An emergency kit is a box that contains all the necessary and essential tools, equipment, and medication needed for survival in emergency, unseen, or life-threatening conditions. The emergency kit also known as a survival kit is easy to prepare. The kit varies in size, but its purpose is to provide the survivor with basic shelter like food, first-aid, and keep in warm and signal to rescue. You can face any sudden emergency like floods, tornadoes, earthquakes, or terrorist attacks, emergency kit will be your only source of survival until you get external help. American Red Cross recommends having an emergency kit to cope with any disaster or emergency.
Why it is Necessary to Have an Emergency Kit
48% of Americans don’t have an emergency kit or supplies, therefore it becomes difficult for them to survive in an emergency. In case you are in an emergency, then you have to survive on your own for a few days. But if you don’t have an emergency kit, your life will be in threat. Prepare an emergency kit for unseen disasters as it contains the household items and health kit needed for your survival. Few minutes that you spend in preparing an emergency kit can save your life for many days. Nearly half of the US inhabitants don’t have the resources and plans to survive in an emergency. So, it is necessary to prepare an emergency kit; it is also easy to carry and anyone can have it with him.
How to Prepare Emergency Kit
It is easy to prepare an emergency kit with a simple method. FEMA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend and provide a checklist of which items must be a part of your survival kit. It involves basic things like food, water, battery, flashlight, and most importantly first-aid-kit. Approximately 100 products will make a perfect emergency kit. Being prepared means you have an emergency kit with all the necessary items for survival. If you also want to prepare your emergency kit, here is a complete guide keeping in mind one person.
Water
While preparing for an emergency kit, water is the first item to have. Almost every organization and instructor recommends to first include water in your survival kit. You can carry away a water bottle or a portable filtration system. The filter will be a better choice if you have a freshwater supply because your stored water will be limited soon. At least one gallon per person is required for one day’s survival of a person. But in an emergency kit, water for three days must be present for drinking, cooking, or sanitization. You can also include water purification tablets to purify the contaminated water.
Food
CDC recommends having a supply of three days of non-perishable and easy to prepare food. Cliff bar, food energy bars, or food survivals bars of 2000 calories are integral parts of a survival kit. You can prepare an emergency kit with these food items: Meals ready to eat MRE (are specifically designed by the US to fight in combats), dry fruits, cereals, grams, roasted nuts, and high energy food bars like chocolates. Red Cross suggests having a 3-day food supply for evacuation and a 2-weeks food supply for the home. There is great diversity for the food items that could be placed in an emergency kit like canned foods, freeze-dried meal pouches, and ration bars. It depends upon your choice of which food you want to have in your emergency kit. You can check the kit daily to replace or add food.
First Aid Kit
We can’t predict what type of emergency we can face, it doesn’t need to be limited to just food or water requirements. It is a super idea to build a first aid kit for a survival kit. You can build a first aid kit by keeping the following items: bandages, allergy medicines, antibiotic ointment, burn creams, aspirin, sunscreen, adhesive tape, surgical suture, and pain medications. These are basic first aid kit items needed for your survival. If you are a patient and on treatment, then preferably place a personal medication supply of 30 days. It will be great if you also add disinfectant pads and antibiotic cream to prepare an emergency kit.
Light and Signaling
Basically, the purpose of the survival kit is to help when we are lost or injured. It is best to have a LED light in the preparedness kit, so at night it may illuminate without electricity. At strange places, there is a threat of wild animals to attack in dark. Therefore, light LED will save us but don’t forget to keep the batteries in the kit. Headlamp or tea candles can also aid in the dark with great ease.
Distress radio beacon, signal mirror, and whistle must be an integral part of the preparedness kit. These tools will help you to signal someone for help. With the help of a distress radio beacon, you can navigate planes or ships for rescue. You can also write notes to signal for rescue, so keep the pencil and paper in the kit. The latest radios also provide light and updated weather information like hurricanes and tornadoes. When you are preparing an emergency kit, add these radios to make the strategy according to the weather. Radio can be charged by battery or USB.
Mobile Charger/Solar Charger
Always keep a handy mobile charger in the kit as 20% of Americans get emergency information from mobile apps. It is necessary to remain in touch with the world because if you get entangled in an emergency, you can be rescued. The solar charger is the option to charge devices even tablets when you don’t have access to electricity. These solar chargers can charge the devices within daylight. Rechargeable battery packs will be a good alternative if sunlight is dim to charge mobile. Never forget to keep the technological products when you are preparing an emergency kit, it will help you a lot in an emergency. Also, check the kit from time to time to ensure every technology is in good condition and not outdated or out of work.
Clothing
After the basic survival things, consider keeping extra clothing. You can face any kind of emergency with hot, cold, or wind. Extra clothes will keep you warm, clean, and dry. Include an extra pair of gloves, warm clothes for insulation, and a blanket for shelter to prepare an emergency kit. You can also keep rainy coats or merino wool to remain safe from moisture. Fleece, hoodies, or puffy jackets will keep you warm in the cold season. Or you can also add clothes that are wind-resistant to the emergency kit. Hygiene items or baby wipes can also aid in survival and keeping you clean and healthy. In clothes section also include a mask to avoid any kind of allergy and pollution.
Other Tools
Despite all the above-mentioned items, there are also multi-tools that can you keep in your emergency kit. In preparing an emergency kit, you can also include a knife, hammer, ax, wrench, screwdriver, saw, plastic bag, needles, can-opener, helmet, scarf, or bulletproof armor. These multi-tools will ensure your survival in many conditions ranging from repairing clothes or equipment, cutting up trees, clearing debris, to capturing prey.
It is a bonus tip to add a copy of personal documents like ID cards, birth certificates, or licenses in a waterproof jar in the kit. Additionally, books, magazines, comics, puzzles, or games can also help in keeping the child busy in activities and away from stress.
Bottom Line
By following these suggestions, you can prepare an emergency kit for your survival. You can easily survive on the kit for three days unless you don’t get rescued or helped. It is necessary to prepare for anything and an emergency kit is also a step in its preparation.
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You can also download a free pdf checklist to prepare the emergency kit. Download here: Checklist for Emergency Kit.
So that’s it for my guide to prepare an emergency kit.
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