Building a 72-Hour Emergency Kit the 11 essential all 28 Federal guidance assumes help may not arrive for 72 hours after a disaster. Build for every member of the household — including pets — and store the kit in containers you can carry out the door.
Water and food Store one gallon of water per person per day, for at least three days Half for drinking, half for sanitation. Hot climates, children, nursing mothers, and illness all push the number up. Commercially bottled water is the safest and easiest to store. Add a backup way to make water safe: unscented household bleach or purification tablets Ratio to write on the bottle: 8 drops (1/8 teaspoon) of plain 6% bleach per gallon of clear water, wait 30 minutes. Stock at least a three-day supply of non-perishable food per person Ready-to-eat and no-cook: canned meat and beans, peanut butter, crackers, dried fruit, bars. Favor foods your household already eats — a disaster is a bad time to discover nobody will touch the rations. Pack a manual can opener, utensils, and paper plates A kit full of cans and no opener is the classic failure mode.
First aid, light, and communication Assemble or buy a full first aid kit Bandages, gauze, tape, antiseptic, tweezers, gloves, pain reliever, antihistamine, and a first aid instruction card. Pack one flashlight per person, plus extra batteries Store batteries outside the devices so they can't corrode the contacts. Skip candles — post-disaster fires are common. Add a battery-powered or hand-crank radio, NOAA weather radio if possible When cell networks are down, broadcast radio is how official instructions reach you. Add backup phone power: charged power banks or a hand-crank/solar charger Recharge stored power banks on the same schedule you rotate food. Pack a whistle Three blasts is the distress signal; a whistle carries much farther and longer than shouting from rubble. Add basic tools: wrench or pliers, multi-tool, duct tape, work gloves The wrench is for shutting off gas at the meter — tie it near the kit or the meter, and learn the valve now. Add dust masks and plastic sheeting For filtering contaminated air and sealing a room in place.
Special needs Store at least a week of prescription medications, rotated with each refill Ask your pharmacist or insurer about an emergency supply — many states let you fill early for preparedness. Include a written list of drugs, doses, and prescribers. Pack spare glasses, hearing aid batteries, and backup medical equipment suppliesif medical needs Anything battery- or power-dependent (CPAP, oxygen, mobility) needs a written power-outage plan. Add infant supplies: formula, bottles, diapers, wipes, rash creamif infants Size up the diapers when you rotate — babies outgrow the kit fast. Add pet supplies: three days of food, water, medications, leash, carrier, vaccination recordsif pets Many shelters only take pets with proof of vaccination. Duplicate a smaller go-bag version for each car and workplace Disasters don't wait for you to be home. The car kit adds jumper cables, a blanket, and seasonal gear. ✓ That’s everything. Nice work.
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