Emergency Preparedness: 72 hour kits

I've compiled a page of tips and links that will help you prepare yourself and
family for an emergency. A lot of these links have great printables that will make
good handouts for a lesson on Emergency Preparedness.

72-hour kits - General

• Read my 72-hour list of supplies
• 72 hour kits - this is one of the better articles I've seen on the subject of 72 hour kits. It has information on storage, menus, rotation, fuel consumption rates, water storage, and a children's survival kit. If you're gonna read only one link, READ THIS ONE.
• Ready.gov - the Homeland Security website with lots of good information. Has printables that would make good (and reputable) handouts for Enrichment.
• American Red Cross's 72 hour kit list - extremely good list of items to include in your kit.
• American Red Cross - preparedness main page. has information on how to prepare at home, work, school, and in your community.
• Family Communication Plan - ideas on what your family can do if an emergency strikes while you are separated, like at work or school.
• Emergency Contact Card - download and print one for everyone in your family.
• Evacuation Plan - how to make one and why you should make it.
• Disaster preparedness - from the Seattle and King County Public Health Department. Has excellent practical tips about what to do in an emergency including cleaning up after a flood, finding hidden water supplies, what to do when a boil order is made, and much more.
• Are You Ready? - from FEMA. Has a great printable on basic preparedness. Also information on where to store your 72-hour kit.
• Are You Ready - FULL Guide - this FEMA document has 200+ pages of insanely detailed information. This is the BIG DADDY of preparedness information. If you are a Relief Society president, preparedness specialist, or ward/branch preparedness leader you'll definitely want to print this book.
• FEMA's documents - This is the list of FEMA's preparedness documents. Includes a preparedness coloring book, helping children cope with disaster, preparing for disaster for people with special needs or disabilities, and more. Many documents are available in Spanish.
• University of Florida's Disaster Handbook - Very good resource.

Meals

It has become very popular to include items like condensed soups, chili, and jerky in 72-hour kits,
especially those kits made at Enrichment Meetings. Read
my rant. These items are often crammed into a small jug or pot for minimal storage purposes.
These menus do not contain enough calories to keep your body healthy in a crisis.

While your body needs salt when it is sweating, I do not use jerky as
part of a main meal in a 72-hour kit. Animal protein requires more water
to digest than other dried foods, and the extreme saltiness may also
make you thirsty.

Chili could also cause problems, as some spicy foods get hotter over time.

Note that the average adult looses approximately 64 ounces (1.9 L or 4 pounds)
of water per day. If you drink enough water to replace that, as you should,
you'll need to carry 12 lbs of water in addition to the food in your 72 hour kit.
Adding spicy or difficult to digest foods will increase that water
amount, thereby increasing the amount of water you have to store and carry.

My advice is choose high-calorie, high-protein, bland types of foods for your kit. Choose
prepackaged freeze-dried meal pouches, MREs, peanut butter/jelly/crackers, applesauce/fruit cups,
dry cereal or granola, dried fruit, canned beans, ready-to-eat soups (not condensed),
non-perishable dry pasta, protein bars, and vitamins (to make up any slack). You could also
consider some of those shelf-stable ready-to-eat meals made by Hormel, Dinty Moore, and Pasta Anytime.
Those meals include pastas, rice meals, and chicken 'n dumplins.

The easiest to store energy foods (you'll need extra engery in a crisis) include
peanut butter, dried apples, fruit cups, tuna fish, rice, pork and beans, oatmeal,
and pasta.

• Jenny's 1500/2000/2500 Calorie 72-hour kit menus - NEW!!!
• Mrs Haws' 72-hour Bucket kits - NEW!!!
• Ready.Gov - food section. At the bottom of the page is a printable PDF from FEMA and the Red Cross that has good information. It'd be a good idea to print a copy and include it in a 72-hour kit or as an Enrichment handout.
• Read some 72-hour kit menus
• Get your food storage in a year plans

Water

For years, we have been told that to store water you had to put a little bleach in it.
Not true. Treated water from your tap (potable) is safe to store. (Source: American Red Cross)

Storing water in empty 1 or 2 liter soda bottles is the way most people recommend
storing water. Don't ever use a bleach bottle (dangerous) or milk bottle (they degrade)
to store water.

Water can become stale after storing it for a while. Since our 72-hour kit has
several commercial water bottles in it, I put some of those single serving Crystal Light flavor
packets in our kits to cover up any staleness. Kool-aid and sugar would work
fine, too. *** A NOTE ON CRYSTAL LIGHT *** I received a message from a user, Janet S.,
who mentioned that her daughters are deathly allergic to NutraSweet. Please check
for food allergies before you include this item.

Remember when Hurricane Rita hit Texas that water bottles went up to $30.00/case? That's
an indicator of what is most important in a disaster. Store as much water as you can.
You can live without food for some time, but water is essential.

