These Emergency Kits Can Help During Floods, Earthquakes, or Fires

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Building your own emergency kit seems cost efficient and achievable, but ready-made options save you the hassle of organizing a laundry list of supplies. A pre-made emergency kit also means you won’t have to replace things like canned goods every few years, which have a much shorter shelf life than the often freeze-dried food included in kits. And, with extreme weather-related disasters on the rise, it’s a worthwhile investment if only for the peace of mind.

There’s a wide range of kits on the market for natural disasters and other emergency situations, so there’s a good chance you’ll find one to suit your needs. Some prioritize food and shelter, while others offer first aid for medical emergencies. A good emergency kit matches your situation, so you can find one for camping, sailing, keeping in your car, or keeping at home in case of a power outage.

We did the leg work to find the highest quality emergency kits that offer the best bang for your buck, whether you’re protecting yourself from floods, earthquakes, heat waves, or all of the above.

The Best Emergency Kits

• Best Overall: Sustain Supply Co. Emergency Survival Kit

• Best Value: Ready America 72-Hour Emergency Kit

• Best First-Aid Kit: Surviveware Premium First Aid Emergency Kit

• Best for Cars: Stdy Car Roadside Emergency Kit

• Best for Home: Mayday Industries 4-Person Deluxe Home Emergency Kit

What to Consider

Contents

The number of items in a kit does not directly define whether an emergency kit is high quality or not. It can, however, serve as a rough indicator of the longevity or versatility of the kit, especially if you give a close look at which items are inside with respect to how many people would need to use it in a disaster.

There are basic and premium first-aid kits, along with more comprehensive kits that include first aid plus enough food, water, and other supplies to sustain one, two, or four people for 72 hours—the amount of time most experts agree is sufficient for the majority of emergency situations. Still, it’s generally a good idea to keep a two-week supply of enough emergency goods to cover every member of your household, plus pets, somewhere in your household.

Use Case

If you plan on using or carrying the emergency kit during specific activities, make sure to pay attention to the types of items stocked in your kit. For instance, an emergency kit designed for boating may come with a waterproof exterior while a kit designed for camping may come with water purification tablets to clean river water.

Larger, more comprehensive kits come with food, tools, camping supplies, and toiletries, among others. Some even come packaged in a bucket that doubles as an emergency toilet.

Portability

Most emergency kits come in a box, bag, or backpack. Larger kits have more items in them and are typically designed to stay in a home or other static location like your car. Smaller kits that come in pouches or backpacks are much easier to carry with you on a hike or keep stowed in your car in the case of emergencies.

How We Selected

Our selection includes preparedness kits for various emergency situations, and we aimed to feature options across multiple price points to suit all budgets. During our research, we compared the contents for quality and to determine how well each kit covers basic essentials, weighing that against cost. We also considered things like the durability of backpacks, zippered pouches, and other storage bags and containers, and if items inside were well organized. Furthermore, we scoured through hundreds of verified customer reviews to ensure that every day people found the kits useful and valuable.

Emergency Survival Kit

One of the best things about this all-in-one emergency kit is the comfort food, with meals including mac and cheese and pasta with chicken. There’s also a portable stove, a lantern, a fully stocked first-aid kit, and water filtration straws.

All 72 pieces fit inside a rugged—and nice-looking—backpack, with padded should straps and a mesh back to keep you cool. There are enough supplies to cover two adults with essentials for three days. We like this option as a go bag since it’s too cumbersome to bring on hikes, especially if you have other gear to carry.

72-Hour Emergency Kit

This emergency kit has calorie-dense food bars instead of entrees, and no portable stove or lantern, but it’s a great value for three days of basics that can cover four people. You won’t want to survive off of this kit for long, but in a power outage or a week-long storm it could save you.

This 107-piece kit includes survival blankets, rain ponchos, leather work gloves, and light sticks, plus a well-organized first-aid kit housed in a bright orange zip case. There are also food and water supplies with a five-year shelf life.

The masks and goggles included provide medical protection, and handy items like the emergency whistle can come in handy.

Premium First Aid Emergency Kit

If you need a comprehensive first-aid kit for emergencies like sprains and broken bones, this option from Surviveware is your best bet. The company specializes in first-aid and survival kits and other emergency preparedness products—we like this kit for big group camping expeditions or family road trips.

The bright red water-resistant cases are easy to find in a large pack, and they’re made of durable 600-denier polyester. This one has a removable Velcro strap to secure it to a car’s headrest, plus two padded handles to tote it around.

Inside, there are 200 pieces that cover basic life-saving and first aid, including 7.5-inch shears and an 18-inch splint. At just over 3 pounds, this emergency kit is incredibly portable.

Car Roadside Emergency Kit

Being prepared on the road is just as important as having a survival kit on hand for camping or any outdoor adventure in the wilderness. Whether it’s a flash flood, a broken-down engine on a cold night, or just a popped tire, you don’t want to be caught in the middle of nowhere with nothing to help you get home safely.

This lightweight roadside kit includes 57 pieces for various auto-related emergencies, from breakdowns to accidents. There are jumper cables, a tow rope, and safety gloves, along with a basic first-aid kit, a mechanical flashlight, reflector triangles, and a ping hammer/belt cutter combo tool.

Everything fits inside a carrying case with handles that’s just over a foot long and weighs 5 pounds, making it portable enough to keep in a trunk or a spacious glove box.

4-Person Deluxe Home Emergency Kit

Keeping a basic shelter-in-place emergency kit at home is a must for preparedness in addition to having water and food with a long shelf life on hand.

This one stores inside a neon yellow waterproof bucket that holds everything from calorie-dense food bars to water purification tablets to toilet disinfectant.

In terms of tools and gear, the kit features one for gas and water shutoff, a combo flashlight radio, a utility knife, and a pry bar. There's also a small 54-piece first-aid kit included.

Survival Emergency Kit

Serious backcountry adventurers need extra supplies for emergency situations in the wilderness. This kit is housed inside a durable, water-resistant bag with “molle” straps (that’s short for modular lightweight load-carrying equipment), which allow you to attach it to other molle-compatible pieces so you can customize gear.

Inside, there are several essential survival tools, including a folding pocket knife, a paracord survival bracelet, and a high-lumen tactical flashlight, plus an 11-in-1 tool and first-aid supplies.

Disaster Emergency Survival Kit

This is the emergency kit you'll want in your possession for earthquakes and other natural disasters. The 95-piece kit is housed inside an ultra-lightweight survival backpack, with enough supplies to cover two people for 72 hours.

Highlights among features include a tent and bivy sacks, food rations and drinking water, plus a lantern-radio that's also a charger.

As for tools, there's a utility knife, axe, wire saw, and a multitool, along with a travel-size first-aid kit and playing cards to keep you occupied until help arrives.

The Mover Max Emergency Preparedness Dry Backpack

If you need an emergency kit on the go, this is a premium option built to last for up to 72 hours. Alongside traditional emergency kit supplies such as a small first aid kit, ponchos, emergency blankets, and glow sticks, this kit comes with 14 purified water servings and seven food bars.

This emergency kit from Judy also comes all packed up neatly in a backpack-style carrying case equipped with a waterproof exterior. With each kit, you also gain access to the 24/7 customer support from Judy including emergency scenario guides and instructions for all items in the kit.

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