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72-Hour Emergency Go-Bag

A practical, household-tested checklist for assembling a go-bag that's actually ready when 30 minutes is all you have — covering water, food, medications, hygiene, documents, communication tools, and the items most generic checklists forget. For more background and examples, see the guidance below; for built-in tools and options, use the quick tools guide.

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Pack one gallon of water per person per day — three gallons per person for 72 hours.

This covers drinking and basic sanitation needs. Individual 8oz emergency water pouches (sold in bulk packs) are more practical than gallon jugs for a go-bag: they distribute weight more evenly, survive rough handling, and carry a 5-year shelf life. For a family of four that's 12 gallons total — store the majority at home and carry a practical share in each bag. Check the expiration date at every semi-annual review and rotate out anything within 6 months of expiry.

Include a water purification backup — tablets or a portable filter.

Purification tablets are the minimum: they weigh almost nothing, treat up to 25 liters per pack, and cost under $10. A Sawyer Squeeze filter ($25–$35) is the stronger option — it removes bacteria and protozoa and filters up to 100,000 gallons over its lifetime. Pack at least one option per bag. Most urban evacuations won't require it, but if you're sheltering in a compromised area or near natural water sources, you'll be glad it's there.

Pack a 3-day supply of no-cook, non-perishable food per person.

An adult needs roughly 2,000–2,500 calories per day, and physical and emotional stress during an evacuation can push that higher. Plan 4–5 items per day per person: single-serve nut butter packets, energy bars, jerky, trail mix, dried fruit, crackers, and shelf-stable protein pouches all pack well. Avoid heavily salted or spicy foods that increase thirst — this puts unnecessary pressure on your water supply. Check expiration dates at your semi-annual review and rotate anything within 6 months of expiry into everyday use.

Add a manual can opener if any of your food is canned.

A manual can opener is the most commonly forgotten item in kits that include canned food. A P-38 military-style opener weighs half an ounce and costs under $2. Physically verify it is in the bag before you close it.

Pack specialized foods your household requires: allergen-free items, infant formula, diabetic-appropriate snacks.

Emergency shelters stock standard provisions that may not meet your household's specific needs. Formula brands matter if your infant has already adjusted to one type — switching under stress often causes gastrointestinal problems that add to an already difficult situation. If a household member manages blood sugar, pack appropriate snacks directly alongside their medications so both are in one place.

Pack hand sanitizer — at least 2 oz per person, 60%+ alcohol.

Access to clean running water for handwashing is not guaranteed at an emergency shelter or evacuation site. Gastrointestinal illness, which spreads quickly in group displacement scenarios, is a documented and debilitating risk. A small bottle of hand sanitizer in every bag is one of the cheapest and most impactful items on this list.

Include a small bar of biodegradable soap.

For any scenario where you'll be outdoors or at a campsite for more than a day, biodegradable soap is the right choice near any water source. It works for both food handling and personal hygiene and weighs almost nothing in a small travel bar.

Pack a partial roll of toilet paper per person, sealed in a zip-lock bag.

Emergency shelters run out of basic supplies faster than you'd expect, and displacement to a campsite or vehicle has no guaranteed supply. A zip-lock bag keeps toilet paper dry regardless of rain, flooding, or a bag that gets soaked. This is consistently one of the most appreciated items in a go-bag once people are actually using one.

Pack a full pack of unscented wet wipes or baby wipes.

When bathing is not possible, wet wipes provide a meaningful substitute for basic personal hygiene — face, hands, underarms, and feet. They also have dozens of practical uses beyond hygiene: wiping surfaces, cleaning minor wounds before antiseptic, cleaning children's hands before food. One 72-count pack per household is the minimum; two is better.

Include feminine hygiene products if applicable — a 3-day supply.

This item is absent from the majority of generic emergency checklists and is consistently needed by households that require it. Do not assume shelters or stores in an evacuation area will have adequate supply. Pack exactly what your household uses.

#10

Pack a toothbrush and travel-size toothpaste per person.

Oral hygiene has a direct effect on overall health and, equally important, on morale. After two days in a shelter or vehicle, the ability to brush your teeth is a meaningful quality-of-life factor — especially for children whose routine is already disrupted. This adds almost no weight.

#11

Test and pack a flashlight with a set of spare batteries.

