Will your family be prepared for the next disaster? Getting a disaster kit together now is easy. Getting through a disaster without a disaster kit is not. Making a family disaster kit now can save your family agony. FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) says you need an minimum of 3 days worth of supplies. Are you ready?
A Family Disaster Kit Should include:
- Water – A three-day supply of water for every family member. Commercially bought bottled water is best. According to FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) a normally active person needs at least a half a gallon a day. Keep in mind that children and pregnant or nursing women require more.
- Food – A three-day supply of non-perishable food for every family member. Avoid foods that will make you thirsty. FEMA suggests foods like salt-free crackers, whole-grain cereals, and canned foods with high liquid content. Don’t forget pet food if you have pets. Remember to also pack a can opener and twist ties or food clips.
- First-Aid Kit – Pack a first aid kit for each of your cars and one for each bathroom in the house. Keep an emergency stash of updated prescription pills anyone in your family is on. Store them in a pill box near one of your first-aid kits. TIP: sit each first aid kit on top of two warm blankets. Blankets are indispensable whenever anyone is unfortunate enough to be exposed to the harshness of nature’s elements during a disaster, natural or manmade.
- Clothing, Bedding and Sanitation Supplies – Packing these supplies can help avoid weather-related injuries. If there are young children or babies in the family, make sure to pack diapers and extra underwear. Consider packing books, puzzles and small favorite toys for the little ones. Update your kit as needed to make sure you have the right items.
- Tools – Shut-off wrenches, paper cups, and pencils are things we just don’t think about grabbing in event of an emergency. Preparing ahead helps you pack tools you wouldn’t think of. Even something as simple as an eating utensil becomes indispensable. This part of your kit will vary depending on your geographic location. If you are in an area known for hurricanes, you’ll need special items added to your kit. Floods, fires, earthquakes require different tools.
- Special Items – Updated insurance papers and a family emergency plan that details where to meet, where your emergency supplies are stored, as well as essential phone numbers are important to keep on hand. Remember to keep crucial documents in a waterproof and fireproof container. Make copies of documents you’ll need during an emergency and store them with each first aid kit. If you have four kits, you’ll need four copies of each document. Make an extra copy of your detailed family disaster plan each family member can carry with them.
Practice Emergency Preparedness and Assign Disaster Kit Duty
Be sure to go over your emergency execution plan and designated each of your disaster kits to be obtained by a different family member. If there’s a fire, which way does each family member exit? Who gets which disaster kit? Who's room is closest to each kit? Who goes after the smaller children? Who unchains the dog?
Sit down and talk as a family about what to do in case of an emergency and make sure each task delegated is documented in the family emergency plan. All family members should know where the emergency items are stored and what each person’s role is. People have been injured or even killed in fires or other disasters going back to get someone who’d already made it out safely. Practicing emergency drills regularly is an excellent way to keep your family prepared.
Sources:
Federal Emergency Management Agency, "Disaster Information,", (FEMA, April 2, 2010)Ready America, "Get a Kit," (Ready America Publications, March 11, 2010)
Rose Smith - Rose Smith is a lifestyle expert, writer and floral designer. She is author of two books, 101 Ways To Date Your Mate: Hundreds of Fun and ...
