The 72 hour Emergency kit (e-kit)

I wasn't planning on making a post tonight, but we just had a pretty bad storm roll through here and it made me think of my E-Kit, and how important it is for everyone to have one in their homes. During the storm, a tornado touched down in an area not too far from where I live, where it uprooted trees, tore off roofs, and outed electricity.

Natural disasters of this caliber are fairly rare in the area I live in, aside from the odd winter storm that hits. Because of this, most people don't ever have an Emergency kit build, so have absolutely no idea what to do if a crisis hits. Without a way to address the rule of 3s

• 3 minutes to address severe bleeding or asphyxiation
• 3 hours to address exposure
• 3 days to address clean drinking water
• 3 weeks to address food

most people panic and chaos ensues.

Below are a few guidelines that should be followed regarding E-Kits.

1) Build your own kit.
You can buy prepared emergency kits at a lot of camping/outdoor stores. While I would rather hear someone buying a pre-made kit than not having one at all, I recommend building one instead. Without speaking about the quality, one of the most important things about a kit is that you know what is in it, and how to use the items! Be honest- if you buy a prepared kit, are you going to spend the time to become familiar with what is in it?
Build it yourself and you'll have an intimate knowledge of what is in it and you'll know how to use the items you've packed.

2) Know where you kit is located
What good is it that you've built a quality kit, if you've stuffed it in the back of a closet somewhere and don't remember how to get to it in a crisis. Remember that when it counts, you need to get to your kit quickly.

3) Build your kit with quality items
Your life might depend on the items you have packed. Don't cut corners, and periodically go through the kit to see what needs to be replaced or rotated out. As you learn more, you might find you can replace certain items without too much loss of comfort.

Basic E-Kit Contents (a good place to start):

• Bic lighter (2) - Matches may look cool, but a lighter can start hundreds of fires
• 8 hours candles (3) - warmth, light and morale boost
• Sleeping bag or heavy wool blanket - choose wool and you can even use it while it's soaking wet
• Space blanket - reflects heat and is a good signaling device
• 100ft 550 paracord - cord has almost infinite uses, and 550 cord can be split to use the inner strands
• Flashlight w/extra batteries - for light
• 2L of water /person /day or water purification method - dehydration will kill you in 3 days or less
• Gatorade powder, or similar electrolyte mix - replace bodily salts
• Dried food - rice, beans, pasta, qinoa, couscous, flour, cornmeal, oatmeal, cream of wheat, etc...
• Canned food - soups, stews, canned meats, canned fish, canned vegetables, beans
• Cooking kit - pot + butane burner or backpacker stove
• Ziplock bags - can be used to hold food, water, or in a pinch even seal a sucking chest wound
• Sharp Knife - I shouldn't even need to explain this one
• Multitool - pliers, saw, file, scissors, can opener, etc...
• Box cutter or x-acto knife - for fine work
• Hygene kit - tweezers, nail clippers, scissors, soap, toothbrush, toothpaste, toilet paper, hand sanitizer
  
• Cotton bandanas - rags, head wraps, towels, water filter, etc...
• Duct tape - Won't explain this either
• Whistle - for signalling
• Mirror - signalling, hygene, etc...
• Sewing kit - for repairs to clothing or suturing (in a pinch)
• Med kit - bandages, gauze, wraps, alcohol, iodine, tape, razor blades, aspirin, ibuprofin, tylenol
• Misc items - cards, travel games, books, notepads + pencil

Of course this is a general list, and any alterations that need to be made to suit your level of skill or comfort can be done per individual basis, but I think this is a good place for anyone to start.

Want to learn a bit more? At least learn the basics that the Gov. of Canada recommends you have in an emergency:
http://getprepared.ca/index_e.asp