EmergencyKit(Home)
Summary
In preparation for a major storm you should have an emergency kit to provision your family for at least 72 hours. A basic kit includes food stuffs and water and a few other essential survival items. Be prepared to eat lightly and possibly lose a bit of weight.
Prepare a Home Emergency Kit
Prepare an emergency 72-hour kit and leave it by the door in case you need to “grab it and go”. Use a backpack to carry and distribute the weight.
- 72-Hour Emergency Preparedness Kit Checklist, St. John Ambulance
- Hurricane Preparedness - Be Ready, National Hurricane Center
- Surviving Cyclones: Preparation and Safety Procedures, Australian Government, Bureau of Meteorology
- Are you Cyclone Ready?, Harle's Electrical
- Hurricane Preparation Checklist, BoatSafe.com
Basic Emergency Kit
An essential emergency kit should include:
- water
- canned goods
- can opener (2)
- First aid kit (stocked for the most common injuries: sprains, fractures, cuts, headaches, and allergic reactions)
- batteries
- flashlight
- whistle to signal for help
- medication
- personal documentation (copies of: passports, birth certificates, marriage certificate, insurance policies, wills)
- battery-operated radio
- blankets (waterproof, emergency, space, thermal)
- personal sanitation (soap, toilet paper, sanitary napkins, moist towelettes, garbage bags and plastic ties)
- cash in small bills and coins
- spare house and car keys
- cell phone with chargers, inverter or solar charger
- lightweight plastic rain gear
Replace food and water once a year. And take two can openers — it's a single point of failure if you have only one and lose it.
Water
You need at least 1 gallon (3.5 litres) of water per person per day for 3 days. A normally active person needs to drink at least one half gallon of water each day (~2 litres). You will also need water to clean yourself and to cook. (This means a family of four needs 12 gallons of water in their emergency supply.) — Center for Disease Control[1]
Water is heavy, a gallon weighs 8.4 pounds. One litre weighs one kilogram. Put the water in several containers or plastic bottles to distribute the weight and make it easier to carry; and also to reduce the risk of losing it all if a container leaks.
Basic First Aid Items
Some items to consider in a first-aid kit:
- 1 small bottle pain relievers
- 2 absorbent compress dressings
- 25 adhesive bandages in assorted sizes
- 1 adhesive cloth tape
- 5 antibiotic ointment packets
- 2 hydrocortisone ointment packets
- 5 antiseptic wipe packets
- 1 blanket, ideally a space blanket
- 1 breathing barrier with one-way valve
- 1 instant cold compress
- 2 pairs of non-latex gloves
- 1 pair scissors
- 1 roller bandage (8 cm, or 3 inches wide)
- 1 roller bandage (10 cm, or 4 inches wide)
- 5 sterile gauze pads (8 cm, or 3 inches) x 8 cm, or 3 inches
- 5 sterile gauze pads (10 cm, or 4 inches) x 10 cm or 4 inches
- 1 oral thermometer (non-mercury, non-glass, non-battery)
- 2 triangular bandages
- 1 pair tweezers
- 1 First aid instruction booklet
Additional Items
Some additional items to consider:
- cooking gear (matches, fuel lamp, portable stove)
- eating utensils (mess kit)
- local maps
- shelter (ponchos, tarps, tent)
Basic Foodstuffs
Some basic survival foods available at the local supermarket or bulk food store are:
- Nuts (peanuts)
- Trail mix
- Peanut butter
- Canned fish (tuna, salmon)
- Chocolate (Baker's semi-sweet squares)
- Wholewheat crackers
- Dried fruit (raisins)
- Cheese brick
Depending on the availability of water and cooking facilities you could also consider:
- Brown rice
- Dried beans (kidney beans, black beans, garbanzo beans, lima beans, pinto beans)
- Tea, instant coffee
- Powdered milk
- Powdered eggs
You can spoon the milk powder into a water bottle and shake it up.
Plan Consumption
Some selected caloric examples to help you plan consumption:
| Food Item | Serving | Calories |
|---|---|---|
| Peanuts | 36.5 g/0.25 cup | 207 |
| Peanut butter | 32.0 g/2 tbsp | 188 |
| Baker's Semi-Sweet Chocolate | 14.0 g/1 piece | 40 |
| Raisins | 100.0 g | 299 |
| Tuna | 100.0 g | 184 |
| Brown rice | 100.0 g | 111 |
| Kidney beans | 100.0 g | 333 |
| Cheddar cheese | 100.0 g | 402 |
| Powdered milk | 100.0 g | 496 |
Generally powdered milk is prepared with a ratio of 3 units of water to 1 of powder measured as volume or 10:1 by weight, but first check the instructions on the package. For example:
- 1/3 cup powder x 1 cup water
- 100 g powder x 1 kg water (1 litre) (496 calories)
See CyclonePreparationChecklist