Test the flashlight on the day you build or review the kit — flashlights stored in drawers are frequently dead or dim when needed. Store the spare batteries in a small zip-lock bag separate from the flashlight to prevent battery corrosion from damaging the contacts over years of storage. Replace batteries at every semi-annual review regardless of whether the flashlight has been used.

#12

Pack a headlamp per person.

Headlamps are substantially more practical than handheld flashlights in emergency scenarios because they leave both hands free — for carrying bags, managing children, reading a map, or navigating debris. A reliable headlamp costs $10–$20. This is not a redundancy with the flashlight; it is a better primary light source for most of the situations you'll actually face.

#13

Include a battery-powered or hand-crank NOAA weather radio.

During large-scale emergencies, cell networks and internet access frequently overload or fail entirely. A NOAA weather radio receives official emergency alerts, evacuation updates, and status information completely independent of your phone or the internet. Hand-crank models have no battery dependency and are the most resilient option. This is your most reliable source of official information when everything else goes dark.

#14

Pack a portable power bank, fully charged, and refresh its charge at every semi-annual review.

Power banks lose their charge sitting unused — a bank that hasn't been touched in six months will be at 20–40% capacity at best. At every review, charge it to 100% before returning it to the bag. A 20,000mAh bank charges most smartphones 4–5 times. For households with medical devices or monitors that charge via USB, this is not optional.

#15

Pack charging cables for every device in your household.

A power bank without compatible cables is useless. Do a practical test: take every phone and USB-chargeable device your household would evacuate with and confirm the bag contains a working cable for each. USB-C, older Lightning connectors, and micro-USB all remain in active household use — do not assume.

#16

Pack a well-stocked first-aid kit: assorted bandages, gauze pads, medical tape, antiseptic wipes, antibiotic ointment, tweezers, blister treatment pads, pain reliever (both acetaminophen and ibuprofen), anti-diarrheal, antacid, and nitrile gloves.

Pre-assembled pharmacy kits are a starting point, not a finished kit — many are underpowered for actual emergency use. Supplement with blister pads if you'll be walking any significant distance, and with any items specific to your household. Use nitrile gloves rather than latex to accommodate latex allergies, which are common and may not be declared at a shelter. Check expiration dates at every semi-annual review — antiseptics and ointments degrade.

#17

Pack at least a 7-day supply of all prescription medications.

This is the hardest part of go-bag preparation for many households because insurance typically limits refills to a 30-day supply and won't pay for early fills for emergency stockpiling. Strategies that work for some people: ask your doctor to write a separate prescription specifically designated as an emergency supply; use a 90-day mail-order plan and rotate the oldest pills into the bag; or work with your pharmacist on a rotation system where new refills go into the bag and bag supply moves to daily use. For controlled substances, have an explicit conversation with your prescribing physician — options are limited but not zero.

#18

Pack a written medication list: drug names, doses, prescribing physician name and phone number, and pharmacy contact.

In an evacuation, you may need to access a completely different pharmacy or clinic in an unfamiliar city. A written medication list — not just stored in your phone — enables any provider to assist you. For controlled substances, including the prescribing physician's DEA number significantly increases the chances of receiving emergency dispensing. Keep this list updated whenever a prescription changes.

#19

Include all household-specific medical equipment: glucose monitor and testing supplies, insulin with a small cold pack, EpiPen (check expiration date), inhalers, hearing aid batteries.

Think through the power requirements for any battery-dependent device before packing it. Most insulin is stable at room temperature for 28 days once opened, but should not be exposed to temperatures above 80°F or below freezing — know this before your evacuation takes you through a heat wave or a winter storm. Include a written note in the bag documenting each device's model name and basic operation instructions in case a shelter nurse or family member needs to assist.

#20

Pack N95 or KN95 masks — at least two per person.

Wildfire smoke, post-earthquake dust, industrial chemical releases, and building fire residue are among the most common air quality hazards during emergency evacuations. A properly fitted N95 or KN95 mask provides meaningful respiratory protection in all of these scenarios. Standard cloth or surgical masks do not. Two per person gives you a backup if one is damaged and covers at least a day of use.

#21

Store physical copies of critical documents in a sealed waterproof bag: government IDs, passports, birth certificates, Social Security cards, insurance policies, mortgage or lease agreement, vaccination records.

