Disaster Preparedness: Building a go-bag
In March 2020, trouble seemed to come twofold for Nashville, TN. Only days before the first COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns began, a devastating tornado swept through Middle Tennessee, killing two Nashvillians and destroying thousands of buildings. My own building was struck, leaving us without electricity for nearly a week in chilly spring temperatures.
Many Nashvillians — myself included — were left completely unprepared for two natural disasters striking so close together. As police roamed darkened streets clogged with glass, garbage, and debris, my building neighbors were living in the dark, dealing with missing windows and structural damage. The next week, COVID-19 lockdowns began. Layoffs and unemployment were rampant, and we were all stuck inside half-functioning housing.
Those weeks were a major lesson in disaster and emergency preparedness for me. While I was single and childless at the time, I had a senior cat and a pet hedgehog that required warm, stable temperatures at all times. We retreated for 24 hours to my mother’s house to warm up and dry out. My hedgehog was able to lodge with an exotic border outside Nashville (who quite literally trod over live power lines to rescue a client’s pet bird — this was a week I learned what real-life heroes look like) and my cat and I returned home to help our neighbors recover. I can’t remember how many bags of trash, insulation, and debris I bagged in the dark while reporters snapped photos of our home-grown response teams from the sidewalks.
The experience left me craving a sense of stability and preparedness I’d never known before, and I’ve since become a devoted student of the “bug-out bag.” Also called emergency kits and go-bags, they look completely different for every household.
Those with kids, elderly or disabled family members, pets, and those who live independently will all need to prepare for potential emergencies in completely different ways. No matter your situation, though, don’t wait and find yourself missing essentials like me. A little preparation goes a long way, even during a minor power outage.
A Basic Emergency Kit
According to Ready.gov, the US’ emergency preparedness site, a basic emergency supply kit can incorporate at least the following:
One gallon of water per person per day for several days
Several-day supply of non-perishable food
Battery-powered or hand crank radio and a NOAA Weather Radio
Flashlight
First aid kit
Extra batteries
Whistle
Face mask
Plastic sheeting and duct tape
Personal sanitation items like garbage bags and moist wipes
Wrench or pliers
Manual can opener
Local maps
Backup chargers and batteries for your cell phone
In response to the 2020 pandemic, the government site was updated to encourage people to prep prescription medications, over-the-counter remedies for basic pains and illness, books, games, feminine supplies, matches, and more.
Customizing Your Family’s Emergency Kit
After getting down the basics, you may find yourself wanting to customize an emergency kit to fit specific needs, or you may want to take it to the next level.
Printable sheets like this Bug Out Binder make emergency preparedness and survival information easy to keep on hand. Organizing everything in one place can also reduce stress in time-sensitive situations. This printable guide includes hundreds of pages about shelter, cooking, first-aid, how-tos, planners, checklists, and more.
Premade emergency kits are also an option; choose from single-person, couple, and family options online.
Whether you go all-out and organize an archive’s worth of survival information, pack your own bag from items you already own, or purchase something, it’s still important to spend time making your kit work for you. In fact, pre-made kits alone wouldn’t be enough, according to at least some experts.
In 2022, Shane Hobel, survival expert and founder of New York’s Mountain Scout Survival School, told Outside Magazine that premade kits are somebody else’s idea of what you need, and may not reflect a real-life emergency. It’s important to prepare and to realize that the responsibility lies with each person to do so before a need arises.
“If something bad happens, the safest thing is to assume that no one is going to come and save you,” Hobel told the pub. “You’re responsible for you and yours. Having a go bag for each member of your family is a vital piece of assurance.”
You’ll certainly rest easier knowing your family is ready for anything. It’s impossible to prevent bad things from happening, but I speak from personal experience: an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
Since learning a hard lesson in 2020, I strive to maintain and update my family’s go-bag regularly. It isn’t perfect, and it’s currently packed into a thrifted gym bag, but it does have toiletries, essentials, and even pet food. It’s a good start, and we’ll continue improving over time.