When in any survival situation, the difference between life and death can come down to how prepared you are. As you are reading this article, you probably have electricity and access to food and water nearby, so survival is perhaps not at the forefront of your mind.
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However, if you’re in a situation where food, water, power, and shelter are not at your fingertips, you will need every tool at your disposal to help you survive, and that’s when being prepared with a survival kit is essential.
But what should your survival kit contain? Should you focus on food and water or shelter options? These questions and more will be answered throughout this overview as we go over everything your natural disaster survival kit should contain.
Why Having A Natural Disaster Survival Kit Is Important
Natural disasters can happen at any time anywhere in the world. Some places may be more susceptible to different forms of disasters, but they are always a possibility. Maybe you live in a flood hotspot or perhaps you have frequent tornadoes in your area.
We have even looked at some major weather events in 2021, as well as how you can prepare for future disasters.
Whatever it may be, it never hurts to be prepared. Natural disasters can be very sudden, and they can really catch you off guard if you’re not careful. Having a survival kit can be incredibly useful for those times when a natural disaster comes out of nowhere, as it means you will be a lot more prepared.
We have also previously covered some safeguards you can have in place for a family disaster plan to help you prepare.
What To Consider When Writing A Natural Disaster Survival Kit Checklist
When in a survival situation, you will need to cater to your basic needs as much as possible. That means that you should prioritize food, medical supplies, water, warmth (if applicable), and shelter. There are other things you can include to make things easier, but these are some of the top things to keep in mind.
Then, you should also consider how you will store these items. You would ideally like them to be easily accessible and safe from damage and degradation. Basically, you should try to anticipate as many needs as possible and make sure they would be catered to if you had to be self-sufficient for a few days or even weeks.
As a companion to this overview, we also have another article on products that can help you prepare for disaster scenarios.
15 Natural Disaster Survival Kit Necessities To Get You Started
Non-Perishable And Ready To Eat Food Items – We need food to survive, and while you can last a fairly long time without eating, it’s still important to take care of it as soon as possible. Food not only keeps us alive but also keeps us energized and alert. That’s why you should have a good supply of food that will stay edible for a good long time. This can include canned items, dried food, and specially designed-survival food.You should aim to have enough food supplies per person for 3 days of an evacuation scenario and enough for at least two weeks to keep at home.For a more detailed look at this, you can check out this list we compiled on some of the best tasting survival food.
One Gallon Of Water Per Person Per Day – Water is even more vital to procure than food. You can survive a week or so without food if need be, but you can only survive without water for around 3 days. That’s why having at least one gallon of water per person per day is so important, and it should be something you definitely prioritize.
Another option is to use a product such as the Survival Frog Personal Water filter to create clean drinking water from any water you can access.
7-Day Stock Of Medicines And Other Medical Items – Medicine and other medical items can be some of the most challenging to get hold of in an emergency. You can sometimes get creative and use tools to create food and water, but you won’t be able to make the pills or medical supplies you need.That’s why it’s a great idea to have a first aid kit and medical supplies such as antibiotics, nausea medication, and anything else you may need. If you have specific medical supplies that you rely on for a medical condition, then these should also be included.
If you need some more info on how to create a comprehensive medical kit, you can read this deeper dive on the things you need in a complete first aid kit.
For a ready-made, comprehensive medical kit, we can also highly recommend the MYFAK Large Medical kit. This kit has a comprehensive selection of medical supplies that can help you prepare for many kinds of injuries and other medical emergencies.
- Copies Of Important Documents – You never know how bad things can get when there is a natural disaster. Therefore, you should have copies of any important documents. These can include medical lists, identification documents, proof of address, passports, or birth certificates.There are many reasons to include these in your survival kit, as they could aid people rescuing or helping you if you’re in no state to provide information that could help.
- Battery Operated Or Hand Cranked Radio (With NOAA Weather Alerts) – In normal instances, we can stay up to date with things using our smartphones and other devices. These devices we rely on can fail us in the worst times, so having a reliable radio is a good idea. The radio should ideally have NOAA weather alert frequencies, as this can help you stay up to date with weather alerts and warnings that you can then use to prepare yourself.If the radio can be powered with a crank or solar power, then that’s even better.
