Home Emergency Supply Kit

You've probably heard that you should have an emergency/earthquake kit, but like most people you probably have no idea what to include or where to get it. Most government agencies will tell you the types of articles you should get, but they never include a specific list of what you should buy and where to get it. When the new year (2007) rolled around, I made a resolution to prepare an emergency/earthquake supply kit for my house.

I reviewed suggestions from FEMA, and the Office of Emergency Services for the City of San Francisco, the State of California, the County of Los Angeles, and more from all over the web. Then I made a list of what I thought that I would really need, and searched far and wide to find it. Here's what is in my kit, how much it costs, and where to find it:

Water- You should have one gallon, per person, per day, with a minimum of a 3 day supply. I have at least a 7 day supply.

You could go to Costco/a grocery store and buy a large quantity of bottled water/prepackaged water. Water is a breeding ground for bacteria. If you rotate your water supply every six months, ordinary bottled water should work fine.

I bought a supply of Aqua Blox (www.aquablox.com). Aqua Blox® are purified and bacteria free drinking water products with a United States Coast Guard approved five year shelf life. They are packaged like the juice boxes that you probably drank as a child. They are sold in packs of 3 boxes, and in cases of 27 boxes. A case holds 1.75 gallons of water. You can buy aquablox for $1.09 per package of 3 at www.moreprepared.com. I buy them in cases (9 packs of 3), because the cases are packaged together nicely. You should search the internet for a place near you, because shipping these can be expensive.

Food- Most emergency supply lists encourage you to keep a variety of canned food products and the various supplies necessary to cook them. I'm a less/simpler is better person, so I chose Mayday Food Bars (www.maydayindustries.com). Mayday Food Bars are U.S. Coast Guard approved and have a five year shelf-life. They have all the nutrients you need to live. They taste and feel a lot like a pie crust, and have an apple-cinnamon flavor. I wouldn't want to live on them for a year, but it beats going hungry.

They come in 1,200 calorie, 2,400 calorie, and 3,600 calorie options. I bought the 3,600 calorie bars because they are the most cost effective. Once you open a pack, they lose their 5-year shelf life. I have fourteen (14) 3, 600 calorie bars, which should last a family of three up to two weeks.

They cost $4.25 per 3,600 calorie bar from www.earthquakemanagement.net

Sanitation- After you're done eating and drinking, you'll probably need to go to the bathroom. Buy a 5 gallon bucket, a toilet seat for the bucket, sanitation bags for the bucket, and toilet chemicals. You can get them for about $30.00 from:

http://www.moreprepared.com/disaster-preparedness-sanitation-c-12_13.html

or

www.earthquakemanagement.net

Until the first time you "use" the bucket, you can use it to store your other emergency supplies. :)

Your kit should also contain toilet paper rolls.

Medical- I keep the following medical items in my emergency supply kit at home:

1. An OSHA approved First Aid Kit ($25.00 at Amazon.com)
http://www.amazon.com/OSHA-25-Person-Industrial-First-Aid/dp/B000JJDTN2/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/002-0747716-9033616?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1174779238&sr=8-1

If you want a more advanced first aid kit, check out www.earthquakemanagement.net. They have a range of first aid kits ranging from $15.00 to more than $200.00.

2. American College of Emergency Physicians First Aid Manual, Second Edition (2004), $10.65 from www.amazon.com

3. Medicine- I prefer to just keep my medicine cabinet well-stocked with Costco-sized containers instead of keeping a separate supply of medicines in the emergency kit. I do keep a separate medicine kit in the emergency kit in my car, and I figure between the medicine cabinet, the cars, and the OSHA first aid kit, I should have enough in an emergency. I feel that this is a better option than worrying about replacing expired medicine in a kit that I might not check for a year or more.

Books- There are two disaster preparedness books that you should get:

1. The Southern California Earthquake Center's "Putting Down Roots in Earthquake Country" which you can order for free here:
http://www.earthquakecountry.info/roots/index.php

This is a 32 page manual that explains why earthquakes occur, where they occur, and what you should do to prepared. It goes well-beyond making a kit, and includes information about preparing your home to survive an earthquake and what to do when the shaking starts.

2. FEMA's "Are You Ready?" (Publication IS-22), which you can download free from here: http://www.fema.gov/areyouready/
Or you can order multiple copies free by calling 1.800.480.2520.

This is FEMA's all purpose disaster guide. It covers disaster preparedness, natural hazards (floods, tornadoes, hurricanes, thunderstorms and lightning, winter and extreme cold, extreme heat, volcanoes, landslides, tsunamis, wildfires), technological hazards (chemicals and nuclear), Terrorism (explosions, biological threats, etc.), and how to recover.

Clothing- Rather than keeping a separate set of clothing in my emergency kit, I've made sure that I have extra blue jeans, T-shirts, etc. in the closet with the rest of my clothing. Most importantly, I've purchased twice as much underwear and socks as I could ever use between laundry cycles. That way, even if a disaster strikes the day before I would have done laundry, I'll still have plenty of those. In a disaster, I'll be happy to wear dirty shirts and pants, but clean underwear and socks are a must.

