Survival gear, food storage and skills — tested for apartments and family homes.
How much emergency supply does your family need?
Water, food and essentials sized to your household and the number of days. Printable.
- Tropics: NHC gives a low-pressure trough in the southwestern Gulf a 50 percent chance of becoming a tropical depression within seven days; Hurricane Rachel stays over the open eastern Pacific. Watch vs warning →
- Flooding: FEMA declared a major disaster for Ohio on October 2 covering severe storms, tornadoes, flooding and landslides. The 12-inch rule →
- Fire weather: NWS red flag warnings are up for parts of south-central Montana and central and southwestern Wyoming. Wildfire evacuation checklist →
Newest Articles
Before You Buy a Geiger Counter: What It Can and Cannot Tell You in a Radiation Emergency
A consumer Geiger counter answers one question — is the level going up, down or normal? — and none of the first-24-hour decisions. What to look for, what is marketing, and the models people compare.
Car Emergency Kit: The 7-Item Base List, Then the Layer Your Climate Needs
One base list — the seven items Ready.gov names — plus a climate layer: sleeping bags and sand up north, a gallon of water per person in the desert, a window breaker in flood country.
Hurricane Watch vs Warning: What a Family Does in the 48 Hours Before Landfall
The National Weather Service issues a hurricane watch 48 hours before tropical-storm-force winds arrive and a warning 36 hours out. This is what a household does in each of those windows, in order, with the jobs that become impossible once the wind reaches 39 mph.
Best Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarms: Ten Years Is the Number on the Back
An alarm is replaced ten years from the date printed on its back, and the US Fire Administration wants both ionization and photoelectric sensing in every home. Six combination smoke and CO alarms compared on sensor type, power and interconnection, with the catch for each.
Best Fire Extinguishers for Home and Apartment: Read the Rating, Find the UL Mark
The US Fire Administration explains the label: the number before A is a multiple of 1.25 gallons of water, the number before B is square feet of liquid fire, and the UL Listed mark is the thing to look for. Six extinguishers compared on that basis, and which listings do not show the mark.
How to Survive an Urban Flood: The 12-Inch Rule, the Attic Mistake, and What Renters Miss
Over half of US flood drownings happen in a car driven into water. Six inches knocks you over, twelve carries the car. Before, during and after an urban flood — including the renter version.
Best Emergency Food Kits
When SHTF, you need to be prepared. Here are some of the best emergency survival food supply kits you can find:
POWDERED EGGS
DRIED FRUITS
MULTIVITAMIN
ENERGY BARS
