Emergency Preparedness: How to Be Ready for Any Emergency
When a disaster hits your area, emergency services go first to the people in the most danger. It can be days before anyone reaches you. This guide gives you a plan, a kit and a short list of habits that will carry your household through the first two weeks on your own.
Based on current guidance from Ready.gov (FEMA), the American Red Cross and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.
2 weeksof water, food and medicine at home. The old "72 hours" rule is now the minimum for a grab-and-go bag, not for staying put.
1 gallonof water per person per day, for drinking and washing. A family of four needs 56 gallons for two weeks.
1 contactout of town that everyone in the family texts when phones are jammed. Texts get through when calls do not.
Why are governments suddenly telling people to prepare?
Within a few weeks the United Kingdom, Canada, Japan, Thailand, Belgium, Luxembourg and Ireland all told households to keep emergency supplies, joining the European Union, Germany, Sweden, the Netherlands and France. Reports count 33 countries. The lists are nearly identical, the stated reasons are severe weather, long power cuts, cyberattacks and the possibility of conflict, and none of the governments says a specific event is expected. We keep the full table of what every country said, how long to prepare for and when. This page is the practical answer.
What has changed since this guide was first written
Twenty years ago the standard advice was to be self-sufficient for 72 hours. That figure came from how long it usually took for outside help to arrive after a storm or earthquake. Recent disasters have shown that power, water and supply chains can take far longer to recover, so the Red Cross now recommends a three-day supply for evacuation and a two-week supply for staying at home.
The threats have widened too. Alongside hurricanes, floods, wildfires and earthquakes, households now plan for long power outages, extreme heat, wildfire smoke, pandemics and outages of the payment and communication networks that daily life depends on. The one thing that has not changed is that the basics cover almost every case. Water, food, medicine, light, information, a way to reach each other and a way to leave.
Your four-step preparedness plan
1
Know your risks and how you will be warned
Find out which hazards are likely where you live, then make sure a warning can reach you at 3 a.m. with the power out.
Check that Wireless Emergency Alerts are switched on in your phone's settings. They arrive as a loud text from local, state or federal authorities, with no sign-up needed.
Sign up for your county or city's opt-in alert system (text and email), and download the free FEMA app, which carries National Weather Service alerts for up to five locations and lists open shelters.
Keep a battery or hand-crank NOAA Weather Radio. It works when cell towers and the internet do not, and it carries non-weather emergencies as well.
Learn your evacuation zone and routes if you live in a hurricane, wildfire or flood area. Many states publish a "know your zone" map.
2
Make a household plan
Your family may not be together when something happens. Write the plan down, give everyone a copy, and practice it twice a year.
One out-of-town contact. Long-distance lines often work when local ones are jammed. Everyone texts that person with a short message such as "I'm OK, at the library." Calls tie up the network; save them for 911.
Two meeting places. One just outside your home for a fire, one outside your neighborhood if you cannot get home.
Who collects the children if you cannot, and what the school's own emergency plan is.
Pets. Most public shelters do not take them. Know a pet-friendly hotel or a friend outside town.
Documents. Photograph IDs, insurance policies, prescriptions and deeds. Keep encrypted copies on a USB stick in your kit and in cloud storage, plus paper copies in a waterproof bag.
Shut-offs. Everyone old enough should know where the water valve, gas valve, electrical panel and fire extinguisher are, and when to use them.
3
Build your kit
You need two kits. A home supply you can live on for two weeks, and a bag each person can carry for three days. Build them over a few months, one or two items a week; you do not have to buy everything at once.
