These 11 Essentials Will Help You Be Prepared For The Unexpected

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Just a look at the news headlines tells you that natural disasters are becoming an everyday thing. Wildfires, hurricanes, tornadoes, tropical storms, flash floods, volcanic eruptions, and other events are happening more and more frequently.

With September tagged as National Preparedness Month, now is the perfect time to assemble the right essentials so you’re good to go at a moment’s notice.

To help prepare an emergency kit and make a plan of action, we reached out to Kyle McPhee, the Director of Preparedness Programs for Hagerty Consulting, an Evanston, Ill.-based emergency management consulting firm that helps clients prepare for, respond to, and recover from disasters.

Emergency Supplies List

• Best Dry Bag: Earth Pak Waterproof Dry Bag

• Best Multi-Powered Radio: Midland ER310

• Most Useful Survival Knife: SOG Twitch II Pocket Knife

• Best Flashlight to Store For Future USe: MagLite Mag-Tac LED 2-Cell CR123 Flashlight

• More Than A First Aid Kit: Judy Emergency Preparedness Dry Backpack—The Mover Max

What to Consider For Emergency Preparedness

“The first step is to take an objective look at your life,” says McPhee. “Consider the types of things that you need and the types of things that you are depending upon day-to-day. That will help shape the decisions you’re making as to what goes into your kit.”

Yes, items like flashlights, dry bags, and crank radios are smart essentials to have in any kit, and we have recommendations below for those items and other top products to consider. But there's more to it than that.

For too long, McPhee shares, people haven’t been addressing the kit correctly. “We’ve focused on water, canned food, flashlights, and radios, assuming that all of those things are standard across all populations and that they're all important, especially if some of those fundamental building blocks to society break down for a period of time.”

Those items can be invaluable when disaster strikes, but it’s some of the other items that we don’t necessarily think of right off hand that are just as critical, continues McPhee. "What about prescription medications that you or a family member take on an ongoing basis?" he notes. "A high percentage of Americans are in this category especially as the population ages. It’s important to be sure that you have an appropriate supply of those medications or a means by which you will obtain them.”

Another maybe not-so-obvious part of your kit is an emergency fund. "There was a recent study published that almost 60 percent of Americans don’t have $1,000 in emergency savings to address an unanticipated disruption," says McPhee. "Having that $1,000 ready to go is one of the biggest compounding variables with respect to how quickly a community or individual is able to bounce back, and it carries over from the type of insurance you have—does your insurance extend to hazards in your region? For instance, do you have flood insurance or fire insurance? Many individuals are surprised to learn they don’t have appropriate coverages for the risk that is in their community."

Funds saved and designated for an emergency add to the general resiliency of you, your family, and of your home, asserts McPhee. "Whether it's needing to spend a period of time in a hotel or having to replace something that is destroyed, those with resources to navigate those scenarios are more successful in the days and months and years following the event," he says.

All of that aside, there are are some essentials you can sock away now. Store your kit in a cool, dry place so items remain viable. Next, set a six-month or yearly calendar reminder to check your kit which may involve refreshing food or updating medications, replenishing water, and looking at the expiration date on batteries.

How We Selected These Emergency Supplies

Based on expert-recommended products in existing Popular Mechanics articles on specific categories, we chose appropriate options for a basic go-bag or a stockpile of resources in your basement. This roundup doesn’t represent everything that should be included, but it's a solid start for any individual or family.

Keep in mind that every family, depending on their location and special requirements, may have a different version of an emergency preparedness kit and emergency plan. This won't be a set-it-and-forget-it project either. You may need to evolve and refine your kit each year, and continue to conserve money for an emergency fund. You just never know.

Waterproof Dry Bag

This dry bag is flood friendly as it’s designed to hold all your necessary gear for a day on the water—it even includes a 6.5-inch waterproof phone case.

Go for 20L size to start which is roomy enough for basic essentials, but if you decide there's more to include, you can go larger with 30, 40, and 55L versions. While compact, this bag offers plenty of room and won’t be bulky to carry.