A fireproof, waterproof document bag ($25–$40) is worth the investment over a standard zip-lock bag for these items specifically — it protects against both fire and water, which are the two most common causes of document loss in disasters. Some documents — birth certificates, Social Security cards — take weeks to months and significant administrative effort to replace. Having originals or certified copies in a grab-ready location shortens post-disaster recovery from months to days.

#22

Include a USB drive with encrypted digital copies of the same documents.

Encryption is not optional here: an unencrypted USB drive containing your Social Security card, passport scan, and insurance documents is a significant identity theft risk if lost. VeraCrypt is a free, open-source encryption tool that works on Windows and Mac. Store the USB in a protective case to prevent scratch damage over years of storage, and confirm the files are readable at each semi-annual review.

#23

Pack $100–$300 cash per household in mixed, small denominations.

Payment processing infrastructure fails in widespread power outages — card readers, ATMs, and digital payment apps all depend on power and connectivity. The gas station, the pharmacy, the shelter store — cash is what works when nothing else does. Small bills matter because making change in an emergency environment is often impossible, and no vendor will want to break a $100 bill when supplies are scarce.

#24

Include a laminated card with key phone numbers: immediate family, out-of-area emergency contact, insurance provider, doctor's office, employer.

Most adults cannot recall any phone numbers from memory — they rely entirely on their phone's contact list. A laminated card survives moisture, doesn't need power, and is readable when your phone is dead or stolen. Your out-of-area contact is particularly important: in local emergencies, local phone lines typically overload while long-distance calls succeed, because they route through different infrastructure. That contact becomes your household's communication hub.

#25

Pack one complete change of clothing per person, appropriate for your region's worst-case seasonal weather.

If you build your kit in summer, the clothes inside are summer clothes. Flag this explicitly: you need a plan to swap in seasonally appropriate items when temperatures change, or to pack base layers that work across a wider temperature range. Wool and synthetic base layers regulate temperature better than cotton across both cold and warm conditions. If children in your household grow quickly, clothing should be checked for fit at every semi-annual review.

#26

Include sturdy closed-toe shoes per person — shoes you could walk several miles in on uncertain terrain.

Sandals, dress shoes, and slip-on footwear are inadequate for evacuation scenarios that may involve debris fields, flooded streets, or extended walking. The shoes in the bag should be ones each person could walk five miles in without blisters or injury. For children who grow quickly, shoe size should be checked at every semi-annual review and updated at the same time you replace worn-out everyday shoes.

#27

Pack one emergency space (Mylar) blanket per person.

Mylar emergency blankets fold to the size of a deck of cards, weigh less than two ounces, cost $1–$2 each, and retain up to 90% of body heat. They are effective against hypothermia, can serve as a ground tarp or rain cover in a pinch, and are highly reflective — useful for signaling in daylight. Pack one for every person in the household, including children. They are cheap enough that there is no reason not to.

#28

Pack a compact rain poncho per person.

A poncho is far more practical than an umbrella in evacuation conditions — it leaves both hands free, covers a backpack, and functions in high wind when an umbrella would invert. Disposable plastic ponchos are adequate and cost about $1 each. Reusable nylon ponchos pack into a small pouch the size of a fist and last years. Either is a good choice; disposables add almost no weight.

#29

Pack a pair of work gloves per adult.

Clearing debris, handling broken materials, using tools, or setting up a campsite or shelter all carry real injury risk without hand protection. Leather or synthetic work gloves that fit properly — not thin gardening gloves — are the right choice. This item is often omitted from go-bag guides and is consistently useful when the situation requires physical work.

#30

Pack a quality multi-tool — one per adult.

A multi-tool (Leatherman, Gerber, or equivalent quality) provides a knife, pliers, screwdrivers, scissors, and a file in a compact and durable form. This covers a significantly wider range of emergency tasks than a pocket knife alone. Do not pack cheap knockoffs — a tool you need to rely on under stress should be one you trust. A mid-range multi-tool costs $30–$60 and lasts decades.

#31

Pack paper maps of your local area and likely evacuation destinations.

GPS requires power and signal, both of which can fail in large-scale emergencies. Offline phone maps are a better middle option — download them before an emergency — but a paper map requires nothing at all. Your county or state emergency management agency often provides free paper evacuation route maps; check their website and request or print physical copies. Know how to read a paper map before you need to use one under pressure.

