72-Hour Emergency Kit Checklist for Families

What Is a 72-Hour Emergency Kit?

The 72-hour window is the period that most emergency management guidance assumes before outside help can reliably reach a community. In many disasters, power and water service are restored within a few days, but in others — an earthquake, hurricane, or extended winter storm — help can take longer to arrive. A kit that covers three days gives your family a realistic buffer while emergency services focus on the most urgent needs in your area.

Think of the kit as three layers: essentials you can grab in seconds, supplies that support your household for the full three days, and a plan for what to do next. The essentials belong in a single backpack or tote near your main exit. The rest of the planning — where you would go, how you would communicate, and how you would care for pets — belongs in a family emergency plan.

You do not need to buy a pre-made kit or spend a lot of money. Most households already own most of these items. Start with what you have, fill in the gaps over a few weeks, and resist the urge to buy expensive gear you will never use. For a complete inventory of what a well-stocked home should hold, see our emergency supplies list.

Depending on where you look, the same concept may be called a 72 hour survival kit, a 72 hour emergency kit, a 72 hour disaster kit, or a 72 hour emergency preparedness kit. These names all describe the same practical goal: water, food, and essentials sized for the first three days of an emergency. Do not get caught up in the wording — focus on the contents list below, and build whatever version fits your household, your storage space, and the disasters most likely in your area.

Build the kit in a logical order: water first, then food, then first aid, and finally tools, documents, and comfort items. Most families can put together a complete 72-hour kit in an hour or two once they know what to buy, and a simple printed checklist taped to the container makes the process repeatable for every member of the household.

A practical 72-hour kit contents list, organized by category, looks like this — each one is covered in detail in the sections below:

• Water: one gallon per person per day, plus a purification method
• Food: non-perishable, no-cook, ready-to-eat items for three days
• First aid: bandages, antiseptic wipes, medications, and a reference card
• Lighting: flashlight or headlamp with spare batteries
• Communication: battery or hand-crank NOAA radio and a contact list
• Power: charged portable power bank and spare batteries
• Hygiene: towelettes, hand sanitizer, toilet paper, and toiletries
• Warmth: blanket or sleeping bag and an extra layer of clothing
• Documents: photocopies of IDs, insurance, and prescriptions in a waterproof bag
• Tools: multi-tool, duct tape, whistle, wrench, and a paper map

Water for 72 Hours

Water is the single most important item in any 72-hour kit. The standard guidance is one gallon per person per day for drinking and basic hygiene, which means a family of four needs at least 12 gallons for three days, and a family of five needs 15 gallons. In hot climates or during heavy physical activity, plan for more.

Store water in food-grade containers designed for long-term use. Plastic jugs, stacking containers, and refillable bottles all work, but avoid containers that were previously used for milk or juice, which can harbor bacteria. Keep water in a cool, dark place and rotate it every six months. If you use bottled water, check the printed expiration dates.

A 72-hour kit should also include a way to make more water safe. Water purification tablets, a portable filter, or household bleach used in the right dilution can turn questionable water into drinkable water in a pinch. Keep at least one purification method in your kit even if you store bottled water. For a detailed breakdown of how much water to store and how to purify it, see our 72-hour water storage guide.

Food for a 3-Day Kit

Food in a 72-hour kit should be non-perishable, ready to eat, and require no cooking or refrigeration. Good choices include canned goods with pop-top lids, granola and energy bars, dried fruit, nuts, peanut butter, instant oatmeal, beef jerky, and shelf-stable milk or meal replacement shakes. Aim for about 2,000 calories per person per day, and pack a manual can opener even if most of your cans have pull tabs.

Choose foods your family actually eats. A kit full of unfamiliar items will sit untouched until it expires, and in a stressful situation people need familiar, easy-to-prepare food. Avoid overly salty foods that increase thirst, and include a few comfort items like tea, coffee, or chocolate to boost morale.

Rotate your food supply so nothing spoils unnoticed. Eat from the kit and replace what you use, or set aside a separate short-dated supply you draw from for everyday meals. For a full three-day food plan with portion sizes, see our 72-hour emergency food list. If you want to scale up beyond three days, our emergency food storage guide walks through longer-term options.

First Aid, Tools, and Sanitation

Every 72-hour kit needs a first aid kit sized to your household. Start with adhesive bandages in multiple sizes, gauze and medical tape, antiseptic wipes, antibiotic ointment, pain and fever relievers, tweezers, scissors, disposable gloves, and a first aid reference card. Add prescription medications and over-the-counter items your family relies on, and check expiration dates during your twice-yearly review.

Practical tools often matter more than people expect. Pack a flashlight or headlamp with spare batteries, a multi-tool or basic knife, a whistle to signal for help, N95 dust masks, duct tape, a wrench or pliers to shut off utilities, waterproof matches or a lighter, and a paper map of your local area. Store these in a waterproof container inside your bag so they stay dry and ready.