ER310

This multi-powered radio can be charged one of three ways—solar, hand crank, or batteries. The hand crank option will be most reliable as you can always create your own power.

Included is a bright flashlight (130 Lumens) that also sends Morse code signals in an emergency. The ER310 sounds its own loud alarms when an extreme weather alert is detected.

Compact and portable, it also has an ultrasonic dog whistle to assist search and rescue teams to your location in an emergency.

Twitch II Pocket Knife

The Twitch II has earned many fans over the years. It’s sized just right, easy to open, and has delivered consistently strong results throughout testing. The stainless-steel blade, housed in a simple and sleek-looking aluminum handle, is substantial enough for a variety of tasks, yet the knife retains a modest, slim profile. It is comfortable to carry in your pocket and attaches securely to a belt.

A small sliding lock on the handle adds extra assurance that the blade won't deploy accidentally. If you’re looking for a trusty everyday carry option that delivers quality at a reasonable cost, the Twitch doesn’t disappoint.

Mag-Tac LED 2-Cell CR123 Flashlight

As a tactical flashlight, the LED CR123 is designed to be gripped with fingers around the body and the thumb wrapped over the tail cap and the “quick-click” power button. You use this button to access light functions, of which there are three: momentary, full power, and power-saving. Run time at full power was just over 5 hours and 47 minutes.

The Mag-Tac CR123 comes with replaceable CR123 lithium batteries. These maintain high levels of energy and deliver it in powerful surges—even after extended periods of disuse—so they’re a good choice for LED flashlights kept for emergencies or that you use infrequently.

Emergency Preparedness Dry Backpack—The Mover Max

When a natural disaster strikes, you’ll need more than a first aid kit to survive. Enter the Mover Max from emergency prep company Judy.

Call it a bug-out bag, go bag, or survival kit, this stash can support four people for up to three days. Water and meal bars accompany emergency blankets, ponchos, hand warmers, a hand-crank radio, a 109-piece first aid kit, a multitool, and more.

Items are organized into three boxes based on product type and everything fits inside a waterproof backpack for easy transport.

Swift RL Rechargeable Headlamp with 900 Lumens

This little lamp produces a ton of light with an impressive run time, thanks to Petzl’s Reactive Lighting tech, which helps save juice by automatically adjusting the strength of the beam for your needs.

The Swift also comes with a useful battery-life display. While most lamps blink when the battery starts to run low, this one uses five LED dots to show you exactly how much power you have left which can provide peace of mind and help you plan backup resources accordingly.

Fire Lite Fuel-Free Lighter

The SOL Fire Lite Fuel-Free Lighter starts fires with the power of plasma. With the push of a button, this compact device sends high-voltage current arcing between two sets of nodes and works even in rain and wind at temperatures upwards of 1,100 degrees Fahrenheit. The device has a waterproof cap and is bright orange so it’s easy to see in low-light conditions.

It’s supposed to last for 45 starts between charges (done via micro-USB), but during in-house tests, it lasted longer than that. It also has a built-in light and comes with 3 feet of tinder paracord that can serve as tinder for a fire.

Survival Paracord Bracelet

A no-frills, basic paracord bracelet, the Nasogod fits onto your wrist and serves you in a bind for less than half the price of some other options.

It comes with nothing besides the wrapped paracord and a classic plastic buckle to strap it securely to your wrist. Fully unwrapped, the paracord measures out to 11.5 feet, longer than many more expensive bracelets out there.

In an emergency, a survival bracelet like this can be used as a tool after being untied—to dry clothing, transport items, or to wear various equipment to prevent loss.

337 Power Bank

Anker’s well-regarded PowerCore line of battery packs includes so many models that it can be tough to narrow down a choice, yet this one strikes a balance that should suit most folks.

About the size of an average smartphone, it boasts an ample 26,800-mAh battery, which offers enough juice to charge most phones over six times, tablets at least two times, and most USB devices multiple times.

While this portable charger is incredibly powerful, it lacks a USB-C port, and Anker fans looking for a charger with one should consider this model.

