Preparing for an emergency comes down to four things: supplies to sustain your household, a plan so everyone knows what to do, documents you can grab quickly, and the ability to communicate when normal systems fail. Most emergencies share the same basic needs regardless of whether you’re facing a hurricane, wildfire, earthquake, or prolonged power outage. Starting with even a few steps puts you far ahead of the majority of households.
Water and Food for Three Days Minimum
Water is the single most critical supply. The CDC recommends storing at least 1 gallon per person per day for a minimum of three days. That gallon covers drinking, cooking, and basic hygiene like brushing teeth. A family of four needs 12 gallons just to hit the three-day baseline, and hotter climates, nursing mothers, and anyone who is ill will need more. Store water in food-grade containers away from direct sunlight, and rotate it every six months.
For food, stock items that require no refrigeration, no cooking, and no water to prepare. Good options include ready-to-eat canned meats, fruits, and vegetables (with a manual can opener), protein bars, peanut butter, dried fruit, dry cereal, and shelf-stable pasteurized milk. Canned juices pull double duty as both hydration and calories. Don’t forget comfort foods. During a stressful event, familiar snacks can do more for morale than you’d expect. If you have infants, keep a separate supply of formula and baby food.
Building a Supply Kit
Beyond food and water, a well-stocked kit includes a battery-powered or hand-crank radio, a flashlight with extra batteries, a basic first aid kit, a whistle to signal for help, dust masks, plastic sheeting and duct tape for sheltering in place, moist towelettes, garbage bags, and a wrench or pliers to turn off utilities. Keep everything in a portable container you can carry if you need to evacuate quickly.
A standard first aid kit handles cuts, burns, and sprains, but it won’t help with serious bleeding. If you want to be more prepared, consider adding a tourniquet and hemostatic gauze, which promotes clotting for deep wounds. These items require some training to use correctly, but a basic “Stop the Bleed” class takes about an hour and is offered free in most communities.
Cash and Important Documents
When the power goes out, card readers and ATMs go with it. Keep a small emergency cash stash in low denominations, especially ones and fives, since making change during a disaster is difficult. Even starting with $20 in mixed bills and a roll of quarters gives you options for buying gas, water, or supplies when electronic payments are down.
Gather copies of your most important documents: insurance policies, identification, bank account records, and any medical records your household depends on. Save digital copies on a USB drive or secure cloud storage, and keep physical copies in a waterproof, portable container. When you’re evacuating under pressure, you won’t have time to dig through filing cabinets.
A Communication Plan Your Family Practices
The Red Cross recommends every household establish two meeting places: one right outside your home for sudden emergencies like a fire, and one outside your neighborhood in case you can’t return home or are told to evacuate. Everyone in the family should know both locations without having to look them up.
Designate an out-of-area emergency contact, someone in a different city or state. When local phone networks are overloaded, long-distance calls and texts often still go through. Every family member should carry this contact’s information both saved on their phone and written on a card in their wallet. Make sure your children’s school or daycare also has these numbers on file. If family members live elsewhere, whether a college student, someone deployed in the military, or a frequent traveler, your plan should account for how they’ll check in.
One practical tip that makes a real difference: text instead of calling. Text messages use far less bandwidth and are more likely to get through when networks are congested. Download offline maps of your city and surrounding area through Google Maps while you still have a data connection. If cell towers go down or you lose service, you’ll still be able to navigate evacuation routes.
Medication, Medical Devices, and Mobility Needs
If anyone in your household takes prescription medication, keep a rotating supply in your emergency kit. For medications requiring refrigeration, talk with your doctor ahead of time about alternative storage options during a power outage or whether a substitute drug exists that doesn’t need to stay cold. The same conversation applies to anyone receiving regular treatments like dialysis: know your backup facility before disaster strikes.
People who rely on powered medical equipment face an especially serious risk. Research from the National Institute on Aging found that only 25% of older adults who depend on electrically powered medical devices have a backup power source. If you or someone in your household uses an oxygen machine, electric wheelchair, or hospital bed, discuss manual alternatives with your doctor or medical supply provider. A manual wheelchair or a non-electric oxygen tank could be the difference between independence and a dangerous situation during an extended outage.
Don’t overlook smaller essentials: eyeglasses, hearing aids, and extra hearing aid batteries. For people with Alzheimer’s or dementia, include comfort items like a favorite blanket or pillow, familiar snacks, and high-nutrient drinks. These can help reduce agitation during an already disorienting event.
Preparing for Pets
Many emergency shelters don’t accept animals, so your evacuation plan needs a pet-specific component. The CDC recommends packing a two-week supply of food and water for each animal in waterproof containers, along with a two-week supply of any medications and a one-month supply of flea, tick, and heartworm preventatives.
Keep photocopies of veterinary records in your kit, including vaccination certificates, rabies documentation, recent test results, and prescription information. Include proof of ownership or adoption records, a written description of each pet (breed, sex, color, weight), a recent photo, and your microchip number with the company’s contact information. If you’re separated from your pet during an evacuation, this paperwork is what reunites you. Every animal should also have a collar with current ID tags, a leash, and a harness ready to go.
Practice and Maintenance
A kit you built three years ago and never touched is a kit full of expired food, dead batteries, and outdated documents. Set a calendar reminder every six months to rotate water, check expiration dates on food and medications, test batteries and flashlights, and update any documents that have changed. Swap out seasonal clothing if your kit includes a change of clothes.
Run through your communication plan with your family at least once a year. Make sure everyone, including children, can recite the two meeting locations and the out-of-area contact’s phone number. Practice an evacuation route from your home and identify an alternate in case the primary route is blocked. The goal isn’t perfection. It’s making sure that when stress is high and time is short, the important decisions have already been made.