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Start with a complete home kit built around FEMA’s baseline: one gallon of water per person per day for at least three days, at least three days of non-perishable food, reliable communications, lighting, first aid, sanitation supplies, basic tools, and copies of essential information. Then adapt the kit to your household, pets, medical needs, new-home utilities, and the hazards identified by local emergency officials.
A kit supports a plan; it does not replace one. Everyone in the home should know how alerts arrive, where to meet, which routes may be used for evacuation, how to contact one another, and when officials say to leave.
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Build the home kit around FEMA’s baseline
FEMA describes its supply list as a starting point rather than a universal finished kit. Its May 2024 checklist recommends supplies for drinking and sanitation, food, communications, lighting, first aid, sheltering in place, sanitation, tools, information, and household-specific needs. Use the FEMA emergency supply checklist as the master list while you adapt quantities and equipment to the people and animals in your home.
| Category | What to keep | How to adapt it |
|---|---|---|
| Water | One gallon per person per day for at least three days, for drinking and sanitation | Count every household member, add water for pets, and increase the amount if your household’s medical, infant-care, climate, or sanitation needs require it. |
| Food | At least a three-day supply of non-perishable food | Choose foods requiring little or no preparation or water. Include a manual can opener if any food is canned. |
| Communications | Battery-powered or hand-crank radio, NOAA Weather Radio with tone alert, spare batteries, phones, chargers, and a backup battery | Keep equipment together and make sure household members know which official alert channels to monitor. |
| Lighting and signaling | Flashlight with extra batteries and a whistle | Place lighting where it can be reached without searching in darkness; keep a whistle with portable evacuation supplies. |
| First aid and health | First-aid kit, prescription medicines, glasses, and other medical supplies | Build the contents around actual prescriptions, mobility needs, allergies, treatments, and communication or sensory requirements. |
| Shelter and air | Dust mask, plastic sheeting, and duct tape | Use these only for the type of sheltering officials direct; they are not a substitute for hazard-specific instructions. |
| Sanitation | Moist towelettes, garbage bags, and plastic ties | Store enough for the people and pets who may be confined at home or traveling. |
| Tools and preparation | Wrench or pliers for utility shutoffs and a can opener when needed | Learn your home’s systems and follow the builder’s or utility’s safe operating instructions before attempting a shutoff. |
| Information | Local maps and copies of important documents in a waterproof, portable container | Include insurance and identity records and maintain accessible digital copies when appropriate. |
| Household and pet items | Pet food, water, supplies and records; infant formula, diapers, and other necessary personal items | List each person’s and animal’s requirements instead of relying on a generic shopping list. |
The water and food quantities above are FEMA planning recommendations, not measurements of how much any population consumes. They are minimum starting points for a three-day disruption and should be adjusted for your household.
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Make the kit work in a newly built home
New construction creates a practical risk that older homes do not always present: occupants may not yet know the locations, controls, or operating limits of the home’s systems. During move-in, make utility and equipment orientation part of emergency preparation rather than waiting for an outage or storm.
Map the utility shutoffs
Walk the property with the builder’s handover information and identify the main electrical disconnect or panel, water shutoff, and any fuel-gas shutoff serving the home. The exact arrangement differs by home and utility, so do not assume a control is safe to operate simply because it looks familiar. Ask the builder or utility to explain the safe procedure and any restrictions. Mark locations on a simple home map and keep that map with the kit.
FEMA’s list calls for a wrench or pliers for utility shutoffs. Store the tool where an adult can reach it quickly, but do not use it to improvise repairs. In an emergency, follow instructions from emergency officials, the utility, and the equipment manufacturer.
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Record systems that may matter during an emergency
Keep the home’s utility contact information, equipment manuals, warranty information, and relevant inspection or commissioning records in the waterproof document container. Note the location of smoke and carbon-monoxide alarms, fire extinguishers, exterior hose connections, and the safest exits. This is an orientation record, not permission to bypass professional or utility guidance.
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A recently completed home can still be exposed to flooding, wildfire, severe wind, earthquakes, winter weather, or extended utility outages. New materials and systems may improve performance, but they do not remove the need for supplies, alerts, evacuation planning, or insurance records. Treat the home’s actual location and local instructions as the basis for your kit.
Tailor supplies to the hazards officials identify locally
The right additions depend on geography, building exposure, and the instructions issued by local emergency management. A general list cannot determine whether you should shelter, move to higher ground, evacuate by a particular route, or protect against a specific contaminant. Use your local emergency-management office and the official alert systems for those decisions.
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Start with a written hazard inventory
List the hazards named by your city, county, tribal, or state emergency officials. For each one, record the warning channel, the action officials may direct, the nearest shelter information, likely blocked routes, and whether household members or pets need transportation assistance. Include the location of outdoor meeting points and an out-of-area contact if your household chooses to use one.
Compare each proposed item on five practical axes:
- Duration: How long the item remains usable and how much disruption it covers.
- Grid independence: Whether it works without household electricity or internet service.
- Portability: Whether it can move with you if evacuation is ordered.
- Household compatibility: Whether children, older adults, disabled people, pets, and people with medical or dietary needs can use it.
- Hazard fit: Whether local authorities actually advise using it for the hazard in question.
Flood-prone locations
For flood planning, follow the guidance on Ready.gov’s flood page: plan with household members and pets, gather food and water for several days, protect important documents in a waterproof container, monitor official alerts, and evacuate when directed. The official warning is direct: “Turn Around. Don’t Drown!” Never walk, swim, or drive through floodwater. A kit should make it easier to leave promptly; it should not encourage you to remain in a dangerous area to retrieve supplies.
