ready for emergencies

An emergency survival kit, such as a 72 hour kit could be the difference between life and death after a disaster or major emergency occurs.  Imagine if many of the victims of Hurricane Katrina could have grabbed a self sustaining kit as they abandoned their homes. Most could have gone days with out the aid or dependence of anyone else. The question you now need to ask yourself is; Can you sustain yourself and your family for 72 hours away from your home in one of a million scenarios?  Can you get to the kit and easily carry it with you while you are running out of your home? Not having an emergency 72 hour kit might severely jeopardize you and families chances of survival. Don’t put their lives at risk, don’t take your chances.  In this 72-hour kit and emergency essentials article, we hope to teach you about the importance of an emergency survival kit, as well as provide general tips and advice as you customize the essential items to match you and your families specific needs.

Emergency Scenario

There are many possible situations that force you out of your home in a moments notice such as a flash flood, earthquake, storm and more. You should become well acquainted with the common disasters and dangerous events for your area. Knowledge is power, and can really help assist you build a well rounded kit tailored for what you might need it for.The 72 Hour Kit should be designed to be grabbed and carried away as you quickly evacuate.  A popular way to do so is in an older back-pack. Generally you would need a back-pack per person, or at least one per every two members of your family.  The contents should have items that would help you sustain yourselves by fulfilling some basic needs.  These basics are food and water, first-aid kit, clothing, basic medicines/sanitary aides, blankets, flashlights, a change of cloths, food prep. items, and more as discussed further.  Space is critical (how big the back-pack everyone will be carrying) and so is weight (younger family members can carry less heavy items than an adult).  Many parts of a kit we suggest you buy, can easily be found in a light form factor, to take up the smallest amount of room such as a space blanket.

Practical Tip

Customize your kit to you and your families needs, factoring in things such as individuals ages, medical condition, average eating portions and even personalities.  Getting the 72 hour kit essentials started.

First Aid Kit

A basic first aid kit should have everything stored in a watertight container; there is no debate on this.  The contents should include a wide assortment of band-aids, gauze pads, medical tape, butterfly bandages, elastic bandages, scissors, tweezers, a needle, burn free/neosporin type ointments, Aspirin/Tylenol/Ibuprofen, eye cleaner, surgical gloves, antiseptic cleaner, alcohol and hydrogen peroxide are all good suggestions.  Don’t forget to add any other over the counter medical items you commonly use. Finally, add to the top of your kit, a good first aid book and remember soap!  There are many good all-in-one first aid kits out there to get you started.  Do research from many different sources  to make an educated decision for your First Aid Kit essentials.

First Aid Kit Tip:

Try to keep the First Aid Kit small and compact.

Food and Water

Food and Water are very critical and could be hard to come by in a disaster.  With that said, they can be heavy additions to your back pack.  You should minimize what you can in order to have the items mobile.  What ever you stick in there, you might have to carry for a long time.  Small amounts of water in bottles, and a camping water purifier might be a good start.  Food bars/blocks (power/energy bars) are nutritious and are compact.  Meals Ready to Eat (MRE’s) can be added to a main pack and they are self contained and have a heating source inside the MRE pack, but their size and weight can add up quickly.  We recommend both items. Water pouches/boxes are great and minimize space whereas retail water bottles can be harder to carry but they will still work of course. Carry enough food in each pack to sustain the person it is assigned to be carried by, and the same for all members of your family. 72 hours is the goal, but try to get something to last between 3 to 5 days at a minimum. The Food and Water part of your kit might contain items with expiration dates, so set reminders and rotate the food as needed.

Practical Tip:

Adults can survive on just about anything you put in the pack, but children will usually refuse to eat many emergency foods, so plan accordingly.  The trauma of a disaster, and being forced out of their home can often keep a child from wanting to eat. Pay attention, keep notes, do what you can to make sure they at least drink liquids/fruit drinks enough to survive.

Specific Advice:

Beyond what was discussed above, include some dried fruit/foods, snacks, crackers, coffee, tea or add-water hot chocolate pouches. They can provide warmth and a needed change. Small children will need cookies/candy sometimes to maintain sanity.  Should you have infants and/or elderly individuals with special diet considerations, do not forget to include their needs when storing items. A supply of multi-vitamins will prove to be an excellent supplement to food intake for them and everyone else. Water is usually more available (it is the first item your local government, and the federal government will provide in the first response wave. Everyone knows the basic need for survival in extreme conditions is water. Purification tablets are wise for this reason. Your 72 hour kit needs to provide 1 Quart of water per person, per day.  In extreme heat, you will need to double that amount.

Clothing

Clothing is usually just a luxury you could consider including. A general  suggestion would be one change of clothes if possible, or one average set of clothes that anyone in the family could use. They should be work clothes that can handle hard use. Do not forget underwear!  Anticipate severe weather conditions based on the area you live in. Refresh clothing in the kit as sizes change. Wool is better than Cotton for cold weather.

Clothing Tip:

Include a shirt, pants, underwear (2), socks, hat, full rain clothing to make sure that children do not get too wet. Really small children  must have diapers and many changes of clothes. Also try to realize the likeliness of your children getting sick in a disaster or emergency and prepare accordingly.

Bedding

Stock up on Space Blankets and Pillows.  They only take up just a small amount of space and are very effective  (engineered by NASA).  Sleeping bags may be nice if you can grab them or have them attached to your back pack.  Some people will even include an air mattress or foam pad. Bags should be 2 pound hollow-filled, and insulation should be a 3/8 inch foam pad if you want to include it. If you have to use normal blankets, use wool which will still keep you warm even if they get wet.  As you can assume what the problem with adding these slightly unneccessary item to your kit is, you will have to be able to carry everything.

Shelter

If a rigid shelter can not be found, an alternative could be a small tent/tarp with some strong, thin rope.  In our experience, finding a shelter is generally more available than rest of the items in the kit.  We have seen people utilize garages, barns, sheds and overhangs for a short period of time.

Fuel, Heat and Lighting

This is a category where you would love to have lots of things, but probably couldn’t carry them.  You must settle for some basic light, a little heat or fuel.  Sterno cans called “canned heat” can help you heat up water. For these,  carry a couple of aluminum bowls, they are light and other things can use them for. Scout cooking kits are great, you really only need one for a family.  You can often use wood for a fire if you need to.  However, you must have some matches in your kit to make this work.  We like Butane Cigarette Lighters, and Magnesium fire starters are good with wet or damp wood. Shave off Magnesium into the wet material and light it. The Magnesium strips, burn extremely hot and can start a fire even with the wettest fire kindling.  Light sources vary a great deal.  If at all possible, go for self generation,  not batteries.  Wind up, shaking and /or solar powered devices are very available and reasonable in price.  Propane or butane provides an excellent source for lanterns, stoves and portable heaters but only if you can carry them in a separate back pack or container. Candles serve as a marginal source of light, however, in an emergency they can prove to be extremely valuable.

Miscellaneous Emergency Kit Items

Cash, ID cards, Credit Cards  are always helpful after the first few days have settled and you need to get additional help or get more supplies. Remember to include an all-in-one tool, that has pliers, knife, screw driver and more built in,  you never know what you need it for. Other items, if you have room include: Pocket hand warmers, compact fishing kit, compass, nylon rope, fine wire, small games and toys, spare glasses, field glasses, small radio, toothbrushes/toothpaste, mirror, comb, razor, baby wipes, toilet paper, feminine products, sunscreen, lip balm, wash cloths, medical cards, mosquito repellent and CASH!