Emergency gear guides
What to buy, how much of it, and what to skip. Every guide has picks at three budgets and shows which emergencies each item matters for.
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- WaterWater is the first thing to get right. Store enough to ride out the first two weeks, then have a way to make more.
- FoodThe best emergency food is food you already like, bought a little extra and rotated. Freeze-dried buckets fill in the long tail.
- PowerDecide what you need to keep running, then size to it. For most homes that's phones, lights, a fridge and maybe one medical device.
- First aidIn a big disaster, emergency services are overloaded for days. You handle the cuts, burns and sprains, and you need to stop serious bleeding until help arrives.
- CommunicationCell networks jam within minutes of a disaster and lose backup power within hours. Your plan needs a way to hear official information and a way to reach your people.
- Light and heatHeadlamps for every person, a lantern for each main room, and a plan to stay warm that doesn't involve running a grill indoors.
- Go-bagIf you have 15 minutes to leave, there's no time to think. A packed bag decides what you leave with: meds, documents, water, light, cash and a way to charge your phone.
- SanitationThe prep nobody wants to talk about. When water mains break, toilets stop working, and sanitation becomes a health problem within a day.