For many people, having a survival pack on standby seems unnecessary. Yet, keeping a well-stocked survival pack for your family is an intelligent way to prepare for a range of possible emergencies. In an emergency, disaster, or large-scale incident, having what you need to survive is essential.

When disaster strikes, authorities quickly become overwhelmed, and emergency services won’t have the capacity to respond to everyone’s urgent needs. The possible delayed response times could mean that help may not arrive to you for days. In this type of event, having an emergency survival pack will help you protect and support yourself and your family when needed until help arrives or the emergency is under control.

Over the last decade, powerful storms, flooding, fire, disease, and civil unrest have left people stranded without electricity, water, sanitation, and access to food for extended periods. The more you know about basic survival and emergency survival kits, the better prepared you will be if disaster strikes.

The two types of emergency survival kits you should have are a ‘Go Bag’ and an emergency survival preparedness kit. A Go Bag is used when you need to evacuate where you currently are immediate. An emergency survival preparedness kit provides supplies for you when you need to shelter in place.

Go Bag

Go Bags should be small enough to grab and carry easily, yet large enough to hold necessary items. Backpacks are great options for Go Bags as they allow you to move things while keeping your hands free. Stock your Go Bag with items that you’ll need if you had to evacuate your home or place of work immediately quickly. Medications, copies of personal documents and identification, keys, glasses, cell phone chargers, and related items are some of the contents of a Go Bag.

Emergency Preparedness Survival Kit

In an emergency, the emergency preparedness survival kit will keep you safe for some time in the first few days, or weeks, of a disaster event. These kits are essential for survival during a shelter-in-place order when you may not be able to rely on existing utilities and electricity. Communication may be interrupted, leaving you vulnerable unless there are appropriate provisions in place.

Consider that structural damage may have occurred during such instances that can impede your ability to move and hinder rescue efforts. In some cases, you may have to shelter outdoors or at an evacuation center, which will increase your dependency on the contents of your survival kit. In any event, your kit should include food, water, medication, and personal documents, immediately long with a fire starter, blanket, compass, and other survival items are recommended.

Being prepared to handle any emergency with your Go Bag and Emergency Preparedness Survival Kit will improve your ability to handle almost any situation that may come your way.