Americans always should be prepared for an emergency. Floods, wildfires, earthquakes, hurricanes — you name it — are often ruinous, especially if you’re not prepared.Every home should have a survival kit: a self-contained collection of drugs that will be grabbed and thrown within the car (or carried if need be), with everything you and your family got to survive on your own within the event of a disaster.
Durable Backpack
You need something to carry your survival kit, after all. It must be large (but not overwhelming), comfortable to wear and hard.
The established outdoor companies offer many choices, but I’d recommend something like L.L. Bean’s Maine Warden Day Pack ($99, medium/large version). the corporate says this backpack is standard issue to all or any Maine State Game Wardens. It’s water-resistant with a water-proof bottom. it’s waterproof and padded compartments and many of the room, so it’ll hold all of your survival gear and keep electronics safe.
Portable Water Filter
If disaster strikes and you’re forced to go away your home, access to washing, drinkable water is critical. you’ll only carry numerous bottles, and it can take time for water to succeed in survivors.
The Sawyer Mini ($25) may be a portable filter that weighs just 2 ounces and costs only $25. you’ll thread it right onto a typical bottle or fill the included pouch. The filter removes “99.99999%” of all bacteria and protozoa, including salmonella, cholera and E. coli.
Sawyer says the filter is sweet for 100,000 gallons of water. as long as humans need under a gallon of water per day to survive, this filter will keep you going for a real while.
First Aid Kit
No survival kit is complete without a well-stocked care kit. you’ll have injuries to affect before emergency responders can get to you. And leaving during a hurry — sometimes through treacherous terrain — may result in scrapes and sprains. Getting open wounds sterilized and bandaged gains more urgency once they could be exposed to contaminants like those commonly found in floodwater.
The American Red Cross offers a Deluxe Family care Kit ($28.95) that packs everything you’ll get to treat common injuries, including cuts, scrapes, swelling and sprains. It also includes a binder with instructions on the way to properly treat these injuries.
Because this kit is concentrated on injuries, you’ll want to supplement it with items like pain killers and allergy medications.
Emergency Radio
An emergency radio may be a must-have in any survival kit. Cellular networks could also be down, but an old-school radio gives you access to critical information without an online connection.
The Midland ER310 Emergency Crank Radio ($69.99) is a superb choice. It’s compact at under 1.5 pounds. It receives AM and FM radio, also as all seven NOAA weather bands. If a weather emergency is a broadcast (reporting a tornado, for example), it can sound an alert so you’re not caught off guard. Its battery is sweet for up to 32 hours of use, and you’ll charge it with the built-in hand crank, or using its integrated solar cells.
In addition to radio duty, the Midland ER310 features a high-powered LED flashlight with SOS function, a USB port for charging electronics and even a dog whistle to signal search parties.
Multi-Tool
Few items during a survival kit pack more bang for the buck than a multi-tool. These fold up into the dimensions of a (larger than normal) pocketknife but include a spread of built-in tools that will prove critical for survival.
A good example is the popular Leatherman Surge ($109.95). This multi-tool is 4.5 inches long and weighs 12.5 ounces. But the therein small package is 21 tools, including scissors, pliers, wire cutters, multiple knives, screwdrivers, a tin opener, opener, and a saw.
Whether you would like to open a can of beans, cut the wire to urge through a fence or saw off some tree branches to create a fireplace, a multi-tool just like the Leatherman Surge has you covered. If you would like a less expensive option, Leatherman’s Sidekick ($49.95) offers key tools – including pliers, a knife, wire cutters, a saw, and a tin opener – for fewer than half the worth of the Surge.