As you prepare your home and family for the hurricane season, don’t forget to include a disaster preparedness kit.
In this Storm Season 2020 post, the third of the six-part series, we are going to discuss what to have in our disaster preparedness kits, as well as what items we should have on hand in our homes. Many of these items can be difficult and time-consuming to replace. So, tackling this task early will ease your mind. Buy early. Stock up. And consider adding the following basic supplies to your kit:
- At least a two-week supply of prescription medications for you and any pets
- Non-perishable foods for you and your family and pets to last three to seven days, including special dietary foods for family members and baby foods for infants
- One gallon of water per person per day, for a minimum of seven days; and include extra water for cooking and washing
- Consider stocking up of extra water incase of a “boil water” order
- If you have pets, remember they need water allowances, as well
- Infant items such as diapers, formula, sterile water, bottles, medications, etc.
- First aid kit that includes: antiseptic, bandages, aspirin and aspirin-free pain reliever, anti-diarrhea mediation, antacid, and phone numbers for doctors, pharmacy and family members
- Weather radio or other portable radio
- Extra batteries for flashlights, lanterns, radio, etc. for each family member
- Fire extinguisher
- Whistle and/or distress flag
- Mosquito repellant
- Sunscreen
An assortment of disaster preparedness kit supplies, including water, bandages, batteries, flashlight and a weather radio. [CREDIT: UF/IFAS] - Water purification kit
- Manual can opener
- Plastic trash bags and ties
- Tools such as nails, hammer, screening, tarp, etc.
- Supplies for clean-up: bucket, towels, disinfectant, etc.
- Toilet paper, paper towels and pre-moistened towelettes or baby wipes
- Cash
- Outdoor grill or camping stove with extra propane or charcoal and matches
- Ice cooler and ice
- Canned food items
- Cutting board
- Paper plates, cutlery, aluminum foil, etc.
Just one look at that list, and you can see that gathering and organizing your supply kit will take some time. To help you, we’ve prepared a handy, digital version of the disaster preparation checklist that you can print out or view on any smartphone, tablet or computer.
A final note: It’s a good idea to keep these items together, in one place, to make them easier to find when needed. But, storing all the items in just a few containers will make them cumbersome or even too heavy to carry, for many. So, think about keeping items stored in wheeled containers or even in wheeled luggage.
And don’t forget to replenish your food and water often to keep them fresh.
In our next post, we will discuss evacuation centers and what supplies you will need to take along.
RESOURCES
For more information on disaster planning visit the following resources:
- scgov.net/government/emergency-services/hurricane-preparedness
- floridadisaster.org
- tampabayprepares.org
- ready.gov
Other posts in this series:
- Gathering information (Are you ready?)
- Creating a plan
- Assembling your kit and supplies
- Evacuation shelters
- Post-disaster precautions
- Food safety
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