Video: How to build an emergency kit in under 2 minutes

An emergency kit for sheltering in place for up to 72 hours can be made mostly from items found at home

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The Canadian capital of Ottawa, Calgary, offers ideas for emergency preparedness kits through its YouTube station, OttCityOnline. The emergency preparedness kit in the following video can help residents shelter in place for up to 72 hours, and it can be built easily and quickly inside a plastic tote in under two minutes -- once items are gathered.

Most of the recommended items can already be found at home, according to the transcript (below the video):

“An emergency preparedness kit will help ensure your safety and the safety of your family. Preparing one is easy, inexpensive, and quick - in fact, you probably already have most of the items you need.

Your emergency preparedness kit should contain adequate supplies to keep you and your family self-sufficient in your home for at least 72 hours.

  • Your major needs are going to be water and food, so start by setting aside bottled water.
  • A general rule of thumb is two litres per person for each day.
  • Then, collect some non-perishable foods like grain products, meat and alternatives, canned fruits and vegetables, non-perishable milk products, other foods, and additional food supplies. (Set reminders to rotate your emergency foods and water into your regular meals to be sure they don’t expire, and replace the items as you use them.)
  • Next, add other important emergency supplies to your kit.
  • Store all your paper documents in a waterproof and portable container. And don’t forget to include a first aid kit.

Assemble all the supplies in an easy-to-carry container and store it in an easy to get to location.

To find out more about what you can do to be prepared, visit Ottawa.ca for more emergency kit ideas, including checklists for your first aid kit, car kit, tips on pet preparedness, and more.”

For additional emergency planning, the Michigan-based organization Do1Thing.com has resources (in 8 languages) on its website including a general emergencies supplies checklist for go bags -- something residents would need in a hurry when evacuation is ordered -- along with pet, car and school emergency kits. Review and download the general emergency supplies checklist:

d1t 11 Supplies.en by Ed Praetorian on Scribd

Andrea Fox is Editor of Gov1.com and Senior Editor at Lexipol. She is based in Massachusetts.

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