Batteries- I don't keep batteries in my emergency supply kit, because they'll eventually go bad, or leak, and I'll forget that they are there. Instead, I keep our entire family supply of batteries in one place, and I replenish them well-before we run out. We usually keep at least one unopened Costco-sized box of AA, AAA, 9-Volt, C, and D batteries. When a new box gets opened, we buy another unopened box at Costco and add it the stash.

Flashlight- I keep a Coast TT7438CP in the dresser next to my bed ($65.00 from http://www.utilitysafeguard.com/), but a 2-AA Mag-lite LED ($20.00 at Amazon.com) will work just as well.

Tools- I keep the following tools in my kit:

1. Heavy duty gloves ($10.00 moreprepared.com)
2. An N95 Particulate Respirator (a simple face mask) for every member of the household ($1.35 each at moreprepared.com)
3. Safety Goggles for every member of the household ($1.95 each at moreprepared.com)
4. A 4-in-one tool ($17.95 at moreprepared.com) to turn off the water and natural gas if needed
4. 2, 36-hour candles ($10.00 at moreprepared.com)
5. Nylon Cord ($15.99 at moreprepared.com)
6. Whistle ($6.95 at moreprepared.com)
7. Paper and Pens
8. Cash (ATM)
9. A Grundig FR200 Emergency Radio ($39.99 at Amazon.com)
10. A Leatherman Micra multi-tool ($15.99 at Amazon.com)

Shelter- A tent and sleeping bags (www.costco.com)

Power- While not essential in Southern California, having AC power will make a disaster much easier to live through if you can stay in your home.

1. A Honda EU2000i Gasoline Powered Generator (www.northwestpowertools.com - about $869 (free shipping)). This 2000 watt generator can run just about everything you can plug into it, although not all at the same time. Honda's EU generators are the best that there is: They are quiet, lightweight (45 pounds), and very fuel efficient.

Note: You should run your generator once every month or so, or the gasoline in the generator will rust and damage engine.

2. Extension cords and cord reels (www.amazon.com or Home Depot) .

3. Two 5-gallon gasoline cans filled with gasoline and "Sta-Bil" fuel stabilizer. Without a stabilizer, gasoline spoils (rusts, actually) in about 60 days. The stabilizer will make the gas last for a year or longer, depending upon how much you use. Read the Sta-bil label for more information. Label the gasoline cans with an expiration date, and dump the gas in your car and replace before it expires. (www.northerntool.com or Home Depot).

I've heard people worry about storing gasoline in plastic containers in your garage. Remember: The gas in your car is also in a plastic container under the trunk, in your garage.

4. A Xantrex 300EP- This little device contains a small 12-volt battery, a 300-watt inverter to provide AC power (to run small devices like cellular phone chargers, radios, etc.), a LED flashlight, jump starter cables (to jump start vehicles with 4 and 6-cylinder engines), and an air pump for your car and bicycle tires. ($74.99 at Amazon.com or Costco.com). If you can't afford the Honda generator, get at least one of these and leave it plugged into the wall. You should also have one in the trunk of each of your cars.

Personal Safety- You should make your own decision on whether to include firearms in your personal kit. One option is Mace Triple Action Spray, which combines pepper spray and mace.

Prices vary, but you can buy them at:
http://www.safetyessentials.com/defensive-sprays-mace-brand-defensive-sprays-mace-triple-action-sprays.html

Weather Radio- Did you know that the National Weather Service maintains an emergency alert system that can wake you in the middle of the night if there is an emergency threat? And it is not just for weather, but for any type of emergency. Most people in Tornado areas keep a weather radio by the bedside, but they are not as popular out here in California. Given the price, there's no reason not to have one. The best that I've found is the Midland WR-300. It sits quietly in the corner of the room and can be programmed only to alert you in the event of an emergency warning.

Maintenance- The first weekend of every month, check your supply of batteries and run the generator for an hour or so. I also use this opportunity to check the tire pressure in our cars. Yahoo and Google both have a calendar feature that can remind you by e-mail.

Also, the generator needs an oil change once a year and other maintenance (see the manual). Fortunately, the generator only weighs 45 pounds, so it is easy to load in the car and take to the shop. Most motorcycle and lawnmower shops are qualified to the do the maintenace. You can find a local dealer to do the maintenance at www.hondapowerequipment.com.

Other Web Sites:

If you want more information and more lists of potential supplies, go to:
www.72hours.org - The San Francisco Office of Emergency Services Disaster Preparedness Web-site
www.earthquakecountry.info - multi-agency web-site that distributes the Putting Down Roots book
www.redcross.org - The American Red Cross
www.fema.gov - the Federal Emergency Management Agency
www.moreprepared.com - An online emergency supplies vendor in Los Angeles.
www.earthquakemanagement.net - an online emergency supplies vendor that is based in the Mayday Warehouse in Orange County. A good source of Aquablox and other supplies if you're local and want to go pick stuff up to avoid shipping costs.
http://www.equipped.org/disastertoc.htm - an interesting disaster preparedness web-site.