Emergency Preparedness Kits

[Silent1CB]

Where do you live?
Do you have one?
If so, how long are you prepared for with food & water?
Where do you keep it to ensure that you can get to it if your house is destroyed or damaged?

 

[eliza61]

Where do you live?
Do you have one?
If so, how long are you prepared for with food & water?
Where do you keep it to ensure that you can get to it if your house is destroyed or damaged?

Live in Southern NJ. Don't have one, never even thought about putting one together.
Not sure what an emergency kit is going to do if my house is flatten by a tornado?
Generally we have tons of water in the house because we have a water cooler. Since I grocery shop in bulk (BJ's etc) I pretty much have at least 2 weeks worth of food (except for milk and eggs) on hand.

Lastly, even after 34 inches of snow, stores were open the next day. I can't begin to imagine what it would take to keep them close for more than 3 days.

 

[freckles and boo]

I suppose I wonder what kind of emergency you are anticipating. The usual culprits here are manageable without stockpiling gallons of water and food.

 

[Silent1CB]

I should answer my own thread. Topic on Facebook talking about this made me wonder. More important in certain parts of the country for sure. The person asking lives in earthquake area and I'm sure it was brought on by Haiti's earthquake.

New England.
Don't have one.
Our emergencies come with warnings in this part of the country, and for the most part, long warnings. With that said, we've made it through Blizzard of 1978 for a week of not being able to leave the house or any kind of warning that a blizzard was even coming. They predicted flurries that day and we received over 30" of snow.

I can think of several 30" snowstorms that I have not run to the store to buy any food, and we were back in business in a day or 2.

Ice storms are same. Hurricanes are rare. Not in a flood area. Not in earthquake prone area although there is a faultline but it has never produced enough of a quake to produce damage that I've heard about. Not in an area I think terrorists have any interest in.

We've got food, flashlights & candles galore. Just not all in one place ready to go.

 

[NY Disney fan]

Where do you live?
NYC

Do you have one?
At home and in car


If so, how long are you prepared for with food & water?
3 months


Where do you keep it to ensure that you can get to it if your house is destroyed or damaged? Closet (at home)

I've been in all kinds of emergencies including one terrorist attack & massive power outages (in summer and in winter). In all those times I was away from home and the only thing that saved me was a pair of sneakers and an AM/FM radio. I had to walk home (no transportation for miles) and get into McGuyver mode. Your brain is the only emergency kit you need.

 

[Duchie]

My son had to put one together for Webelos Scouts in order to earn his Homeland Security award. We went to http://www.ready.gov/america/getakit/ for a list of what to include. According to that site, you should have water, food, pet food and supplies for everyone for up to 2 weeks. We just don't have the storage space to put all of that kind of stuff for all 5 of us (plus the 3 pets) so we had to skip that for now.

 

[PatsMom]

I don't have a formally designated "emergency kit". But in my basement pantry, I am always stocked with dried foods (pasta, beans, rice), canned goods, flour, etc. I usually have several gallons of water on hand as well. This is primarily because when we lose power, we lose water. In a real pinch we could use the old dug well and just boil it, but I'd prefer not to be doing that for one or two day outages.

In the winter, we have several cords of wood on hand (although the piles are getting smaller now!)

 

[mtdevine615]

Well since I am the Asst. EMA director for our city I do have enough supplies to last a few weeks at our house. I also keep my "go bag" with me at all times. There's a lot more to it then just a major snow storm or flood. One of the biggest fault lines in the country runs right down the middle around the Mississippi it's not very active but when it does strike it could be massive. Think Haiti but on a larger scale. Also a lot of people don't think about attacks or less likely disasters such as problems at sewer treatment plants with tons of chlorine, or possibly an accident at the nuclear power plant, that maybe only 10 miles down the road. It’s better to be safe then sorry. With my dealings with FEMA we will be on our own for at least 72 hours most likely longer.

 

[Doe]

We live in Idaho.

Yes, we have one. We have a 1 year supply of food in our food storage. We bought from two food storage websites and most items are good for anywhere between 8-20+ years. Hope we never need it!

Not sure how long our water supply would last us, but I'd take a guess at at least 1-2 months at the moment.

We have a spare room we use to store most of it and also use an area in our garage.

 

[NikitaZee]

We live in Massachusetts, and we have one. We have canned meals, bottled water, (probably only a week or two's worth), can opener, flashlight, candles, radio, children's Tylenol, adult Advil, asthma inhalers (for DH, DS and myself), diapers, wipes, Purell, toys and books for the kids. We keep them in the downstairs closet. We also have a strong box - where we keep all our important papers, and have a couple of hundred dollars in cash in there. We're also in the habit of making sure our gas tank is between half and full all the time.

After the anthrax scare, we had sheets of rolled plastic as well when the dept. of homeland security recommended we all do that. We don't have it anymore, though.

We're New Yorkers as well - and after being there for Sept. 11th I feel better being prepared 'just in case'.

