Build An Emergency Kit & Emergency
Food Supplies/ with water tips
John Morgan ·Sunday, January 23, 2013
Build An Emergency Kit:
Make sure your emergency kit is stocked with the items on the checklist below. Most of the items are inexpensive and easy to find, and any one of them could save your life. Take a look at the basic items, then consider what unique items your family might need, such as supplies for your pets, elderly or disabled.
After an emergency, you may need to survive on your own for several days before help can arrive. Being prepared will mean having your own food, water and other supplies to last for a minimum of 72 hours. A disaster supply kit is a collection of basic items you and your family may need in the event of an emergency.
Basic Disaster Supplies Kit:
To assemble your kit, store items in airtight plastic bags and put your entire disaster supplies kit in one or two easy-to-carry containers such as plastic bins or a duffel bag.
A basic emergency supply kit could include the following recommended items:
Water - Two gallons of water per person per day for at least three days, for drinking and sanitation
Food - at least a three-day supply of non-perishable food
Battery-powered or hand crank radio and a NOAA Weather Radio with tone alert
Flashlight
First aid kit
Extra batteries
Whistle to signal for help
Dust mask to help filter contaminated air and plastic sheeting and duct tape to shelter-in-place
Moist towelettes, garbage bags and plastic ties for personal sanitation
Wrenches to turn off utilities
Manual can opener to open canned food
Local map (mark relevant locations on the map ((ie) hospital, police station, pharmacy, etc.)).
Cell phone with chargers and a backup battery
Additional Emergency Supplies:
Consider adding the following items to your emergency supply kit based on your individual needs:
Remember that your kit will not be like everyone else, because your needs are not the same as everyone else.
Prescription medications
Non-prescription medications such as pain relievers, anti-diarrhea medication, antacids or laxatives
Glasses and contact lens solution
Infant formula, bottles, diapers, wipes, diaper rash cream
Pet food and extra water for your pet
Cash or traveler's checks
Important family documents such as copies of insurance policies, identification and bank account records saved electronically or in a waterproof, portable container
Sleeping bag or warm blanket for each person
Complete change of clothing appropriate for your climate and sturdy shoes
Household chlorine bleach and medicine dropper to disinfect water
Fire extinguisher
Matches in a waterproof container
Feminine supplies and personal hygiene items
Mess kits, paper cups, plates, paper towels and plastic utensils
Paper and pencil
Books, games, puzzles or other activities for children.
Maintaining Your Kit:
After assembling your kit, remember to maintain it so it’s ready when needed.
Keep canned food in a cool, dry place
Store boxed food in tightly closed plastic or metal containers
Replace expired items as needed
Your needs change twice a year and your family’s needs may change over time, so re-think what is in your kit twice a year. (what you may need in the summer is not necessarily what you will need in the winter).
Kit Storage Locations:
Since you do not know where you will be when an emergency occurs, prepare supplies for home, work and vehicles.
Home:
Keep this kit in a designated place and have it ready in case you have to leave your home quickly. Make sure all family members know where the kit is kept.
Work:
Be prepared to shelter at work for at least 24 hours. Your work kit should include food, water and other necessities like medicines, as well as comfortable walking shoes, stored in a “grab and go” case.
Vehicle:
In case you are stranded, keep a kit of emergency supplies in your car.
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Suggested Emergency Food Supplies:
Consider the following things when putting together your emergency food supplies:
Store at least a three-day supply of non-perishable food.
Choose foods your family will eat.
Remember any special dietary needs.
Avoid foods that will make you thirsty.
The following items are suggested when selecting emergency food supplies. You may already have many of these on hand.
Ready-to-eat canned meats, fruits, vegetables and a can opener
Protein or fruit bars
Dry cereal or granola
Peanut butter
Dried fruit
Canned juices
Non-perishable pasteurized milk
High energy foods
Food for infants
Comfort/stress foods
Food Safety & Sanitation:
Without electricity or a cold source, food stored in refrigerators and freezers can become unsafe. Bacteria in food grow rapidly at temperatures between 40 and 140 °F, and if these foods are consumed you can become very sick. Thawed food usually can be eaten if it is still “refrigerator cold.” It can be re-frozen if it still contains ice crystals. To be safe, remember, “When in doubt, throw it out.”
Do:
Keep food in covered containers.
Keep cooking and eating utensils clean.
Discard any food that has come into contact with contaminated flood water.
Discard any food that has been at room temperature for two hours or more.
Discard any food that has an unusual odor, color or texture.
Use ready-to-feed formula. If you must mix infant formula use bottled water,
or boiled as a last resort.
Don’t:
Eat foods from cans that are swollen, dented or corroded, even though the product may look safe to eat.
Eat any food that looks or smells abnormal, even if the can looks normal.
Let garbage accumulate inside, both for fire and sanitation reasons.