#32

Pack a whistle — one per person, ideally on a lanyard.

A whistle carries significantly farther than a shouted voice and can be sounded repeatedly with almost no physical effort, even when exhausted or injured. For children particularly, a whistle on a lanyard is a meaningful safety tool in a crowded shelter or evacuation scenario where separation is possible. The international distress signal is three short blasts — three long — three short. Teach this to every child old enough to use one.

#33

Pack a lighter and a small container of waterproof matches.

The ability to light a camp stove, a candle, or a small fire is useful across a wide range of emergency scenarios, even urban ones. A butane lighter and a container of waterproof matches together weigh almost nothing and provide redundancy — if the lighter fails, the matches work. Keep the matches in a zip-lock bag as a second layer of waterproofing even if the container is labeled waterproof.

#34

Include a small roll of duct tape and several large and medium zip-lock bags.

Duct tape's utility in emergency situations is too broad to fully enumerate: sealing gaps against smoke, securing improvised splints, repairing torn gear, labeling bags, and dozens of other applications. Zip-lock bags serve as on-the-fly waterproofing for documents, electronics, food, and clothing — and as waste disposal bags, makeshift gloves, or water carriers in a pinch. Pack multiple sizes.

#35

Pack 3 days of pet food, a collapsible water bowl, and your pet's vaccination records and a recent photo.

Many emergency shelters do not accept pets, which means your household emergency plan must identify pet-friendly shelter options, hotels, or a host family in advance — research this before an emergency and write the options into your plan. Vaccination records are required by facilities that do accept animals. A recent photo with your contact information on the back serves as identification if your pet becomes separated from you during the evacuation.

#36

Include infant and toddler supplies if applicable: formula, diapers, wipes, and a comfort object.

Pack more than your calculated need — stress, temperature changes, and completely disrupted routines all increase consumption and accidents in infants and toddlers. If your infant has adjusted to a specific formula brand, switching brands in an emergency setting often triggers gastrointestinal issues that compound an already difficult situation. Pack the brand you use.

#37

Add comfort and entertainment items for children: a small familiar toy, a short book, crayons and a pad.

Children's ability to cope with the stress of displacement is strongly influenced by familiar objects and activities. A small stuffed animal, a short chapter book, or a travel-size drawing pad adds minimal weight but provides a meaningful anchor for a child whose routine is completely disrupted. This is not a luxury item — it is a psychological stability tool that benefits the whole household.

#38

Pack spare glasses or contact lens supplies if any household member requires vision correction.

A broken pair of glasses during an evacuation and no spare means that person cannot safely drive, cannot read evacuation signage, and may not be able to identify family members in a crowd. A backup pair in your current prescription, or a lens case with solution and a week of lenses, belongs in the bag. This is one of the most consequential items consistently left off of standard checklists.

#39

Include a laminated copy of your household emergency plan: rally points, out-of-area contact name and number, and school reunification protocol.

A written plan in the bag means any adult in your household — including one who has never read the plan before — can execute it under stress. It should include: your primary and secondary meeting points if the household is separated, the name and number of your out-of-area contact, and the specific reunification procedure if children are at school when the emergency occurs. Most school districts have a formal reunification protocol that parents are expected to know in advance — find yours on your district's website and include it in the plan.

#40

⚠️ Before you zip it shut: can everyone actually carry it?

A go-bag that a child or elderly household member cannot carry is not their go-bag — it is a wishlist. Standard backpacking guidance puts a comfortable load at 15–20% of body weight for sustained carrying. For a 150-lb adult, that is 22–30 lbs. For a 70-lb child, that is 10–14 lbs. After you finish packing each bag, put it on a scale. If it is over threshold, redistribute: move heavier items (water pouches, first aid) into adult bags and lighter items (clothing, comfort objects) into children's. Then actually put the bag on and walk around the block with it before an emergency is the reason you find out it is unmanageable.

📍 The 30-second storage rule

Where the bag lives determines whether you will actually use it. The test: starting from any room in your home, can every adult reach all bags and be out the door within 30 seconds? That eliminates attic storage, back-of-closet burial, and anywhere that requires moving other things out of the way. The right location is near an exit you would actually use — a hall closet by the front door, a shelf in the garage, or a labeled spot in an entry area. Confirm every adult in the household can find and grab the bags without asking — have each person physically walk to them and confirm. A bag no one can locate in a moment of stress is effectively not there.

