When a natural disaster hits, images of people picking clean grocery store shelves of emergency supplies is quite the norm. It is not a pleasant scenario, but you have taken the first major step in evading that situation since you are here reading this article. We will cover all the items needed in an emergency kit and the necessities you will require to survive.
Where to Start When Building an Emergency Kit
There are two pertinent questions, which you should ask yourself before making an emergency kit:
Who is supposed to use the kit?
You should consider the number of people the survival kit is needed to support during an emergency and their exact needs. A kit meant for the young will look different from that of an older person or a kid.
What type of disasters can affect you?
The kind of emergency you anticipate informs the sort of items you will have in the emergency kit. For California residents, a wildfire or an earthquake is the most probable disaster you should anticipate.
Also, does the crisis naturally demand you to evacuate or stay at home? If evacuation is needed, you should consider creating an emergency kit, which is portable.
The Basics For A Family Emergency Kit
Water
Natural disasters can affect your clean water supply. Hence, it would help if you planned on having at least five liters of clean water on hand per person per day. You can buy bottled water at your local store, or you can reuse empty juice cans and fill them with purified water.
Suppose you are creating an emergency kit for evacuation. In that case, it is not logical to carry more than five liters of purified water. Hence, it would be best if you considered purchasing a water filtering straw that is portable.
Food
When a disaster strikes and shuts down the power grid, it also leads to the closure of hotels and convenience stores. In a crisis, the easier the food, the better. In your survival kit, include easy-to-eat foods like dried nuts and nuts. But do not purchase whatever is cheap. Having bland food during an emergency is a morale-killer. Also, ensure you pack food for babies and pets as well.
If you want to include hot meals in your preparedness kit, you should go for canned foods or freeze-dried meal pouches for a more portable alternative. But suppose you are looking for a way of stocking up calories without digging deep into your pocket. In that case, you should consider food ration bars.
Communication and Light
Humans typically depend on news and the internet to know what is happening around us. Still, in most cases, these modes of communication become unreliable when disaster strikes. In a crisis, keeping in touch with what is happening could be a game-changer.
Getting yourself a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) weather radio in the emergency kit will keep you updated on weather changes and other crucial information. Currently, numerous weather radios come as combination devices, including lights and mobile phone chargers, thus lowering the number of gadgets kept in your preparedness kit. It is also vital to have individual lights for every family member.
First Aid
It is a brilliant idea to create your preparedness kit with what you already possess. Get bandages, painkillers, and antibiotics to build a basic preparedness kit. Slowly add gadgets like allergy medicine, burn cream, and other first aid items. If you are a parent to young kids, do not forget to add kids’ medicines. In addition, if you are not conversant with simple first-aid procedures, which come in handy during an emergency, you should contemplate getting classes. With the advancement of technology, it is easy to get a CPR certification online. It will come in handy during an emergency.
Shelter and Clothing
Another essential thing you need to worry about is how to keep yourself warm. Preparedness kits should have one additional set of clothes for every family member relying on the kit and a warm blanket. The blanket can also be utilized to create an emergency shelter if need be.
Hygiene and Comfort
Though cleanliness takes a back seat during an emergency, which should not be the case, cleanliness becomes crucial, especially when getting purified drinking water becomes hard. Comfort and hygiene are pretty reassuring when subjected to loads of stress. Hence, try and keep baby wipes and trash bags insight to keep everybody feeling their best and keep at bay all the illnesses caused by unsanitary conditions.
Conclusion
The rest of the things in your preparedness kit will depend on the emergency you are preparing for. If you reside in an earthquake-prone area, then you should get yourself a whistle to call for help and tools, which will come in handy when trying to turn off utilities. If you anticipate an emergency that demands evacuation, it is wise to have vital documents in a waterproof container.