United States

Emergency kit

Reviewed 2026-07-26

Use at your own risk. For education and research only, not medical advice. Check the numbers and rules for the country you are in. They change. Before you rely on these cards, have a medical professional or a fire safety specialist review them. Disclaimer

Do this first

Today, pack one bag per household that will keep you going for 72 hours without stores, power or tap water.

After a flood, a blackout or an evacuation order, the first three days are on you. The kit is one bag by the door, packed once on a calm day and checked twice a year. It turns a night of chaos into an inconvenience.

Step by step

Water first: three liters per person per day for drinking and basic hygiene, for at least three days. Store it, and add a way to make more drinkable, such as tablets or a filter.
Food that needs no cooking: canned goods with a can opener, nuts, bars, dried fruit, baby food if needed, and a bowl for the pet.
Light and information: a flashlight per person, spare batteries, a power bank, and a battery or hand-crank radio. The phone network goes down before FM does.
Medicines for a week for every regular medication in the house, plus a first aid kit, spare glasses and copies of prescriptions.
Papers and money: copies of IDs, insurance, deeds and key phone numbers in a waterproof pouch, and cash in small notes, because card terminals die with the power.
Warmth and hygiene: a change of clothes, a rain layer, foil blankets, soap, toothbrushes, toilet paper, wet wipes, trash bags and menstrual supplies.
Keep it where you can grab it in one minute, tell everyone in the household where it is, and check dates and batteries every spring and fall.

Never do this

Never let the kit depend on electricity alone. Every powered item needs a battery or hand-crank alternative.
Never pack it and forget it. Expired water tastes bad, and expired medicines and dead batteries fail you at the worst hour.
Never plan around a car you might not reach, fuel you might not buy or an elevator that will not run.

Call emergency services if

The kit is preparation. The numbers stay the same: 911 for immediate danger to life.
Follow official channels for evacuation orders and shelter locations.
Check on vulnerable neighbors. Their kit is often the one that does not exist.

Common questions

Isn't this paranoid?

FEMA and Ready.gov officially ask every household to be self-sufficient for at least 72 hours, and every hurricane and blackout shows why. Services deal with the worst cases first, and stores empty within hours. One bag is cheap insurance that you will probably use.

What matters most if I only do three things?

Water, your daily medicines, and a charged power bank with a flashlight. These cover the failures that hurt most on the first night.