Where to begin?

Many people are not sure how to start instilling resilience into their family and business. A great place to begin is with FEMA’s 72 hour preparedness kit. Building this kit will provide the baseline necessities to help while waiting for the authorities. With some modifications, it would provide an easy bag to grab if you were required to evacuate your home or business.

FEMA’s baseline list of items is below with commentary (Commentary in italics and in blue):

Family Supply List

Emergency Supplies:
Water, food, and clean air are important things to have if an emergency happens. Each family or individual's kit should be customized to meet specific needs, such as medications and infant formula. It should also be customized to include important family documents. 
Recommended Supplies to Include in a Basic Kit:

- Water, one gallon of water per person per day, for drinking and sanitation Minimum.  Ensure you monitor the expiration dates and the condition of the bottle.  In many cases, the bottles are made of biodegradable material and break down, leaking your precious water all over your storage area.
- Food, at least a three-day supply of non-perishable food. 
- Can opener for food (if kit contains canned food) If you stock canned goods, please ensure you stock two can openers.  There is very little worse than diving into your canned good supplies then break the only can opener you have 3 hours into a 96 hour event.
- Battery-powered radio and a NOAA Weather Radio with tone alert, and extra batteries for both
- Flashlight and extra batteries  Monitor the batteries on all electronics, the radio, flashlights.  If they are left on, the batteries will drain and leak acid into the device rendering it unusable. 
- First Aid kit Tailored to your family’s/business’ needs.  For example, if you or a family member are diabetic, it might be good to toss a few tubes of frosting or diabetic gel, or non-refrigerated insulin.  Or, if there is a hemophiliac, it would be good to have extra tourniquets and items like Quikclot or similar coagulants.  
- Whistle to signal for help
- Infant formula and diapers, if needed.  Don’t forget to change the diaper size as the little one becomes a bigger one!  Monitor the date on the formulas too.
- Moist towelettes, garbage bags and plastic ties for personal sanitation
- Dust mask or cotton t-shirt, to help filter the air  Highly recommend a N-95 certified mask.  This mask filters out 95% of airborne particles.  
- Plastic sheeting and duct tape to shelter-in-place  1 Sheet will not be enough, figure out the square footage needed and obtain enough to cover the doors and windows.  It’s generally a good idea to have extra to patch holes and rips.
- Wrench or pliers to turn off utilities  It would be good to purchase a gas wrench designed to shut off the natural gas to the location if needed.
Clothing and Bedding:
If you live in a cold weather climate, you must think about warmth. It is possible that the power will be out and you will not have heat. Rethink your clothing and bedding supplies to account for growing children and other family changes. One complete change of warm clothing and shoes per person, including:
- A jacket or coat
- Long pants
- A long sleeve shirt
- Sturdy shoes
- A hat and gloves
- A sleeping bag or warm blanket for each person

Below are some other items for your family to consider adding to its supply kit. Some of these items, especially those marked with a * can be dangerous, so please have an adult collect these supplies.
- Emergency reference materials such as a first aid book or a print out of the information on www.ready.gov
- Rain gear
- Mess kits, paper cups, plates and plastic utensils
- Cash or traveler's checks, change
- Paper towels
- Fire Extinguisher
- Tent
- Compass
- Matches in a waterproof container*
- Signal flare*
- Paper, pencil I recommend at least one permanent marker as well.
- Personal hygiene items including feminine supplies
- Disinfectant*
- Household chlorine bleach* - You can use bleach as a disinfectant (diluted nine parts water to one part bleach), or in an emergency you can also use it to treat water. Use 16 drops of regular household liquid bleach per gallon of water. Do not use scented, color safe or bleaches with added cleaners.
- Medicine dropper One for the bleach, one for other things.
- Important Family Documents such as copies of insurance policies, identification and bank account records in a waterproof, portable container.  I recommend copies of important family documents vice originals.  I also highly recommend digital copies of documents on a CD and/or thumbdrive.  This enables you to email them off if needed.  Store the documents in freezer plastic baggies to protect them.

I have small children.  As such, I keep new toys they have not seen in the kit too.  This allows me to give them a new “keep quiet and happy device” while we manage the situation. 

A lot of people supplement their 72 hour kit with weapons to protect themselves.  That is a personal and family choice.  It will not be addressed during this posting.

Many of these items are already found in your home.  However, it is important to build an isolated kit which is not affected by when you need to go grocery shopping next.  Imagine the night before you purchase groceries there is a situation requiring at least 72 hours of food.  Additionally, this will create an increased resiliency as this stock is not affected by everyday use. In theory, you would have supplies lasting a minimum of 72 hours because you can pull from your everyday supplies/groceries first.

I would advocate for more than one 72 hour kit.  It would be ideal to have at least a kit at home and at work.  This instills resiliency in the places you spend the most time at.  In fact, some people I know who commute over an hour, one way to work, keep a base kit in their vehicle as well.  This ensures if they are caught in traffic, they have enough supplies to keep them safe until they reach their destination.  In regards to business kits, consider the location of each kit.  Is it in the storm/hurricane shelter?  Or in the break room?  A colleague recently evaluated a large corporation in the south.  They had a great storm shelter for their staff.  However, their first aid kit was in the break room.  While it is fantastic a first aid kit is available for everyday use, what happens when an injury occurs in the shelter during an event?  Or, imagine an employee with the foresight to grab the everyday first aid kit, but opening the box to discover it’s nearly empty because it’s been used as designed.  Now, think about those two examples and think about explaining the lack of preparation to a jury during a civil trial.

Finally, I would absolutely recommend a kit lasting more than 72 hours.  Take the time to review recent emergencies/incidents and you will find that in many cases, it takes longer than 72 hours to deliver sustained assistance to the public.  Take a few moments to read this article written by Eric Holdeman, then review the comments below the article.  Consider their approach when reviewing your family’s or business’ plan.