Emergency preparedness is becoming a more important issue in this country day by day. With the number of tragedies occurring all over the world, the focus on emergency supplies couldn’t be stressed more. Just think about the number of deaths in the Midwest recently due to a massively destructive tornado. Personally, I don’t think there is a better time for America to have an emergency preparedness week, but currently there is one running in Canada, which will have to do.

It is one thing to know what you need in case of an emergency, but another thing entirely to actually have these items collected in a kit for ease of use and travel. It doesn’t matter what the situation is, whether it’s a earthquake or a manmade emergency. As a rule of thumb, your kit should have enough supplies for three days because it usually takes about that long for emergency crews to reach you.

Here are some things that you should have in your kit:

-          Nutrition bars or canned food that equal about 1200 calories a day per person. This will meet basic nutritional requirements.

-          Keeping at least eight cups of water for each person for each day. This can be achieved with water bottles or a backpack with a water pouch for ease of travel.

-          Try to have a flashlight for each person and a headlamp if possible. Keep a stock of batteries in your backpack so that the power will last for a few days.

-          Have a first aid kit or emergency kit handy in the event of an injury. Having these supplies can be a major benefit to someone who might get hurt.

-          A source of heat like waterproof blankets is also recommended in case of a car breakdown or long times without electricity.