The 72 Hour Emergency Kit

Before we can worry too much about longer term preparation, it is most important to get ready for the short-term crisis. This might be a weather incident (ice storm, hurricane, blizzard, flooding, etc) or something like an earthquake or it could be a financial crisis or bank closure, or it could be a terrorist attack…

Our government has pretty much told us that we are on our own for at least the first 72-96 hours of any emergency, so we should be prepared to fend for ourselves…

Over the next month, I am going to start talking in some detail about your 72 hour emergency bag which should ideally be stored in your car ready to go. This is also called a BUG-OUT BAG” by some people. This emergency kit contains the essentials that your family would need to survive in the event of a natural disaster or other calamity. If you have two vehicles, and you have one of these in each vehicle, then you are covered for about a week. For people with limited storage space, having a compact 72 hour kit in each of two vehicles might be the perfect way to store your one week supply.

You will need a backpack or duffel bag to put this stuff in, so start looking around to see if you have a couple that will work. The waterproof duffels from Army surplus stores can be great for this.

Be on the lookout for future posts on this topic, I’ll call them 72 Hour Essentials…