Emergency Supplies: Water

Stocking water reserves and learning how to purify contaminated water should be among your top priorities in preparing for an emergency.

• You should store at least a three-day supply of water for each member of your family.
• You will need additional water for food preparation and hygiene. Store a total of at least one gallon per person, per day.

If your supplies begin to run low, remember: Never ration water. Drink the amount you need today, and try to find more for tomorrow. You can minimize the amount of water your body needs by reducing activity and staying cool.

How to Store Emergency Water Supplies

You can store your water in thoroughly washed plastic, glass, fiberglass or enamel-lined metal containers. Never use a container that has held toxic substances, because tiny amounts may remain in the container's pores. Sound plastic containers, such as soft drink bottles, are best. You can also purchase food-grade plastic buckets or drums.

Purifying Water

Boiling is the safest method of purifying water. Bring water to a rolling boil for 10 minutes, keeping in mind that some water will evaporate. Let the water cool before drinking. Boiled water will taste better if you put oxygen back into it by pouring it back and forth between two containers. This will also improve the taste of stored water.

Emergency Supplies: Food

Nutrition Tips

In a crisis, it will be vital that you maintain your strength. So remember:

• Eat at least one well-balanced meal each day.
• Drink enough liquid to enable your body to function properly (two quarts a day).
• Take in enough calories to enable you to do any necessary work.
• Include vitamin, mineral and protein supplements in your stockpile to assure adequate nutrition.

Short-Term Food Supplies

Even though it is unlikely that an emergency would cut off your food supply for two weeks, you should prepare a supply that will last that long. A two-week supply can relieve a great deal of inconvenience and uncertainty until services are restored.

The easiest way to develop a two-week stockpile is to increase the amount of basic foods you normally keep on your shelves. Remember to compensate for the amount you eat from other sources (such as restaurants) during an average two-week period.

You may already have a two-week supply of food on hand. Keeping it fresh is simple. Just rotate your supply once or twice a year.

Storage Tips

• Keep food in the driest and coolest spot in the house--a dark area if possible.
• Keep food covered at all times.
• Open food boxes or cans carefully so that you can close them tightly after each use.
• Wrap cookies and crackers in plastic bags, and keep them in tight containers.
• Empty opened packages of sugar, dried fruits and nuts into screw-top jars or air-tight cans to protect them from pests.
• Inspect all food containers for signs of spoilage before use.

If the Electricity Goes Off...

FIRST, use perishable food and foods from the refrigerator.

THEN use the foods from the freezer. To minimize the number of times you open the freezer door, post a list of freezer contents on it. In a well-filled, well-insulated freezer, foods will usually still have ice crystals in their centers (meaning foods are safe to eat) for at least three days.

FINALLY, begin to use non-perishable foods.

Courtesy of www.fema.gov

See also, Emergency Supplies: Making a Kit

Back to the Be Informed Main Page

Page last updated: June 7, 2006