Other hazards
For wildfire, earthquake, severe wind, winter weather, or hazardous-material incidents, ask local officials what sheltering or evacuation actions apply. The dust mask, plastic sheeting, and duct tape in FEMA’s baseline list are general shelter-in-place materials. They do not create a sealed room, filter every contaminant, or override an evacuation order. Add only equipment that local guidance supports and that household members can use correctly.
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Keep a full home kit and portable kits
FEMA recommends a complete kit at home plus smaller portable kits in a workplace, vehicle, or other places household members spend time. Separating the kits prevents a single evacuation bag from becoming the only source of supplies and helps people respond when they are away from home.
| Kit | Primary purpose | Include or plan for |
|---|---|---|
| Home kit | Support sheltering or an orderly departure for the household | Full water and food supply, radio, lighting, first aid, medicines, sanitation, tools, documents, maps, pet and infant supplies. |
| Evacuation bag | Leave quickly when officials direct evacuation | Portable water and food, essential medicines, copies of documents, phone charging, flashlight, whistle, sanitation items, identification, and pet supplies as applicable. |
| Vehicle kit | Provide basic support when traveling or stranded away from home | Compact lighting, communications power, first aid, water, food, maps, and items suitable for the vehicle’s climate and occupants. |
| Work or school kit | Cover the period before safe travel home or pickup | Small personal supplies, medicines that must be available during the day, communication details, and any accessibility items needed at that location. |
Portable kits must remain light enough for the person expected to carry them. Put heavier reserves in the home kit and keep a written inventory so an evacuation bag can be restocked after use.
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Account for people, pets, and access needs
Medicines and medical equipment
Set aside prescription medicines, spare glasses, and other medical supplies specified for each person. Include the information needed to use equipment safely and identify backup power or charging requirements. The FEMA disaster preparedness guide for older adults emphasizes planning around individual needs; the same principle applies to anyone with a disability, chronic condition, communication need, or mobility limitation.
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Infants, children, and dietary needs
Stock infant formula, diapers, wipes, and feeding supplies when relevant. Choose food that household members will actually eat and can prepare under the expected conditions. Account for allergies, therapeutic diets, and the ability to open packaging or chew the food.
Pets and service animals
Keep food, water, medications, leashes or carriers, sanitation supplies, identification, and veterinary records for each animal. Store pet records with the household documents and confirm which shelters or lodging options accept animals. Service-animal needs should be integrated into the person’s portable kit rather than treated as an afterthought.
Protect documents and maintain communications
Place paper copies of identification, insurance information, medical details, emergency contacts, and essential property records in a waterproof, portable container. Keep the container where it can be grabbed during evacuation, not in a location likely to be inaccessible after structural damage. Maintain digital copies when appropriate, but do not rely on internet access or a powered device as the only record.
Keep phones, charging cables, a backup battery, and the radio together. Test that household members can turn on the radio, recognize the local alert tone, and find the written contact and meeting-point information. A hand-crank or battery-powered radio and a NOAA Weather Radio with tone alert provide options when cellular service, internet access, or household power is unavailable.
Store, label, and review the supplies
- Choose an accessible storage point. Use a cool, dry location that is not likely to be blocked by a vehicle, stored furniture, or a fallen object. Keep portable bags near an exit without obstructing the exit path.
- Separate grab-and-go items from reserves. Clearly label the home supply, evacuation bags, vehicle kit, and work or school kits so nobody has to sort them during an alert.
- Use an inventory. List water, food, medicines, batteries, documents, pet items, and tools. Record expiration dates where relevant and note which items must remain with a particular person.
- Check after changes. Review the kit after a move-in alteration, new appliance, medication change, new pet, change in household membership, or updated local emergency guidance.
- Replace what is used. After an outage, drill, illness, or evacuation, restore the portable and home supplies before the next emergency.
- Practice the plan. Walk to the exits, identify the meeting location, locate the utility controls, and rehearse leaving with pets or mobility equipment. Practice reveals missing supplies that a checklist alone cannot.
Common mistakes in a new-home kit
- Buying only bottled water and snacks: A kit also needs communications, lighting, first aid, sanitation, documents, and tools.
- Storing everything in one heavy container: Separate portable kits so essential items remain available when evacuation or travel occurs.
- Ignoring the home’s unfamiliar systems: Identify shutoffs and obtain safe operating instructions during handover.
- Assuming a generic list covers local danger: Use local hazard and evacuation instructions to decide additions and actions.
- Forgetting animals or medical needs: Make a person-by-person and animal-by-animal inventory.
- Relying on a phone alone: Keep a radio, spare power, paper contacts, maps, and documents for outages or network failure.
- Treating shelter materials as universal protection: Plastic sheeting, duct tape, and dust masks do not replace official instructions or evacuation.
- Leaving the kit inaccessible: A supply box behind stored belongings or in a flood-prone area may be unusable when needed.
Use the kit as part of a complete preparedness plan
Ready.gov’s Plan Ahead for Disasters guidance places supplies alongside household planning, alerts, evacuation, and communication. Write down who collects children or pets, who carries medicines and documents, where everyone meets, and how the household receives official instructions. Revisit the plan when the home, occupants, pets, vehicles, or local hazards change.
The result should be a clearly labeled home reserve, portable kits that can leave with household members, and a plan grounded in local emergency-management advice. FEMA’s checklist supplies the foundation; your new home’s systems and your household’s actual needs determine the final contents.
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