Home reserve
Bulky water, food, sanitation, bedding, backup power, and household supplies. This layer supports sheltering in place and can grow beyond three days.
Start with the situation, not a shopping list
A “72-hour kit” is a useful minimum planning window, not a guarantee of rescue or restored services. Some emergencies require a fast evacuation; others require staying home for longer. Build a portable three-day layer first, then extend your home reserve toward two weeks where space, budget, and local guidance allow.
Follow official instructions. Evacuation orders, public-health notices, boil-water advisories, and local emergency guidance take priority over this general guide. Call emergency services for immediate danger.
1. Make a ten-minute household plan
- List the people and animals: include children, older adults, pets, service animals, and anyone who may need help evacuating.
- Name your hazards: wildfire, winter outage, flood, earthquake, hurricane, extreme heat, or another local risk changes what belongs on top.
- Choose two meeting places: one near home and one outside your neighborhood. Pick an out-of-area contact everyone can reach.
- Map two exits: write down routes, destinations, fuel/charging needs, and how you will move without your usual vehicle.
- Plan alerts: enable local emergency notifications and keep a battery-powered or hand-crank radio available.
2. Build three kit layers
Portable evacuation kit
What each person can safely move. Prioritize water, food, weather protection, light, communication, first aid, and personal necessities.
Grab pouch
Identification copies, contacts, medications, keys, cash, phone cable, and essential medical information—kept together for a rapid departure.
Water is heavy. Do not assume one person can carry the household’s full supply in a backpack. Store most at home, distribute portable amounts safely, and plan refill or treatment options. For mobility-specific packing, use the adaptive pack-load guide.
3. Cover the essentials
Water and food
- Water: store at least one gallon per person per day for three days. Increase for hot weather, illness, pregnancy, and pets. Unopened commercially bottled water is the safest emergency supply.
- Food: choose at least three days of shelf-stable food your household already eats, including infant formula or medically necessary diets. Add a manual can opener if needed.
- Treatment: keep a suitable backup treatment method and instructions. Treatment depends on the hazard; see the water-disinfection guide and obey local advisories.
Health, first aid, and accessibility
- Pack a first-aid kit, hygiene items, masks appropriate to your local hazards, and a written health summary.
- Keep prescription medicines and copies of prescriptions together. The Red Cross suggests working toward a seven-day medication supply; refill rules vary, so coordinate with your clinician and pharmacist.
- Include glasses, hearing-aid batteries, mobility-device supplies, charging adapters, communication boards, inhalers, epinephrine, glucose supplies, and other daily medical equipment.
- Write down equipment models, power needs, service providers, allergies, communication preferences, and who can assist. Never pack critical equipment where another person cannot find it.
Communication, light, and power
- Battery-powered or hand-crank radio, flashlight or headlamp, spare compatible batteries, and a whistle.
- Phone charging cable, tested power bank, paper contact list, local map, and waterproof writing tools.
- Use generators, grills, and fuel-burning stoves only as their manufacturers and authorities direct; never improvise indoor use.
Shelter, clothing, sanitation, and tools
- Weather-appropriate layers, sturdy footwear, rain protection, blankets or sleeping bags, work gloves, and spare socks.
- Soap or sanitizer, toilet paper, menstrual products, diapers, waste bags, ties, wipes, and any personal-care supplies.
- Multi-tool, wrench or pliers if you know how to operate home utilities safely, duct tape, cordage, and a small repair kit.
Documents, money, children, and animals
- Copies of identification, insurance, prescriptions, household contacts, and key records in a protected pouch; keep encrypted backups where appropriate.
- Small bills, spare keys, comfort items for children, and quiet activities.
- Pet food, water, medications, leash/harness, carrier, waste supplies, current photo, identification, and vaccination/veterinary records. Identify pet-friendly destinations before an emergency.
4. Test it before you need it
- Run a five-minute departure drill. Can everyone find shoes, medicines, mobility equipment, animals, and the grab pouch?
- Carry-test portable bags. Walk a safe route for 15–20 minutes. Remove nonessential weight and redistribute shared items if balance, pain, breathing, or mobility suffers.
- Practice without utility power. Verify lights, radio, charging, manual openers, and accessible communication methods.
- Review every six months. Replace water stored in your own containers every six months. Follow package or manufacturer dates for food, medicines, batteries, filters, and other supplies.
- Update after any life change. New medicine, address, pet, child, device, season, vehicle, or caregiver means the plan should change too.
Keep the kit usable. Label modules, place frequently needed items near the top, and make sure every household member knows where supplies are stored.
Official sources
Reviewed August 1, 2026. Guidance can change; verify current local instructions when preparing or responding.