- Family And Emergency Contact Information – Having contact information is just as important as including those documents we mentioned previously. This way, rescue efforts can contact your family so that they will know your current condition if you are not able to let them know yourself.
- Flashlight – Not being able to see what you’re doing can make any situation a lot more dangerous. That’s why you should definitely have some sort of flashlight on hand so you can see what you’re doing when it gets dark. Once again, having a flashlight with some sort of alternate power such as a solar-powered light can be very useful.
- Sanitation And Personal Hygiene Items – Staying clean and sanitized may not seem as essential as food or water, but it can be very important. For one thing, you definitely want to avoid any infection or sickness, and staying clean and sanitized can aid with that. It can also be good for morale if you will be cut off for a while but can still look after your personal hygiene.
- Cell Phone And Charging Cables – Earlier, we mentioned how you may lose access to your mobile phone and other similar devices, but the longer you can have access to them the better. Having a spare cell phone and a variety of charging cables in your survival kit is a good idea, as you can stay connected if your normal phone gets damaged or lost in a disaster.
- Maps Of The Region – We tend to rely on digital maps and GPS to get around, but having a physical map of the region available can be really helpful if you don’t have access to your digital maps and need to navigate the terrain.
- Multi-Purpose Tool – When you need to survive a tough situation, you may need to improvise and get creative. Multi-purpose tools can be perfect for this, as they include different implements that you can use to make the most of the materials around you.
- Additional Batteries – You may not be able to charge your various tools and devices in the case of an extended power outage, so keeping spare batteries and making sure they’re always charged can be very important.You should make sure to store them properly and periodically check to ensure they are charged.
- Extra Cash – You never know what you may need money for in a disaster, but you should have cash on hand just in case. You may not be able to use a bank card or ATM in an emergency, so you should have enough physical cash stored so that you can buy fuel, organize transport or buy important supplies.
- Emergency Blanket – Staying warm can be more difficult than you think, especially without electricity or wood to burn. Emergency blankets are compact and specially designed to help you maintain warmth, which can be more important than you may think, especially in Fall and Winter.
- Solar Charging Bank – One of the best solutions to keeping your devices and electronic tools powered is by keeping a power bank on hand. Regular ones can do the job, but many models have solar power charging features. These are ideal, as you will have potentially unlimited power for your mobile devices and other electronic tools.
You can check out this article on some of the best solar charging bank options to get you started with more detail.
We can also highly recommend the Survival Frog QuadraPro Solar Power Bank as an excellent option to keep your devices charged during a power outage.
How To Maintain Your Natural Disaster Survival Kit
Once you have compiled your natural disaster survival kit, you may not have to use it for many years, if at all. Despite this, you should check on it every so often to make sure everything is still in good condition.
This could include checking for damage, spoiled items, or even mold exposure. If there are any spare batteries, then you can also ensure they’re charged and that everything is protected from water and other kinds of damage.
Best Natural Disaster Kit Storage Options
The way you store your natural disaster kit can make a huge difference. As we touched on before, the primary goal is to keep everything safe from damage and degradation. You should also ideally store your container in a cool, dry place that won’t be exposed to water. You can store your items in durable plastic containers that can be sealed against water and air exposure, for instance.
A survival backpack can also be a good option, and some survival kits already come in the perfect storage case.
Very basically, look for a container that will protect your items as much as possible while still being at least relatively portable and accessible.
The Bottom Line
In this overview, we have covered the basics of any good survival kit in very general terms. Basically, you can prepare by using the headstart this list gives you along with some common sense.
Your main aim should be to be as prepared for as many challenges as possible and to cater to your basic needs in a situation where acquiring these items could be challenging or not possible. Then, make sure you store your kit properly so that it will be ready in an emergency.
We hope that you never find yourself in a situation where you need a natural disaster survival kit, but if you do then we hope you will be prepared for anything that comes your way after going through this overview!
