Preparing for a natural disaster comes down to three things: having the right supplies on hand, knowing your plan before chaos hits, and protecting the documents and medications you can’t replace. Most of this work takes a single weekend, and the core of it costs less than a typical grocery run. Here’s how to get it done.
Water and Food: What to Stock
Water is the single most important supply. A normally active person needs at least half a gallon just for drinking each day, and you’ll need more for cooking and basic hygiene. FEMA recommends storing one gallon per person, per day. For a household of four, that’s 12 gallons to cover a three-day disruption, or 56 gallons for two weeks. Store-bought sealed water jugs are the simplest option. If you fill containers from the tap, use food-grade plastic and replace the water every six months.
For food, focus on items that don’t need refrigeration, cooking, or added water. Canned meats, fruits, and vegetables are the backbone. Round that out with peanut butter, protein bars, dry cereal, dried fruit, canned juices, and shelf-stable pasteurized milk. Don’t forget a manual can opener. If you have infants, stock formula, bottles, and baby food separately. And toss in a few comfort foods like chocolate or cookies. Stress eating during a disaster is real, and familiar snacks help more than you’d expect, especially for kids.
Check expiration dates on your food supply every six months. A good habit is to rotate stock by using items before they expire and replacing them with fresh ones.
Building Your Emergency Kit
Beyond water and food, your kit needs to cover communication, light, sanitation, and shelter. Ready.gov recommends the following core items:
- Communication: A battery-powered or hand-crank radio (ideally a NOAA Weather Radio with tone alert), your cell phone with chargers, and a backup battery pack
- Light and tools: A flashlight, extra batteries, a whistle to signal for help, and a wrench or pliers to shut off utilities
- Sanitation: Moist towelettes, garbage bags, plastic ties, soap, and hand sanitizer
- Shelter-in-place: Plastic sheeting, scissors, and duct tape for sealing windows and doors if air contamination is a concern
- Protection: A dust mask for each person, a first aid kit, and a fire extinguisher
- Navigation: Local paper maps (your phone’s GPS may not work without cell service)
Then tailor the kit to your household. Add a sleeping bag or warm blanket for each person, a complete change of weather-appropriate clothing and sturdy shoes, matches in a waterproof container, and paper and pencil. For families with young children, pack books, games, or small activities. Boredom during a multi-day power outage is a real problem for kids.
Keep this kit in a single location everyone in the household knows about. A large plastic bin near your front door or in the garage works well. If you live in an apartment, a closet near the exit is ideal.
Medications and First Aid
About half of all Americans take a prescription medication daily. During a disaster, pharmacies may be closed and roads impassable, so keeping an extra supply on hand is critical. Talk to your prescriber about getting a backup supply specifically for emergencies. Store these medications with your kit in a cool, dry place, and rotate them before they expire.
Your first aid kit should include pain relievers, anti-diarrhea medication, antacids, antihistamines, hydrocortisone cream, and cough and cold medicine. If anyone in your household has severe allergies, include a prescribed epinephrine auto-injector. Add aloe vera gel for burns, calamine lotion for skin irritation, and basic wound supplies like bandages, gauze, adhesive tape, and antiseptic wipes. Prescription eyeglasses and contact lens solution are easy to overlook but hard to function without.
Protecting Critical Documents
When you evacuate, you may not return home for days or weeks. Having your essential documents ready to grab, or already backed up digitally, saves enormous headaches during recovery. Gather copies of insurance policies, government-issued IDs, bank account records, and your home’s deed or lease. Store physical copies in a waterproof, portable container that lives with your emergency kit.
For digital backup, scan or photograph each document and save copies to a secure cloud service and on a USB drive. Include medical records, vaccination cards, and any legal documents like wills or custody agreements. If you lose everything else, having digital proof of your identity and coverage dramatically speeds up insurance claims and access to federal assistance.
Keep some cash in your kit as well. ATMs and card readers don’t work during power outages, and small bills are useful for buying supplies or paying for gas during an evacuation.
Making an Evacuation Plan
Many regions use a three-level evacuation system. Understanding it before a disaster hits means you won’t waste critical minutes figuring out what to do.
- Level 1 (Ready): Danger exists in your area. Start preparing. Monitor local news and city alerts, check on neighbors, and make sure your go-kit is packed and accessible.
- Level 2 (Set): Be ready to leave on short notice. Anyone who needs extra time to evacuate, including people with disabilities, small children, medical conditions, or large animals, should leave now. Load your kit into your vehicle.
- Level 3 (Go): Danger is imminent. Leave immediately. Follow directions from emergency services and do not return until officials confirm it’s safe.
The most important rule across all three levels: if you feel unsafe at any point, leave. You don’t need to wait for an official order.
Your household plan should include two meeting points: one near your home (a neighbor’s mailbox, for instance) and one outside your neighborhood in case you can’t get back. Make sure every family member knows both locations. Pick an out-of-area contact person everyone can check in with, since local phone lines often jam while long-distance calls get through. Write all of this down on a card each person carries, because phones die.
Preparing Your Pets
Pets need their own disaster kit, and it takes more planning than most people expect. The CDC recommends packing a two-week supply of food and water for each animal, stored in waterproof containers, along with non-spill dishes, a manual can opener, and written feeding instructions. If your pet takes medication, include a two-week supply plus a one-month supply of flea, tick, and heartworm preventatives.
You’ll also need an appropriately sized carrier with bedding, a leash, collar with ID tags, and a harness. For cats, pack a litter box and litter. Keep photocopies of veterinary records in a waterproof container: rabies certificates, vaccination history, medical summaries, prescriptions, and recent test results. Include recent photos of each pet, your microchip information, and a written description of the animal’s breed, sex, color, and weight. If you get separated from your pet during an evacuation, these details are what reunites you.
Many emergency shelters don’t accept animals, so identify pet-friendly hotels, boarding facilities, or friends outside your area who could take your pets in advance. Waiting until a Level 2 evacuation to figure this out is too late.
Staying Informed During a Disaster
Your NOAA Weather Radio is your most reliable source of real-time alerts. Program it with your county’s specific alert codes so it only sounds for threats in your area. Sign up for your local emergency notification system as well, which typically sends alerts via text, email, or phone call. Many counties have their own system, and you can usually register through your city or county’s emergency management website.
Download FEMA’s app, which sends real-time alerts from the National Weather Service, provides safety tips for different disaster types, and helps you locate open shelters. Keep a battery-powered or hand-crank radio as a backup for when cell towers go down. During widespread disasters, local AM radio stations often become the primary source of updated evacuation routes, shelter locations, and utility restoration timelines.
Home Hardening and Prevention
The right preparation depends on your region’s most likely threats. In hurricane-prone areas, that means pre-cut plywood for windows, cleared gutters, and a reinforced garage door. In earthquake zones, secure heavy furniture to walls, strap your water heater, and know how to shut off your gas line. In wildfire country, maintain defensible space by clearing brush and dead vegetation at least 30 feet from your home.
Regardless of where you live, know the location of your home’s water, gas, and electrical shutoffs. Keep the wrench or pliers you need to turn them off attached to the pipes or in your emergency kit. Shutting off a gas line after an earthquake, or turning off water to prevent contamination after a flood, can prevent secondary damage that’s sometimes worse than the disaster itself.