Note that the average adult looses approximately 64 ounces (1.9 L or 4 pounds)
of water per day. If you drink enough water to replace that, as you should,
you'll need to carry 12 lbs of water in addition to the food in your 72 hour kit at
a minimum. One gallon of water, or 128 ounces, per person per day is suggested by FEMA
and that amount will weigh 24 pounds.

There are water bottles and canteens that filter water automatically as you
drink it. Expect to pay about $20-$30 for a water filtration bottle. Some
big name brands that you'll see are Nalgene, Katadyn, and Pres2Pure.

I personally have a Flexi-Flask with a Gatekeeper water filter from TFO, Inc --
back in the day I built their corporate website. Unfortunately,
I think TFO was bought out by Nalgene some time ago, and the Gatekeeper, which
fits on a regular water bottle, is no longer available. :(

• Finding Hidden Water Supplies in an Emergency - from the Seattle and King County Public Health Department
• American Red Cross - FAQ about water storage
• How to Build an Emergency Water Filter
• How to Build a Rainwater Catcher
• How to Build a Solar Water Pasteurizer

Communication

You should have at least one radio in your 72-hour kit that operates on either
batteries, solar power, hand crank, or a combination.

Consumer Reports ranked the Coleman Outrider (about $45) as it's best choice for
emergency radios in their 8/05 article, because it will play for over an
hour when cranked for 30 seconds. This radio is small, but sturdy.

When researching emergency radios, I ordered the Grundig Eton FR300 ($50). In
addition to the same features as the Coleman Outrider, you get TV audio,
NOAA weather service channels, LED light and siren, AND the cables to
charge your cell phone using the dynamo hand crank. This radio does not
run as long as the Outrider on a single crank, but I felt the ability
to charge a cell phone was more useful.

Light

In addition to traditional battery-operated flashlights, you can get shake up flashlights,
dynamo (crank) powered flashlights, solar flashlights, squeeze flashlights, and combos.

In general,
crank or squeeze flashlights will generate the most energy and keep your flashlight lit
longer. LED bulbs use less power and will make your batteries go farther.

I don't recommend shake up flashlights, because their light almost never lasts as long
as sellers claim, and you have to change the orientation of the light to recharge.

Solar flashlights have their place, but that place is probably not in an emergency kit.
During a disaster, having a steady light source to charge the flashlight is not certain, and
those tiny solar cells never generate enough power to last all night.

Often coupled with a siren and radio, combo units are my personal favorite. Mine has solar
cells to keep the radio on during the day and dynamo power for night time use, AND it comes with
cables to charge a cell phone. See my communication section for information on the best
brands according to Consumer Reports.

I also bought some of those new battery-operated LED headlamp sets for my kits, because there are so many
reasons to have hands free during an emergency like setting up camp, performing rescue
operations in rubble, or carrying a baby. These headlamps even have a night vision feature
that could be useful (haven't tried it myself). FlashlightReviews.com recommends the Streamlight
brand. I just have whatever Wal-Mart was selling. :)

Those new lantern-style flashlights, usually red and shaped like the old cocoa cans, are nice.
I also like those flashlights that you pull up on the beam part and it becomes a stand up lantern.
We keep one in the car for hands free night time repairs.

Be sure to have at least one flashlight for every person in your household. Remember the
horrible things that happened in the dark of the Superdome in Atlanta after Katrina. (Thanks
to Mrs. Haws for that tip.)

Of course, don't forget a simple lantern and kerosene will work fabulously in many types
of emergencies.

And oh, yeah, waterproof matches. Required for 72-hour kits.

• FlashlightReviews.com - Solar, Dynamo, and Handcrank reviews
• FlashlightReviews.com's Buyers Guide

Too Hot or Too Cold

I'm always worried about overheating or getting too cold if we had to live outdoors for
a while. I have about 100 different ways to get warm in an emergency, but it's alot harder
to get cool. Here are some cooling bandanas that might help and a link to some solar powered
fans -- made for RVs, would probably work in a tent:

Sanitation and Personal Care

Be sure to include tissue, q-tips, tampons/maxi pads, sun block, and deodorant along with
the more obvious soap items. Consider a razor, hair gel, and lipgloss (in the
little screw top cases in case it melts) as comfort items, too.

I included those Oral-B "Brush Ups" in our 72-hour kits. In a prolonged disaster
a toothbrush and toothpaste would obviously be preferred.

I also included a mini can of that Oust air sanitizer, because goodness knows nervous,
stressed people are stinky, sweaty people! :)

If you live in an area with lots of bugs, definitely include bug spray in your kit.

Buy some disposable dust masks for everyone in your family. These will help
protect against smoke, dust, and debris that might be in the air during a
disaster.

Now, don't blush, but if it will be the end of the world if mom gets pregnant
during a disaster, include condoms in your 72 hour kit. You just never know, and
besides, you gotta work off that stress somehow!!! ;-)

• How to create an emergency toilet - from the Seattle and King County Public Health Department
• Safety Central - has a variety of sanitation and personal care products that will give you lots of ideas

Clothing

Pack clean undies for everyone in your family.

