List of Survival Supplies

If disaster strikes, you might not be able to count on rescue workers reaching you quickly. A well-stocked survival kit can mean the difference between life and death in an emergency. By equipping a kit with some basic supplies, you can give yourself and your family a better chance of surviving on your own after a catastrophic event

Water

• Water is the most important item on your list of survival supplies. The Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA's) Ready campaign recommends stocking a 3-day supply of water for everyone in your household in the amount of 1 gallon of water per person per day.

Food

• The Ready campaign recommends keeping a reserve of enough nonperishable food to feed your entire household for three days. You can keep the food in your basement or storm shelter. You should also keep some nonperishable food in a separate survival kit at work and in your car in case of emergencies that occur away from home.

Matches or Lighters

• Keeping some matchbooks or a lighter in a sealed plastic bag gives you an important tool during an emergency. You can make a fire to provide warmth and light, cook food or signal your presence to searchers flying overhead. Smoke from a fire also signals your presence.

Flashlight

• The Ready campaign points out that by making sure you keep a flashlight in your survival kit, you can avoid more accidents. A flashlight will help you find things you need in the dark and avoid tripping over something you can't see. You can also use a flashlight to signal for help.

Fresh Batteries

• If your flashlight is battery-operated, be sure to keep fresh batteries on hand. Even if you have a crank-operated flashlight, keep batteries in your survival kit in case you or someone you know needs them to operate a flashlight or emergency radio.

Whistle

• Keep a whistle in your survival kit. In an emergency, blowing a whistle is an excellent distress signal that can alert rescuers to your presence and location.

Blankets

• Add blankets to your survival kit to ward off cold or hypothermia. You can use blankets for a variety of important tasks in an emergency, such as smothering flames, covering wounds or fashioning tourniquets.

Medications

• If you or someone in your family takes prescription medication regularly, keep a ready, fresh supply of the medicine in your survival kit.

First-Aid Kit

• Stock a basic first-aid kit that includes a variety of bandages and sterile dressings, skin cleanser, antibiotic and burn ointments, a thermometer and any medical supplies that anyone in your household needs for an existing medical condition. You can find a variety of well-stocked, ready-made first-aid kits at most drugstores, pharmacies and outdoor-supply retail stores.

Knife

• Keep a small knife or switchblade with your emergency supplies as an all-purpose cutting tool.