Home supply (two weeks)
Water, one gallon per person per day, plus a filter or unscented bleach to treat more
Food that needs no cooking or refrigeration, and a manual can opener
Prescription medicines (at least seven days) and a first-aid kit
Flashlights or headlamps, spare batteries, a NOAA radio
Phone power bank, car charger, and a hand-crank or solar charger
Cash in small bills; card readers and ATMs fail without power
Sanitation: garbage bags, wipes, hand sanitizer, toilet paper, bleach
N95 masks for smoke, dust or illness
Carbon monoxide alarm and smoke alarms with fresh batteries
Plastic sheeting and duct tape to seal a room
Supplies for babies, older relatives and pets
Go-bag, one per person (three days)
Water bottles and compact high-energy food
Medicines, glasses, copies of prescriptions
Copies of ID and insurance, the written family plan, cash
Phone power bank and cable
Flashlight, whistle, multi-tool, lighter
Change of clothes, sturdy shoes, rain layer, emergency blanket
Paper map of the region with your routes marked
Small first-aid kit, masks, hand sanitizer
Keys to the house and car, spare set
For children: a comfort item and a card with your contact details
Keep a smaller version in each car: water, snacks, blanket, flashlight, jumper cables, a phone charger and, in winter, warm layers and a shovel. Check and rotate food, water and batteries every six months when the clocks change.
4
Know what to do when it happens
In the moment you will not think clearly, so decide the big questions now and follow your list then.
Stay or go. If officials order an evacuation, leave at once. Roads fill within hours and the first to leave have the clearest run. If you are told to shelter in place, go inside, close windows and vents, and listen for updates.
Power out. Keep the fridge shut; food stays safe about four hours, a full freezer about 48. Unplug electronics against the surge when power returns. Use flashlights, not candles.
Generators kill. Run a portable generator outdoors only, at least 20 feet from any door, window or vent, never in a garage, porch or basement, even with the door open. Carbon monoxide has no smell and kills about 100 Americans a year this way. The same goes for charcoal grills and camp stoves indoors.
Water. If the supply is in doubt, boil for one minute or use the treatment in your kit. Fill bathtubs and containers when a storm is forecast.
Check on neighbors, especially older people and anyone who depends on powered medical equipment.
What we would buy
These are the models we would choose for the items this guide recommends. We earn nothing from these links.
A large city can become hard to move through within hours of a major event, as the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the 2021 Texas grid failure and the 2003 Northeast blackout all showed. If your plan includes leaving, work it out now.
Decide the trigger in advance so you are not debating it at the time. An evacuation order, a loss of power or water expected to last more than a day, or civil disorder in your district are reasonable triggers.
Choose a destination with family or friends outside the city, and agree it with them now. Arrive with supplies that make you a help rather than a burden: food, fuel, cash, medical skills, tools.
Map three routes that avoid the main highways, which jam first. Drive them once in daylight. Keep a paper map in the car.
Keep the tank above half at all times. Pumps need electricity, and lines form fast.
Stored fuel, done safely. If you keep extra gasoline, use approved red containers, store them in a detached shed or garage, never inside the house, add a fuel stabilizer when you fill them, and rotate the fuel through your car every six months. Most local fire codes cap home storage at about 25 gallons; check yours.
Agree an assembly point for the family that works at any hour, and a rule for who waits how long for whom.
Print the one-page checklist
The plan, both kit lists and the fuel and generator rules on a single sheet. Tape it inside a cupboard door and put a copy in each go-bag. Enter your email and the download link appears.
Questions people are asking
Why is everyone suddenly being told to prepare?
Because a run of governments issued household preparedness advice within weeks of each other, following the European Union strategy of 2025. Our page on what every country said has the full table.
How many days of supplies should I have?
Three days as a minimum for a bag you can carry, and two weeks at home. That is the American Red Cross figure, and it reflects how long power, water and supply chains have taken to recover after recent disasters.
What goes in a 72-hour kit?
Water, food that needs no cooking, medicines, a torch, a radio, a power bank, cash, copies of documents, a first-aid kit, a change of clothes and sturdy shoes. The go-bag list on this page has the full set, and the printable checklist puts it on one sheet.
Is the emergency alert test on November 17 a warning?
No. FEMA and the FCC run a nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System on television and radio on Tuesday, November 17, 2026 at about 2:20 p.m. Eastern. It lasts about a minute, does not involve phones, and is the eighth such routine test since 2011.
Sources
Ready.gov, "Build a Kit", "Make a Plan" and "Emergency Alerts" (FEMA). American Red Cross, "Be Red Cross Ready". U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, portable generator and carbon monoxide safety guidance. National Fire Protection Association, Flammable and Combustible Liquids Code.
