
Senior editor Kalee Thompson has reported extensively on natural disasters and survival skills. We’ve also included information here about how the pandemic has changed evacuation shelters. And then sleep easier knowing that you’ll be ready to take care of yourself and your family if disaster strikes.įor more information on tools and preparedness for specific disaster scenarios, including ways to protect your home, check out our guides to hurricane, wildfire, and earthquake preparedness supplies and strategies. Mark your calendar to review and refresh your emergency kit once a year. Participate in community events, such as the ShakeOut earthquake drills held each October. Find out whether a Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) class is happening in your area (you can attend at no cost). Develop a simple communication plan with your family so you know where to meet if power and cell service go down. Of course, disaster prep is about more than just buying stuff. The items are organized into seven key categories, and by making sure you have these areas covered, you’ll end up with a best-on-the-block kit. (We also have a separate guide to go-bags should you need to leave your home in a hurry with a small amount of essentials.) Collectively, our staff put in hundreds of hours of research and tested nearly 100 different items to come up with a list of essentials that are indispensable in a natural disaster and helpful in everyday life, too. And it’s never a bad time to prepare for a crisis by stocking up on gear and organizing it so you know exactly where it is when you need to shelter in place during an emergency. That said, there are some basics that everyone should keep on hand. CLASSROOM EXAMPLES OF CHEMICAL CHANGES MACGYVER FREE
You should definitely feel free to customize it for your family.” “We almost overcomplicate these things and confuse people into thinking, ‘Well, my kit has got to have this in it.’ At the end of the day, my family’s emergency kit, having two kids and a crazy dog, is going to look much different than somebody else’s. “I think we focus too much on there trying to be one right way to prepare,” said Jonathan McNamara, a regional communications manager for the Red Cross. And there’s no such thing as a single kit that’s exactly right for everyone.
In reality, for the most part you can assemble a basic emergency kit out of stuff you may already own. But those lists can be intimidating in their breadth and their specificity.
Emergency-supply checklists are abundant across the internet, including recommendations from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (PDF), the American Red Cross, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.