Emergency/Disaster Kits

[D. Hayes]

With this rather early and aggressive kick off to the new storm season I'm rebuilding my emergency kits better than I previously had. I have read the Red Cross and FEMA guides for disaster preparedness kits.

Here's the best list I've found provided by the US Navy Naples website:

http://www.nsa.naples.navy.mil/disasterprep/foodandwater.html

Shelf-life of Foods for Storage
Here are some general guidelines for rotating common emergency foods.
Use within six months:

Powdered milk (boxed)
Dried fruit (in metal container)
Dry, crisp crackers (in metal container)
Potatoes

Use within one year:

Canned condensed meat and vegetable soups
Canned fruits, fruit juices and vegetables
Ready-to-eat cereals and uncooked instant cereals (in metal containers)
Peanut butter
Jelly
Hard candy and canned nuts
Vitamin C

The following items may be stored indefinitely (in proper containers and conditions):

Wheat
Vegetable oils
Dried corn
Baking powder
Soybeans
Instant coffee, tea and cocoa
Salt
Non-carbonated soft drinks
White rice
Bouillon products
Dry pasta

Ok so my question is What brand names are we looking at? What containers are the best? Can most of this stuff be bought at local grocery stores or is some of this found at specialty stores? I haven't seen metal can crackers in decades since Saltine did away with those metal cans. Is there a brand X better than brand Y?

Then we have first aid kits. Who makes a solid first aid kit? A lot I've seen online look rather cheap and if a tornado directly hits my town I want something that I can count on.

What other items should we have in a storm shelter? I've got several sleeping bags and extra clothes. I'm going to get a small emergency toilet as well for sanitation. Any recommendations there?

I'm hoping you all can give pointers, tips, suggestions, and guidance that we can share to make any unfortunate events less painful.

Thanks all!

 

[John Erwin]

Ok so my question is What brand names are we looking at? What containers are the best? Can most of this stuff be bought at local grocery stores or is some of this found at specialty stores? I haven't seen metal can crackers in decades since Saltine did away with those metal cans. Is there a brand X better than brand Y?

Some good questions there. I would caution people to make sure they use food-grade containers, especially if they are plastic. "Tupperware" or similar containers are fine to place food products in, however other types of containers (rubbermaid "totes" for instance) may not be since they might leach chemicals into the food. I have noticed that some containers will impart a chemical odor onto objects placed into them for a period of time for example.

I made our kits myself here at home; I use 5 gal food product pails for this. These have lids that seal well and are very portable. In an emergency the pails themselves can become quite useful too. One of the items least considered is water; I used the formula of a gallon of water per person, per day. Our kits here are good for 3 days which should be adequate for anything that might happen here.

 

[MatthewCarman]

This site has 1-2 all weather emergency kits,weather radios and weather gear. I got my kit from this site for 50$ and it comes with a first aid kit,polar fleece blanket,crank up flashlight and a crank up radio with the nws stations.

http://www.weatherradiostore.com/ (Look under weather radios)

(Reposting as it would not save and load page for me)

 

[Mikel Shively]

Mods: feel free to split this off if needed.

I was just wondering what other chasers are carrying as far as emergency kits. I have a few basic first aid supplies that I carry, but I am wondering if I should start carrying some more supplies?