Sanitation keeps your household healthy when services are disrupted. Include moist towelettes, hand sanitizer, trash bags, a small supply of toilet paper, and basic toiletries like toothbrushes, toothpaste, and soap. If you are sheltering in place, a five-gallon bucket with a lid and a plastic liner can serve as an emergency toilet when plumbing fails.

Finally, know how to use what you carry. A first aid kit is only useful if someone in the household can clean a wound, stop bleeding, or perform basic CPR, so take a community first aid course or refresh your skills regularly. Include the phone number for poison control and a printed first aid reference card inside the kit.

Documents, Cash, and Communication

During an evacuation, the items that are hardest to replace are not gear but documents. Keep photocopies of identification, insurance policies, medical records, and prescriptions in a waterproof bag inside your kit, and store a second copy in a safe deposit box or with a trusted relative. Scan the originals and back them up to a cloud service or email so you can access them from anywhere.

Cash is an underrated emergency supply. ATMs, card readers, and online payment systems can fail during power outages, so keep small bills in your kit — denominations that make exact change for groceries, gas, or hotels. Combine the amount you can comfortably spare without making the kit a theft target, and refresh it on your six-month review.

Communication gear keeps you connected when cell towers are overloaded. Pack a battery-powered or hand-crank NOAA weather radio, a portable power bank charged and ready, and a written list of emergency contacts including an out-of-area relative who can relay messages. Agree on a meeting point and a backup location so family members who are apart when a disaster strikes know where to reunite. For the broader picture, our disaster preparedness plan covers building a complete family plan.

Clothing, Shelter, and Comfort

Pack one complete change of clothing per person, plus sturdy shoes, a rain jacket, and a warm layer. Cotton is comfortable in mild weather, but wool and synthetic fabrics stay warmer when wet. Roll clothing tightly to save space, and rotate seasonal items so your kit matches the current weather.

Shelter and warmth matter if you are displaced or lose heat. Include a blanket or sleeping bag per person, a space blanket for emergency use, and a tarp or emergency poncho for improvised shelter. A small tent is a good addition if you live in an area where you might be outside for more than a night.

Do not overlook comfort. A deck of cards, a book, or a small toy for children can ease anxiety during a stressful event, and familiar items help kids cope with disruption. Throw in sunscreen, lip balm, and insect repellent if you are likely to spend time outdoors.

If you have children, pack an extra set of clothing in a slightly larger size than they currently wear, since kids outgrow clothes quickly between your six-month reviews. Mark each bag with the owner's name so everyone can grab the right one in the dark or under stress.

Building a Kit for Your Whole Family

Your kit must reflect the people who will use it. Add a seven-day supply of prescription medications with a printed list of doses and refill numbers, and note the nearest pharmacy in your emergency contacts. If you have a baby, pack formula or breast milk storage, bottles, diapers, wipes, and a change of clothes. If you have pets, include food, water, medications, a leash and carrier, and vaccination records.

Consider the needs of older family members and people with disabilities. Walkers or canes, spare eyeglasses, hearing aid batteries, and extra medical supplies belong in the kit or in a clearly marked add-on bag. If anyone in your household has mobility challenges, plan in advance how they will be moved during an evacuation.

Distribute the weight so every able member carries part of the kit. A single overstuffed bag is hard to move quickly; instead, give each person a backpack with clothing and personal items, and divide shared gear among them. For a step-by-step guide that covers every member of your household, see our family 72-hour emergency kit guide.

Practice your plan with children so they know what the kit is for and where it lives. Show them how to open it, what each item does, and why staying calm matters. A kit that the whole family understands is far more likely to be used correctly when it counts.

Storage, Rotation, and Maintenance

Store your kit somewhere accessible, not buried in a garage corner. A closet near the front door, a mudroom, or a garage shelf near the exit works well. Keep it in a waterproof, durable container — a backpack for grab-and-go situations, a plastic tote for sheltering in place. Avoid basements prone to flooding and attics or garages that reach extreme temperatures, which can damage food, batteries, and medications.

If you live in an area with regional threats like wildfires, tornadoes, or hurricanes, keep a grab-and-go bag in your car trunk as well. Vehicles experience wide temperature swings, so check the car kit seasonally and replace items that do not tolerate heat or cold.

Apartment dwellers prepare the same kit with a few extra considerations. Storage space is usually tighter, so favor lightweight containers and a compact grab-and-go backpack over oversized totes. Keep the kit near your entry door — or maintain a slimmer version by the door with the full supplies in a closet — so it is easy to grab. Since most apartment buildings rely on shared stairwells and elevators, confirm your building's evacuation route and assembly point ahead of time, and remember that elevators should not be used during a fire. Plan how you will carry the kit down stairs, including who helps if you have children or a member with mobility challenges. If you share a building corridor, use a container that does not block the hallway and label your kit so it is not mistaken for someone else's.

Review your kit twice a year, using the daylight saving time changes in spring and fall as reminders. Replace expired food and water, test batteries and charge the power bank, update medications and documents, and swap seasonal clothing. Tape a contents list inside the lid or on a card in the bag so you can confirm everything is present at a glance. For more detail on keeping your food supply organized and rotated, see our emergency food storage guide.