivers for water, find places to avoid, etc. Keep a compass with the map. Know how to use both. My family lives in several different areas of a state. We have a 'safe place' we all know about. How we get there in an emergency would depend on the severity of the emergency, but it's essential we each have our own map so we can work around obstacles that arise.

Keep a box of dust masks in your disaster kit. This can help reduce damaging particles from being inhaled or reduce chance of getting an airborn virus. If the disaster is bird flu, for example, you still need to go out into public (groceries, gas stations, etc). Having dust masks, and keeping hands sanitized, can help you protect yourself. And in a true emergency access to dust masks will be hard to impossible...they'd sell out fast.

For more information about flu masks, visit Pandemic flu masks.

Keep a few months worth of prescription medicine (as recommended by your physician) in your disaster kits. We keep an asthma inhaler for one of our kids (in the first aid kit). If a disaster strikes, your local pharmacy is going to be closed for awhile, or worse, looted. Without planning ahead, you are not going to get the medicine you require. Think how fast a hospital will be over run. Plan ahead, prepare now, get extra medicine in your disaster kit.

A can opener to open any canned food is absolutely vital. This could be in the form of a swiss army knife, or a stand alone (non-electrical) can opener. In a pinch, a hammer and a screwdriver could work, but avoid that (possible food contamination) and just carry a can opener with you.

In an emergency, a few tools will be helpful. Screwdrivers, wrenches, etc. Think about your utilities. What will you require to turn off gas to your house? Keep these tools in at least one disaster kit in your house.

Every disaster kit should include a knife. It can be a pocket knife or something larger, depending on the age of the person who will be using that disaster kit. I won't focus on self defense, but think of the hundreds of uses a knife could provide from cutting rope during making a shelter to carving splinters for a fire. In the right hands, this will be the most useful item in your disaster kit. Keep a sharpening stone with the knife.

Plastic bags are light, water proof, and invaluable in an emergency. They store garbage for removal, protect from rain, can be used to carry things with, among hundreds of other uses. Keep several bags in each disaster kit.

In an emergency, you likely won't have access to running water. Moist towelettes and hand sanitizer can be used to reduce your chances of getting sick in unsanitary conditions. Often in emergencies, more people die from sickness following the disaster than the disaster itself. Help yourself out by being able to keep your hands clean.

Cash (ATM's won't work) keep small bills since stores won't take credit cards or be able to break $100.

Change for purchasing small items

Gold or silver (a few coins could help a ton in a real emergency)

Old pair of glasses (don't throw them away when you get a new pair)

Additional blankets, sleeping bags, sleeping bads for comfort

Copies of family documents (insurance, bank account info, passport, credit card info, etc)

Diapers for babies (and more wipes)

Infant formula

Games for kids, a few books, photos (things kids would like during an emergency)

Food for your pets with additional water

First aid book or other valuable book information

Extra shoes

Extra clothes

Chlorine bleach (use 16 drops of bleach per gallon of water)

candles

plastic plates, utensils, cups, paper towels, etc.