Home Emergency Kits: What to Keep When Leaving Is Not the Best Option

A home emergency kit serves a different purpose than a go bag. A go bag is for mobility. A home kit supports sheltering safely when travel is risky, unnecessary, or not advised.

Start with the essentials

Plan your kit around likely short disruptions:

• Water, food, and safe food storage
• Lighting, batteries, and backup charging
• Medications, first aid, and health supplies
• Sanitation and hygiene items
• Copies of important documents
• Communication backups and weather information

CDC and Ready.gov guidance aligns on water planning: keep at least 1 gallon per person per day for 3 days, and build toward a longer supply (up to 2 weeks) where practical.

Generator and carbon monoxide safety

If you use backup power, carbon monoxide safety is non-negotiable:

• Never run a generator indoors or in an attached garage.
• Operate generators outside, away from windows, doors, and vents.
• Keep working CO alarms in your home.

The live dashboard can provide additional context on public signals such as power, weather, fuel, and water stress. For deeper planning checklists, review emergency preparedness resources and common questions in the FAQ.

HazardNow adds situational-awareness context and does not replace official notices, utility instructions, water-provider guidance, or emergency management direction.