Five Must Have Supplies That Should Be Part of Your Disaster Preparedness

Five Must Have Supplies That Should Be Part Of Your Disaster Preparedness

No matter where you live, what your personal situation is, or what type of disasters you may be facing, there are some basic supplies everyone should have on hand “just in case”. Here are five things that you should stock and store at all times to make sure you can make it no matter what live throws at you.

Water

Let’s start with the most important and most urgent item on the list – water. You can make it a surprisingly long time without food, power, and all sorts of other stuff but you can’t make it very long without a reliable source of drinking water.

We’ve become so reliant on our faucets that it’s easy to forget that we should store water for a few days whenever something happens. One of the first things you should do when you’re prepping for an imminent emergency is to store water. Buy a few bottles or gallons at the store, or fill up containers at home. Keep a water filter, or a little Clorox on hand to keep water drinkable for longer time periods.

Non-Perishable, Ready-To-Eat Food

While human beings can go a surprisingly long period of time without food, involuntary fasting isn’t particularly pleasant. Keep a few ready to eat foods in your pantry at all times including Peanut Butter, Crackers, Protein Bars, and Canned Foods that you can eat without heating. It helps to stick with food products that you eat on a regular basis. Then you can rotate through this food store and don’t risk having the food go bad.

In addition start to stock up if the time of year approaches where natural disasters can occur. Don’t forget to bring some of this emergency food supply with you when you need to evacuate. You can’t always rely on others to provide you with food and stores and restaurants along the way may be closed.

Weather Radio

The next important item that should be included in your Emergency Kit and on the list is a small battery operated weather radio. Keep a set of spare batteries with it as well. This is important because you will need the latest weather and government updates as well as news. Don’t rely on your phone and the internet as your only source for information. The network could go down or overload and the Weather Radio makes an important backup.

Flash Light And Batteries

Things always seem worse in the dark, don’t they? Not just that it can be downright dangerous to move around outside, or even inside your home without a reliable source of light. Candles will work in a pinch, but they also bring the risk of setting your surroundings on fire. Instead make sure your Emergency Kit includes several flash lights and spare batteries. Headlamps are particularly helpful when you’re trying to move around get stuff done.

First Aid Kit

Last but not least, let’s talk about a first aid kit. The size of your kit will depend on the size of your family. Start with a standard First Aid kit which is available at your local store or Amazon. Then add any and all medications you and your loved ones take. Check the Emergency kit and the rest of your disaster supplies regularly to make sure you’re prepared and nothing has expired when you need to grab your supplies and leave quickly.

Emergency Supplies Checklist

For most emergencies expect to keep at least enough food to feed each person in your household for 3-5 days.

NON-PERISHABLE FOODS & BEVERAGES

Canned Soups that come with pull tabs but do pack a Hand Held Can Opener just incase you need to open something.

Canned Meat with pull tab like Spam or Vienna Sausages

Tuna Fish in sealed pouch or pull tab

Peanut Butter

nuts

Granola Bars

Dried Fruit

Beef Jerky

Trail Mix