Black Hole Duffel

Exceptionally rugged, this bag is as roomy as its name suggests, with its 55 liter capacity. It's also fairly lightweight and stuffs into its own zippered pocket for compact storage.

Made of 900-denier post-consumer ripstop polyester, this duffel is laminated to be water-repellent and scratch-resistant. It features a mesh pocket under the lid and an outer pocket that can be accessed from the inside, along with two padded removable straps to haul it as a backpack. A padded base eliminates any concerns if your bag hits the ground too hard.

Swiss Army Swisstool Spirit Multi-tool

Fresh out of the box, the SwissTool Spirit X is impressive with its fit and finish. It's a complete tool box in just a single tool, and it comes with a leather pouch for storage.

Its tools—including a bottle opener, metal file, chisel, crate opener, wire bender, and more—are packed into the frame very closely, like scientific instrumentation. All the tools—save one—deploy from the outside of the frame.

You need to open the SwissTool only to use the pliers, which eliminates wasted time fiddling with opening and closing it repeatedly if Victorinox had placed the 22 tools/functions on the inside.

Before Havoc Strikes, Have a Game Plan. Expert Kyle McPhee Shares These Tips.

Why are there more disasters these days?

There are more definitely more events and there are more expensive events than what we have seen historically—three times more disasters than there were 50 years ago. One-quarter of all the billion-dollar disasters have occurred in the last five years.

As to why: it's a convergence of factors. The percentage of the population has increased and aged, a higher percentage of the population resides in areas that are prone to certain risks, and the frequency of those risks seems to be increasing. Additionally, the overall condition of the nation’s infrastructure is degraded. I think it’s rated as a C-.

The burden on public resources has increased and is becoming more complex. All of these factors result in an environment where taking preparedness seriously and taking actions in advance of future events is becoming more important.

Does your preparedness plan vary depending on where you live in the country?

Yes, 100 percent. There are three primary elements that are part of personal preparedness. Having a plan. Making a kit. Staying informed. With respect to developing a plan, your plan is based upon risk, so understanding the hazards in your community that you will likely be faced with is the first step in understanding what you need to do potentially alleviate any sort of disruption you might experience because of a future incident.

Depending on where you are in the country, what you do with respect to personal preparedness could be very different. You can find out more information from a variety of different sources. Your local emergency management agency is a great place to start. Almost everywhere in the country at this point has a functioning emergency management program.

If you’re in a smaller community it might be part of your police or fire department. Larger and more complex jurisdictions will have their own agency dedicated to managing risk for the community.

You can also google what the hazards are in your community. FEMA has a flood plain web site that is a free service. Just type in your address and it will tell you precisely if you are in a flood plain or not. This will inform your decision as to what type of insurance you might want to buy, but will also help you to understand what kind of flood preparations you might need to make if there was a future rain event.

This is where the kit and the plan are so closely linked. Often times the focus is on going out to buy something, but in reality, it’s the plan of how you would obtain something if the conventional system would be interrupted in some way that is just as critical as the things you stockpile ahead of time in your home.

How might preparing for an emergency today be different from five years from now, if at all?

There are some significant macro trends playing out. One of those is our dependency on critical infrastructure systems that are aging. While a lot is being done to address those deficiencies, there is much work to be done in the future.

We’re seeing public safety shut-off programs increasingly being implemented by public utilities that are resulting in rolling blackouts or brownouts here in the U.S. It’s becoming a way of life for many communities. That is a disturbing trend that has cascading effects as far as what are some of the assumptions you can make about the availability of critical infrastructure.

Are you prepared even in a relatively moderate period, not necessarily a catastrophic event, to tolerate a rolling blackout scenario where power is intermittent?

Similarly, we have an aging population. More people are living at home with more acute conditions and are possibly less mobile. That results in a population that could be more vulnerable to a future disaster.

This is likely to increase requirements on municipal governments for services that are going to be required. It’s a tenuous situation that will require us to continue to evaluate our assumptions as to what actions we need to take as individuals versus what our expectation will be of our government.

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