Survival in a Disaster or Emergency – What to Have

A list of essential items to have during any disaster or emergency

• Water
• Food
• Fire
• Toilet Paper
• Medicine
• First Aid Kit
• Tarps
• Cooking Pan & Pot
• Can Opener
• Multi-Function Camping Utensil
• A source of power
• Protection

A wise man is one that admits he knows nothing.

WATER – Let’s take a look at the first thing on any survival list – Water. You can go almost a week without any food. Yes, you will feel like crap, you will be weak, you will not want to do anything, you will loose weight, but you will still be alive in most cases. Not so much without water. There is a good chance you will dehydrate and not make it without water after 3 days. There are several way to obtain water, unless you live in a desert in which you have limited options. But for most of us there are ways. I live in hurricane country so many things in preparation for a hurricane applies to other natural disasters. Stock up on water is one of them. The shelves will empty quickly if a storm warning is issued. A good way to be prepared is to buy one extra case of water each time you go to the grocery. I do not agree you need one gallon a day per person, I would get sick on that, but you do want to provide enough to supply whatever you need for a least a week. There are ultimately other ways of collecting water without buying it. If you have time and a bathtub there are Fresh Water Containers that are basically a bladder that you sit in your tub & fill full of water that can last you a month. Another item is a water straw that has filters built in that you can use to go to any fresh water creek, river, lake, and siphon or drink directly from that source. They come in various sizes from bags to take showers to a straw that fits in your backpack. Whatever your situation for the price I would recommend one of these. You get the idea, so lets move on.

Water Straw:

Food – What to eat. If your hungry enough will eat just about anything. I personally would probably starve before eating slimy bugs. But for most people a nice supply of canned goods will do or, ready to eat meals , also called MRE’s in the military, that can be purchased and stored for years. Add a little water & eat or pour it out and cook it in a pan. Beans and rice are popular off the shelf items. Other suggestions are

• Grains and Cereals:Rice Pasta Quinoa Rolled oats Cornmeal Wheat berries.
• Legumes:Dried beans (black, pinto, kidney, etc.) …
• Canned Foods:Canned vegetables (corn, peas, green beans, carrots)Canned fruits (peaches, pears, pineapple)Canned soupsCanned meats (tuna, chicken, ham)

Fire – In cold weather this is a must. In any weather this is near the top of the list, weather to keep bugs and animals away, or just to cook some of the food previously listed. Its nice to have a warm meal once in awhile. If staying home I’d recommend having two tanks of propane to power a gas grill. With a flat pan or a grill like a blackstone, you can cook about anything. If your more into survival in the wilderness a pocket magnesium fire starter is a must.

Toilet Paper – Well, well, well – when the the Shi? hits the fan what do you do? Covid 19 in the years 1920-1923 immediately showed what such a common, take it for granted, item can be gone in the time it takes to pop out a fart. Always have a extra pack of toilet paper at all times because you just never know. People were using paper towels, napkins – I don’t want to go there. Have enough to last a month, minimum.

Medicine – Many times if you have an approaching storm such as a hurricane, your can get prescriptions filled a little early. Many times things like pain pills, or diabetic medicine, your lucky if you get your regular prescription. Misuse of drugs has caused a real problem for those who really need it. Many pills can be used after their expiration date. If it is safe to do so, such a pain meds and nerve pills, etc. and you can put up with not taking that pain pill, for example, during the day, then place that one away for emergencies. Over time you can have extra. If not for an emergency you will find one day you do something dumb that injures yourself and the doc will not prescribe more because of this stigma you will become addicted. Only you can answer this, but the idea is that you make it to were you can tolerate the pain, not feel painless. If that is your goal you will get addicted. Enough said.

First Aid Kit – To go along with your medicine mentioned earlier, its always a good idea to have a first aid kit around. At some point you will get a cut & you do not want it to turn into something bigger. A little cream and a band-aid can save your life.

Tarps – A vast majority of people will not grab a “bug out bag” and will stay home. Unless your under a bio-terror attack or a forrest fire chances are you will try to stay where you are at. Even during a hurricane roads will be jammed, gas will be hard to come by, and a place to stay is sometimes iffy. A tarp is for after the storm & provides either a temporary shelter or a roof patch until it can be fixed.

Cooking Pan & Pot – Not much to say about this. If you want a hot meal, boil water, etc., a couple of these will be a great thing to have. There are nice little camping pan sets for around 20 bucks that can be found & then stack into something you can actually place in a backpack.

Can Opener – if your into storing canned foods then you have to get the darn things open. You need a can opener and it is good to have one that does not rely on power. They even have a military style can openers that fit on a keychain that I have used successfully many times.

Camping Utensils – You may or may not want these camping utensils. I personally keep one in my lunch bag as it never fails I have something to eat & forgot to put a for or spoon in my lunch bag. These are cheap and worth it, particularly if actually do decide to bug out.

A Source of Power – Lots of items here to consider. A loss of power can mean a loss of the most basic of things from lights to flushing the toilet if the plant looses it. A generator is good for short time outages, but it runs out quickly and you may not even be able to get gas. They do make solar generators but there is a limit to what you can power with those as well. For those who only want some lighting I would suggest outdoor solar lights. I got this set of 4 solar lights but you can choose whatever brand or quantity you want. The main thing is they charge during the day & then at night you bring them in and place one in every room. When you walk in the light kicks on. The next day you stick them back outside again to charge. These light usually will last all night long. A prepper’s popular pick is solar panels and solar generators. These can get expensive, depending on how much power you need. For those who need medical devices, like cpap machines, then these actually become a necessity. Personally I have a Renogy 100 watt suitcase panel and a couple of 35amp hour batteries that you can order online or buy at some stores such as Harbor Freight. Something along this line will do the medical devices & provide power for a fan, a small refrigerator, and maybe a small tv. This will definitely take care of your small electronics like cell phones, if they are working.

Protection – This is controversy of this subject. This is a hope you never have to use type of subject in ways. In other ways it means survival in the worst of conditions from protection to hunting for your food. When Shi? hits the fan, you may have to go after that squirrel or some other animal for food. The bad thing is the other scenario is more likely to happen – “you got it & I want it”. The store shelves have gone empty & the bad people come out of the woodwork. We’ve seen groups of people breaking into stores on the news before. What if this group came walking down your street breaking into houses? The saying is true – “when seconds count, the cops are minutes away.” If you live near a lake or ocean, you may have a good food supply is fish. Of course, you have to make it back to the house with that fish. Good luck.

This is just a suggested lift of things to have. I’m sure there are other very good suggestions out there. Ham Radios or any sort of communication radio is a good thing to have, for example. Gas masks? Pills for nuclear radiation? – help us all. If you like this Emergency Disaster Survival Items List please place it in your favorites to refer back to it the next time you are interested.

Survival in a Disaster or Emergency – What to Have – by Kallico.net

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