A 2013 survey found that only 19% of American families felt prepared for a disaster and yet communities find themselves plunged into crisis every day in the form of earthquakes, fires, floods, storms, blizzards or even terror situations. However a crisis can also strike personally – perhaps in the form of a house fire or flood.
Personal preparedness is extremely important in helping keep you and your family safe in any of these events. You want to include a minimum of 72 hours worth of basic supplies which will allow you to evacuate and re-locate to a secure place. You might know this concept as a 72 hour kit, a Go Bag or a Personal Relocation Emergency Kit. The idea for this style of preparation comes from the military – who are well experienced in the field of needing to move quickly out of dangerous situations.
The idea behind Bug Out Bags is that if there is an emergency or disaster, you will be able to ‘bug out’ or evacuate fast. This is an excellent concept and having a Bug Out Bag prepared will help you to survive the worst conditions much more easily. Bug Out Bags are meant to help you live through the first few days of a disaster.
These bags will contain everything you need to make it until conditions return to normal. Bug Out Bags are also excellent for use in the wilderness, either for emergencies or simply as part of your hiking or camping gear. There are a number of important items that should be included in your bag, which will enable you to meet most emergencies head on and come out on top.
Bodily Necessities
The first things needed for survival, no matter when or where they occur, are water and food. You will simply not be able to live for long without either, only three days without water and maybe a few weeks without food. While having some
emergency water in your Bug Out Bag is necessary, it is also a good idea to have some means of filtering or purifying water.
There are a number of excellent portable water filters that will remove all biological and chemical hazards from water, and one of these should definitely be in your kit. They are about as big as thermos and are low in cost. Purification tablets, either chlorine or iodine are also a possibility, although the water will have a distinctive taste. The up side of purification tablets are that they have a long shelf-life and are very easy to carry – perfect to have in a bag to guarantee safe, clean drinking water.
There are several types of emergency food available for inclusion in your Bug Out Bag. Probably the simplest to use are the
emergency food bars that require no cooking. These will provide complete nutrition for a day, and are said to be pleasant tasting and satisfying. Another option is dehydrated meals that can be simply cooked with a little water, such as these: emergency meals. A final option would be Meals Ready to Eat (MREs) which offer variety and no prep work or additional ingredients.
Shelter
Being exposed to the elements, especially if it is raining or cold, can quickly sap your strength and leave you open to hypothermia. A good Bug Out Bag will contain the means to get under a ‘roof’ of sorts. There are emergency tents that will at least keep the rain or snow off of you, but you should also have emergency blankets in your kit, one of which can be used to seal off one of the ends of the tent. A tarp is another good item to have as it can be used to make a tent, provide flooring for a shelter, or make a wilderness shelter more waterproof or windproof.
First Aid and Miscellaneous
Compact first aid kits are available from many sources, and one of these should be in your Bug Out Bag. This will allow you to take care of minor wounds without trouble. You might also include a package of Celox, which will help stop bleeding of traumatic injuries.
Other useful items for your Bug Out Bag would be a portable emergency stove, fire-starter, multi-tool, crank radio, mirror, whistle, and compass. Make sure you stock up on all necessities today. You never know what emergencies may arise. If you find stocking up on individual items overwhelming, there are pre-prepared emergency kits ready to suit your every need in any situation. The Deluxe Survival Backpack Kit is an affordable alternative that offers everything you need. While you definitely do not want to become overloaded, having adequate emergency supplies will help to ensure your survival.
A Bug Out Bag is a survival kit that contains all you need to survive for 72 hours: the average response time of emergency services following a disaster.
You may have heard of Bug Out Bags being referred to as 72-hour kits, grab bags, battle boxes, Personal Emergency Relocation Kits (PERKs), GO Bags or even GOOD (Get Out Of Dodge) bags. Whatever you call them doesn't matter, to ensure your safety in the event of disaster you need to have one.
Anyone can assemble a Bug Out Bag, but here are three reasons why you should add one of our Bug Out Bags to your basket today:
- You may think that you have everything you need in the event of a disaster, only to find that when the time comes you are missing vital essentials. The contents of our Bug Out Bags have been assembled by survival experts, ensuring that you will have everything you need should the worse occur.
- We bulk-buy all the essentials that go into a Bug Out Bag, so we are able to offer you everything you need in an emergency but at a much lower cost than if you assembled a bag yourself.
- Assembling a Bug Out Bag can be a time-consuming task, but buying one of our Bug Out Bags is only a click away!
*Source (
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emergency_management#Preparedness)
