A year ago I wouldn’t even think to write about something as depressing and disturbing as disasters and emergencies, but with all the recent events it looks like the right thing to do. Recession (or depression, as many call it already) can bring a lot of things with it - including power outages, interrupted supply of water and gas, shortage in the supply of food and God knows what else.

If you ask ten people what it means to be prepared for an emergency, you will get ten different answers and for a good reason - the level of preparedness that people feel comfortable with changes from family to family, from person to person. By no means is this list a must for any of you, my readers, take it as a general guide and do what feels right for you and your family.

Apart from the utility failures I have already mentioned, in Australia we have to think about natural disasters, such as bushfires, cyclones, floods and storms that were not all that uncommon lately. They too can cause the failure of utilities - for example a bushfire can leave a whole city without electricity by melting a major electrical cable.

That said, here what your proposed survival kit should include:

1. Cash. ATMs might stop working if there is power outage. Make sure the amount you have is in small bills and coins: $1,$2,$5,$10,$20 because stores will run out of change soon enough.

2. Generator - in case there is a power shortage and you still want your fridge to work.

3. Candles - in case there is power shortage and the generator just died.

4. LED flashlight (9 LED’s) and lots of spare AA batteries.

5. Food supply: freeze-dried food, canned food (don’t forget the can opener), noodles, rice and grains (you can find an exhaustive list of groceries to consider here). Store them in plastic see-through boxes for convenience.

6. Bottled water - 3 liters per person per day.

7. Battery-operated radio - to listen to the weather forecast, emergency announcements and the like.

8. Gas bottle for cooking.

9. Lighter and water-proof matches.

10. First Aid kit.

11. Pack of seeds to keep growing your own veggies

12. Pet food - they’ve got to eat too.

13. Hands sanitizer - alcohol based gel or wipes for cleaning hands and disinfecting objects when water is not available.

14. A stock of “barter” goods like toilet paper, soap, deodorant, shampoo, shaving razors, tooth paste, child diapers, etc. In times when the supply of goods in stores is irregular, these things are as good as gold and can be exchanged for other goods that you need.

15. A knife or better yet a multitool such as Letherman or Swiss army knife.

If you feel like being ready for anything and everything, here’s a couple of great resources: Frugal Dad explains really well how to prepare to emergencies of all kinds and SurvivalBlog is the ultimate place to be looking for answers to all survival questions.

Do you have anything to add? What’s missing on my list?

Update: this post has made it into Modern Families carnival

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