I live on the Florida West coast and have an area in my home for emergency hurricane supplies. Most of you the items you mentioned are in my kit with the exception of cash which is an excellant idea and I will now keep $500 in small denominations in my safe labeled “Emergency Cash Only.” Emergency preparedness planning for your unique situation is like a cheap insurance policy.
For emergency water I take soda bottles and fill them with water and put them in the freezer. If you lose power they will keep your freezer cold for days without electricity and you’ll have ice cold water too. I also use them in my coolers during the summer months. A combination of frozen and non-frozen water supplies is uour best bet.
With respect to emergency water supplies in your home. The first thing to do is to fill your bathtub. You can use this to keep your toilet filled so you can flush after using it.
I would recommend that the first thing you will need in a major emergency evacuation, like the Katrina event would be $100 - $500 in cash. As people were leaving and had to fill up their car with gas they found out the stations were not taking credit cards and you had to have cash only. Lines at the ATM’s were long and the machines ran out of cash quickly. Emergency preparedness planning is the key.
Everyone’s situation is different. Different medical, physical, pet, and family needs, besides the basic emergency kit, with some extra food and water. Our family has a meeting place where family members can gather in case of an emergency. Then we have another meeting place outside of town. You maybe could use a relative’s house in another state in case of a statewide emergency plan like a dirty bomb or hurricane. Your own emergency plan is the key and once you have the plan built adding your supplies and updating your supplies and plan every yeear is easy.
The duffle bag idea is an OK idea for gathering your emergency staples in the kitchen and would work to carry the items to your car, but if you have to carry your emergency food for any distance a backpack is really the only way to go. Being a hiker, I know. Make it easy on your self to transport your emergency gear.
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