Take those old shoes you're about to throw out and stuff them in your 72-hour
kit with a pair of socks. That way you'll be sure to have dry shoes that fit!

I pack one change of clothes for each of our family members that includes
sweatpants, hoodie-style sweatshirt, a t-shirt, socks, and underclothes. I use the
sweatpants because they can be cut off or pushed above the knees easily and close
at the bottom to keep snow out. A hoodie has pockets, and the hood hat makes one less
thing to keep up with. The t-shirt is for layering or for hot weather. Sweatpants
make a nice option for adults whose waistlines may change some over time :).

I buy these clothes a size bigger than my kids are wearing, and rotate them out
when my kids grow into them, buying the next bigger size.

• Sweatshirt 72-hour kit - Bev's idea for a 72 hour kit made out of a sweatshirt. I doubt this would have enough water for 72 hours, but it's a good idea for 72-hour kits on a budget.
• Salvaging Flood Damaged Clothing - from the Nebraska Cooperative Extension Office

Money

Please include both credit cards AND traveler's checks or cash in your 72-hour kit. Yes, credit
cards -- remember during the gas riots caused by Hurricane Katrina and Rita that many gas stations
stopped taking cash for security reasons. Traveler's checks work like cash and can be replaced if
lost or stolen.

How much money should you keep in your kit? This is a hard one. I try to keep enough cash for a
cheap hotel room for 3 nights, though honestly, I don't know what to tell you there.

Children and Disaster

Several of the links below have printable coloring books that would make great handouts
during a Primary preparedness activity or even at Enrichment to take home to the family
for Family Home Evening.

Mrs. Haws emailed me an excellent tip on helping individuals who may not be able to
identify themselves during a disaster. She watched the lost childrens' photos after
Hurricane Katrina and now she includes a marker and nametag in her kit so that she
can label children and elderly adults with contact information.

A permanent marker might be enough and
you could just write directly on skin. I'd write contact information for an out-of-state
friend or relative that can be contacted in case of a local disaster. You might consider
writing the child's name and guardian(s)'s name under clothing to make it a little more
difficult for a "Bad Guy" to impersonate a trusted adult.

• American Red Cross - has lots of great information for children including coloring books on emergencies like fire or earthquake.
• FEMA's documents - This is the list of FEMA's preparedness documents. Includes a preparedness coloring book, helping children cope with disaster, preparing for disaster for people with special needs or disabilities, and more. Many documents are available in Spanish.
• Family Communication Plan - ideas on what your family can do if an emergency strikes while you are separated, like at work or school.
• Emergency Contact Card - download and print one for everyone in your family.
• Evacuation Plan - how to make one
• Children's Preparedness Activity - get ideas from this Ward's primary preparedness activity

Disabled or Special Needs Emergency Preparedness

Mrs. Haws emailed me an excellent tip on helping individuals who may not be able to
identify themselves during a disaster. She watched the lost childrens' photos after
Hurricane Katrina and now she includes a marker and nametag in her kit so that she
can label children and elderly adults with contact information.

A permanent marker might be enough and
you could just write directly on skin. I'd write contact information for an out-of-state
friend or relative that can be contacted in case of a local disaster. You might consider
writing the child's name and guardian(s)'s name under clothing to make it a little more
difficult for a "Bad Guy" to impersonate a trusted adult.

• PrepareNow.org - has information on special needs preparedness
• Earthquake Tips for people with disabilities - from the Independant Living Resource Center of San Francisco. PDF.

Other Stuff You May Not Have Thought Of

• home owner's insurance policy numbers and contact information
• passports (the real things)
• certified copies of birth certificates
• social security numbers
• health insurance policy numbers and contact information
• life insurance policy numbers and contact information
• living will
• phone numbers and addresses of out-of-state friends and relatives
• physical description (height, weight, eye/hair color, birthmarks, scars, etc) and fingerprints
  of immediate family members for identification purposes
• gasoline - keep your vehicle half full all the time so you can
  flee by road if possible (Thanks to Mrs. Haws for the tip.)

From a user: "Just a note for your 72 hour kit: We have lived through several 72 hour type
emergencies and have needed to use our kits multiple times. I would suggest adding some
candy (taffy or hard candies work best) because the additional stress is helped a bit by
that, dried fruit (emergency shelter foods if available are very low in fiber), a package
of disposal diapers--we don't have children in that stage, but they don't take much room
and there is always a huge shortage of diapers, a roll of quarters (cell phone towers go
down in emergencies, but often pay phones still work) and put any pertinent medical
information about each family member in a water proof container--you may need to know
the last time you had a tetanus shot, for example, or how long and what type of diabetes,
hormonal supplements, etc. are needed for health. We also put in colored pencils, paper,
and Old Maid Cards, Go Fish Cards and paperback copies of the scriptures and consecrated oil." - Andrea H.

Books on Emergency Preparedness

• LDSGrand's Emergency Preparedness Book Section -
  a large selection of books including cook books and Native American survival techniques