 

[jjarman]

I live in south Mississippi and yes I have an emergency kit at all times. Before Katrina I thought I had plenty of everything for a hurricane. Wrong. We never went without but every day we had to go hunt for something either gas, water, ice or food. Now by June 1 of each year, opening day of hurrican season, I have 2 weeks worth of food, 5 flats of bottled water, 12-15 bags of ice in the freezer, 5-6 loaves of bread in the freezer and the gas cans filled. I also make sure I get my propane tank for the grill filled. I keep plenty of duct tape and 1-2 tarps. I also make sure we keep the prescriptions filled. So far I have not needed any of it and after hurricane season is over we eat the food and drink the water. I replace it starting in the spring so I don't have to buy it all at once. I just buy a couple of cans of something each week at the store. I told my husband if we ever are under the threat of a direct hit of a hurricane it will be dangerous to go to WalMart. I want to be in a position where I don't have to leave home after a storm.

 

[okeydokey]

Live in N FL and keep enough food and water around to last through an expended power outage in case of hurricanes. We have a fire safe lock box with important papers that can be grabbed if we have to evacuate ahead of a storm. We have an evacuation plan and a place to go for ourselves and our pets. It makes sense to prepare in advance if you live in a Hurricane zone.

 

[NMAmy]

I live in Michigan. DH used to be on the Red Cross board and was a Disaster Team member so, yeah, we're set. He was just telling me last weekend that I have to let him buy more water again. Most women have husbands who want to buy fancy electronics or cars--my husband likes to buy emergency supplies in bulk.

We keep most of the supplies in the basement.

 

[Handbag Lady]

Southern California.

We have four kits from the Red Cross.

One in my car. On in husband's car. Two huge ones at home. (I had a huge one and then I won one in a work contest).

We have flashlights that don't need batteries. We have water for about 3-5 days between the cars and the kits. Plus, we have a pantry of water just for normal use. I have canned goods for weeks. (but not in our cars, that wouldn't be very green).

I also have flares in my car (to start fires or to actually use on the freeway) and a pair of tennis shoes. It would be just my luck we'd have an earthquake when I am in heels.

I've also added things to the kits, like feminine hygiene products and shampoo and lipstick

 

[freckles and boo]

I've also added things to the kits, like feminine hygiene products and shampoo and lipstick

You don't want to be interviewd by Anderson Cooper during an emergency and not have your lipstick.

 

[sandramaac]

Southern California.

We have four kits from the Red Cross.

One in my car. On in husband's car. Two huge ones at home. (I had a huge one and then I won one in a work contest).

We have flashlights that don't need batteries. We have water for about 3-5 days between the cars and the kits. Plus, we have a pantry of water just for normal use. I have canned goods for weeks. (but not in our cars, that wouldn't be very green).

I also have flares in my car (to start fires or to actually use on the freeway) and a pair of tennis shoes. It would be just my luck we'd have an earthquake when I am in heels.

I've also added things to the kits, like feminine hygiene products and shampoo and lipstick

yes, in case of flood, fire or terrorist attack, it is always imporrtant to look good!!! do you add certain colors for different emergencies or just one go to color----lol's just thought this was funny

 

[shrubber]

Northern Ohio
Not much risk from anything but the occasional tornadoe as far as Mother Nature goes.
I keep a Go Bag in my car
5 days meds
6 0z Bleach
10 10 dollar bills
2 bottles water
3 energy bars
Taurus .357
24 xtra rounds
bank account numbers
silver blanket( shock blanket )
matches
3 tea lights
Multi tool
25 foot 1/4 inch poly cord
25' fishing line/2 hooks
5' duct tape wrapped around a lighter
one of those cheap sewing kits ( like you pick up at a hotel )

At Home
3 20# propane tanks
camp stove
#20 rice
#20 beans
1 g Bleach
1 g lamp oil
2 Deitz lanterns
propane heater
bank account numbers
Multi tool
matches
Mossberg 500 12 g
lots of assorted shells
box of feminine products
.750 bottle of bourbon
and a couple of good cigars
( we also keepa fair supply of camping material stored seperately, tents, stoves, sleeping bags ect. tackle)
2 weeks meds

 

[minkydog]

I don't have a formally designated "emergency kit". But in my basement pantry, I am always stocked with dried foods (pasta, beans, rice), canned goods, flour, etc. I usually have several gallons of water on hand as well. This is primarily because when we lose power, we lose water. In a real pinch we could use the old dug well and just boil it, but I'd prefer not to be doing that for one or two day outages.

In the winter, we have several cords of wood on hand (although the piles are getting smaller now!)

I don't have a formally designated kit either. My basement has an overflow pantry--we call it "the store." As in ,"Hey John! Run down to "the store" and see if I have any spaghetti down there." There is at least enough food for a week or two down there. And then we have our RV out in the yard and we keep it stocked at all times so it's ready to roll at a moment's notice. We could easily live for 4-5 days off that stuff. We have a (diminishing) pile of wood for our fireplace back there too.

In the 18 years that we have leaved in the Atlanta area we have only lost power once, when a drunk driver took out a telephone pole with a transformer on it. But if we ever did lose power in an ice storm, we could either block off the doorways with blankets and live in the living room, by the fireplace, or we could just go out back to the RV which has a great propane heaters, TV, bathroom, beds, a 3-burner stove, microwave AND oven. Now, THAT's some emergency preparedness.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

In my present home, we stock up when hurricane season comes around for about 3 days.

In our future home--where it gets cold and snows...not sure exactly what we'll do. I guess I'll have it for winter.

But as for the long term stuff, I don't prepare for the apocalypse.

Most of what occurs here can be predicted to stock up last minute or get out of dodge if necessary.