Cooking:
Alternative cooking sources can be used in times of emergency including candle warmers, chafing dishes, fondue pots or a fireplace. Charcoal grills and camp stoves are for outdoor use only. Commercially canned food may be eaten out of the can without warming.
To heat food in a can:
Remove the label.
Thoroughly wash and disinfect the can. (Use a diluted solution of one part bleach to ten parts water.)
Open the can before heating.
Managing Food without Power:
Keep the refrigerator and freezer doors closed as much as possible.
The refrigerator will keep food cold for about 4 hours if it is unopened.
Refrigerated or frozen foods should be kept at 40° F or below for proper food storage.
Use a refrigerator thermometer to check temperature.
Refrigerated food should be safe as long as the power was out for no more than 4 hours.
Discard any perishable food (such as meat, poultry, fish, eggs or leftovers) that has been above 40° F for two hours or more.
Using Dry Ice:
Know where you can get dry ice prior to a power outage.
Twenty-five pounds of dry ice will keep a 10-cubic-foot freezer below freezing for 3-4 days.
If you use dry ice to keep your food cold, make sure it does not come in direct contact with the food.
Use care when handling dry ice, wear dry, heavy gloves to avoid injury.
Water:
Following a disaster, clean drinking water may not be available. Your regular water source could be cut-off or compromised through contamination. Prepare yourself by building a supply of water that will meet your family’s needs during an emergency.
Determining Water Needs:
Store at least two gallons of water per person for three days, for drinking and sanitation. A normally active person needs about three quarters of a gallon of fluid daily, from water and other beverages. However, individual needs vary, depending on age, health, physical condition, activity, diet and climate.
Take the following into account:
Children, nursing mothers and sick people may need more water.
A medical emergency might require additional water.
If you live in a warm weather climate more water may be necessary. In very hot temperatures, water needs can double.
Water Tips:
Never ration drinking water unless ordered to do so by authorities. Drink the amount you need today and try to find more for tomorrow. Minimize the amount of water your body needs by reducing activity and staying cool.
Drink water that you know is not contaminated first. If necessary, suspicious water, such as cloudy water from regular faucets or water from streams or ponds, can be used after it has been treated. If water treatment is not possible, put off drinking suspicious water as long as possible, but do not become dehydrated.
Do not drink carbonated or caffeinated beverages instead of drinking water. Caffeinated drinks and alcohol dehydrate the body, which increases the need for drinking water.
Water Storage:
Buy commercially bottled water and store it in the sealed original container in cool, dark place.
If you must prepare your own containers of water, purchase food grade water storage containers. Before filling with chlorinated water, thoroughly clean the containers with dish washing soap and sanitize the bottles by cleaning with a solution of 1 teaspoon of non-scented liquid household chlorine bleach to a quart of water. Water that has not been commercially bottled should be replaced every six months (according to the FDA).
Water Treatment:
If you have used all of your stored water and there are no other reliable clean water sources, it may become necessary to treat suspicious water. Treat all water of uncertain quality before using it for drinking, food washing or preparation, washing dishes, brushing teeth or making ice. In addition to having a bad odor and taste, contaminated water can contain microorganisms (germs) that cause diseases such as dysentery, cholera, typhoid and hepatitis.
There are many ways to treat water. Often the best solution is a combination of methods. Before treating, let any suspended particles settle to the bottom or strain them through coffee filters or layers of clean cloth.
Boiling:
Boiling is the safest method of treating water. In a large pot or kettle, bring water to a rolling boil for one full minute, keeping in mind that some water will evaporate. Let the water cool before drinking.
TIP: Boiled water will taste better if you put oxygen back into it by pouring the water back and forth between two clean containers. This also will improve the taste of stored water.
Chlorination:
You can use household liquid bleach to kill microorganisms. Use only regular household liquid bleach that contains 5.25 to 6.0 percent sodium hypochlorite. Do not use scented bleaches, color safe bleaches or bleaches with added cleaners.
Add 16 drops (1/8 teaspoon) of bleach per gallon of water (according to Government standards), stir and let stand for 30 minutes. The water should have a slight bleach odor. If it doesn’t, then repeat the dosage and let stand another 15 minutes. If it still does not smell of chlorine, discard it and find another source of water.
Other chemicals, such as iodine or water treatment products sold in camping or surplus stores that do not contain 5.25 or 6.0 percent sodium hypochlorite as the only active ingredient, are not recommended and should not be used.
Distillation:
While boiling and chlorination will kill most microbes in water, distillation will remove microbes (germs) that resist these methods, as well as heavy metals, salts and most other chemicals. Distillation involves boiling water and then collection of only the vapor that condenses. The condensed vapor will not include salt or most other impurities.
To distill, fill a pot halfway with water. Tie a cup to the handle on the pot’s lid so that the cup will hang right-side-up when the lid is upside-down (make sure the cup is not dangling into the water) and boil the water for 20 minutes. The water that drips from the lid into the cup is distilled.
Courtesy of Preppers Are We
