Ready for theoutage, the stormand the evacuation.
Calm, practical guides to emergency kits, water storage, food, radios, light and backup power, built on FEMA, Red Cross and NOAA guidance and sized for your household.
Prepare by need
Water, food, power, communication and a plan. Cover the basics first, then build out.
Kits & planning
Emergency kits, go-bags and checklists
Water & food
Water storage, purification and food
Power, light & comms
Radios, lanterns and backup power
Shelter & sanitation
Warmth, first aid and hygiene
Disaster readiness
Storms, wildfire smoke, floods and evacuation
Off-grid resilience
Small solar, water and sanitation off grid
Plan before you buy
Store emergency water safely: 1 gallon per person per day, food-grade containers, rotation, bathtub bladders, and how to disinfect water by boiling or with bleach.
Emergency food compared: freeze-dried meals, MREs and canned and shelf-stable food by shelf life, calories, water needed, weight, storage temperature and cost.
Build a 72-hour emergency kit from the Ready.gov basic list: water, food, radio, light, first aid, documents and medications, scaled for kids, seniors and pets.
Emergency Preparedness questions, answered
How much water should I store for emergencies?
At least 1 gallon per person per day: 3 days for an evacuation kit and up to two weeks at home if you can.
Read: Emergency Water Storage →How long does freeze-dried emergency food last?
Manufacturers commonly cite up to 25 or 30 years for sealed #10 cans and shorter for pouches, when stored cool and dry.
Read: Freeze-Dried vs MRE vs Canned Food for Emergencies →What should be in a 72-hour emergency kit?
Water, food, a weather radio, flashlights, batteries, first aid, a whistle, masks, a can opener, chargers, medications, documents and cash, per Ready.gov's basic kit list.
Read: How to Build a 72-Hour Emergency Kit →How do I keep a room warm without electricity?
Choose a small interior room, close the door, cover windows, block drafts at the bottom of doors and keep everyone in it.
Read: How to Stay Warm Without Power in a Winter Outage →What is SAME on a weather radio?
Specific Area Message Encoding lets you program your county so the radio alerts only for warnings that affect you.
Read: NOAA Weather Radios →What size power station do I need for a fridge?
Usually 1,000 to 2,000 Wh with at least 1,000 W continuous and good surge capacity for the compressor start. Check your fridge's daily kWh.
Read: Portable Power Station Sizing for Outages →Readiness without fearmongering
Quantities follow FEMA, Red Cross and CDC numbers, scaled to your household.
Each guide says who the gear suits, who should look elsewhere, and what to check before you buy.
Brands cannot buy a review or a spot on a list. Partner codes save you money; they never decide what we recommend.
Prices are dated, codes are updated across the site at once, and pages are revised when a product, standard or rule changes.
The emergency preparedness gear index
- 01Kits & planning72-hour kits, go-bags, car kits, document backups and household plans.2 pages
- 02Water & foodWater storage containers, emergency purification, freeze-dried meals and long-term food.2 pages
- 03Power, light & commsNOAA weather radios, lanterns and flashlights, power banks, power stations and solar chargers.2 pages
- 04Shelter & sanitationEmergency blankets, sleeping warmth, first aid kits, sanitation and hygiene supplies.1 page
- 05Disaster readinessReadiness by hazard: hurricanes and storms, wildfire smoke, floods, winter outages, earthquakes and evacuations.0 pages
- 06Off-grid resilienceSmall solar setups, portable water systems, off-grid cooking and sanitation for longer disruptions.0 pages