🏠 The home bag

Your full 72-hour kit. Built for the scenario where you are home when the emergency happens — which is not guaranteed. Contains everything: full medications, documents, complete food and water supply, all household-specific items.

🚗 The car layer

A reduced kit for when you are not home at the moment an emergency occurs: a small first-aid kit, two energy bars per person, $40–$60 in small bills, a phone charging cable, photocopies of critical ID documents, and a regional paper map. The goal is to bridge the gap until you can reach the home bag — or accept that you cannot, and begin improvising from a better position than nothing.

Most emergency guides assume you are home when things go wrong. Statistically, you are equally likely to be at work, in transit, or picking up children. Keeping your car above half a tank as a routine habit matters here too: gas stations are among the first places to run out of fuel or lose power in a regional emergency.

📖 What the most common emergencies actually look like

Emergency preparedness media focuses on dramatic events — wildfires, major hurricanes, large earthquakes. These are real, but the most statistically frequent scenarios that activate a go-bag are quieter, more mundane, and receive far less attention.

Extended power outage (ice storm, heat dome, grid failure): No dramatic imagery — just cold, dark, and no refrigeration for 3–7 days. The bag's role is warmth, food that requires no power, lighting, and a way to receive information. Most households in this scenario end up at a community shelter or a family member's home a few counties away.

Localized industrial or infrastructure incident: A chemical plant release, a burst natural gas main, a sewage overflow into a water supply. Mandatory evacuation with 1–2 hours' notice, often to a shelter 15–30 miles away, while officials work. These events receive limited news coverage but represent a large share of actual go-bag activations. The disruption is total even if the danger is contained.

Apartment or building fire (adjacent unit): Even if your unit is structurally undamaged, a fire in an adjacent unit can result in 24–72 hours of displacement for smoke assessment and structural inspection. You leave with what you carry. There is no time to think about what to bring.

🧮 What it costs to improvise at emergency retail prices

A go-bag built thoughtfully at home over two or three weeks costs approximately $75–$150 per person, or $200–$300 for a family of four. That number feels significant until you price the alternative. A basic first-aid kit that costs $18–$22 at a pharmacy costs $35–$55 at an emergency shelter store or a gas station in an unfamiliar town. Bottled water runs $3–$5 per bottle when demand spikes. A functional flashlight from a convenience store costs $14–$20 for quality you would never buy under normal circumstances. The items you forget are the ones you pay the most for. The go-bag's value is not just convenience — it is the difference between paying home prices in advance and emergency prices under pressure, assuming the items are even available.

✅ Semi-annual review: March

Check food and water expiration dates
Charge the power bank to 100%
Replace flashlight batteries
Swap seasonal clothing as needed
Update medications and prescription list
Verify children's shoe and clothing sizes

✅ Semi-annual review: September

Check food and water expiration dates
Charge the power bank to 100%
Swap summer clothing for cold-weather layers
Update medications and verify equipment batteries
Confirm all household members know where the bags are
Review and update the written emergency plan

Two reviews per year is the minimum to keep a go-bag functional. The March-September anchor ties the review to time-change weekends, the same cue used for smoke detector battery replacement — a useful habit to bundle these together.

💡 What this bag does not cover — and why that matters

The 72-hour window is deliberate, not arbitrary. Emergency management organizations use it because it reflects the realistic period before official response infrastructure becomes meaningfully available — the hours when you are most on your own. After 72 hours, the landscape usually shifts: shelters become better supplied, official communication channels clarify, and longer-term decisions become possible. The go-bag is your first chapter — the part that buys you time to figure out chapter two. It does not substitute for longer-term home resilience (generator, extended food and water storage, emergency heating), and it is not designed for extended scenarios. If your household is in a genuinely high-risk zone — a hurricane-prone coast, a wildfire-prone rural area, an extreme winter climate — a separate 7-day or 14-day extended kit is worth building in addition to the go-bag, not instead of it. The go-bag solves one specific problem: the first 72 hours, when decisions under pressure are the most consequential and the most likely to go wrong.

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