Earthquake Kit Checklist

Is a 72-Hour Kit Enough?

Utah families have long kept a "72-hour kit." The advice has grown since then. Be Ready Utah now calls it a disaster supply kit and suggests as much as a five-day supply of food, water and tools. The Utah Division of Emergency Management designs its kit to keep you going for at least three to five days, and recommends building toward a 14-day supply of water at home.

The reason is simple. After a large Wasatch Fault earthquake, roads, water lines and stores could be out for days, and emergency crews will go first to the worst damage. Three days is the starting point, not the finish line.

How Much Water and Food to Store

Plan on one gallon of water per person per day, for drinking and basic hygiene. Hot weather can double what you need. For the grab-and-go kit, store at least three to five days; for the home, the state recommends at least 14 gallons per person.

Commercially bottled water keeps until its date. Water you bottle yourself should be replaced every six months.

For food, keep at least several days of non-perishable food that needs no cooking or refrigeration, plus a manual can opener. For longer-term storage, the Utah Division of Emergency Management suggests starting with one month of easy-to-prepare foods and building toward three months per person.

Home Earthquake Kit Checklist

Keep the home kit together in sturdy bins somewhere you can reach after an earthquake, such as a garage shelf or a hall closet, not a crawl space.

• Water: one gallon per person per day.
• Food: non-perishable, ready to eat, with a manual can opener.
• First aid kit and a 7-day supply of prescription medications, plus spare glasses.
• Flashlight and extra batteries.
• Radio: battery-powered or hand-crank, for news when cell service is down.
• Phone charger and a backup battery.
• Whistle to signal for help.
• Dust masks, plastic sheeting and duct tape.
• Sanitation: moist towelettes, garbage bags and plastic ties, hand sanitizer and a personal hygiene kit.
• Wrench or pliers to turn off the gas if you smell a leak.
• Cash in small bills. Card readers and ATMs need power. Be Ready Utah suggests at least $200.
• Documents: copies of IDs, insurance policies and medical information in a waterproof bag.
• Warmth: clothing for cold weather, a wool or fleece blanket or sleeping bag, and hand and body warmer packets.
• Local maps in case phones and navigation are down.

Go-Bag: The Kit You Can Carry

If you have to leave home in a hurry, you won't have time to pack. Keep a smaller kit in a backpack or wheeled suitcase as close to an exit as you can, with a separate one for each person in the household. Be Ready Utah's portable kit includes:

• 1 to 2 gallons of water
• 3 days of ready-to-eat, non-perishable food
• A flashlight, radio and spare batteries
• A first aid kit and medications
• Copies of documents, cash and a phone charger
• A change of clothes and a blanket

Car Emergency Kit for Utah

An earthquake could catch you on I-15 or up a canyon. A car kit covers the hours it may take to get home, and in Utah it has to handle both winter cold and summer heat.

• Water: 1 to 2 gallons.
• Snacks that survive heat and cold.
• Blanket and hand and body warmer packets.
• Small shovel, ice scraper, and cat litter or sand for traction.
• Jumper cables, a flashlight and a first aid kit.
• Phone charger that works from the car.

Keep the gas tank at least half full. Car kits sit through extreme heat and cold, so the state recommends checking and rotating them more often than the home kit.

Earthquake Kit for Work

You spend about half your day away from home, and you may need to stay at work for at least 24 hours if roads are closed. Keep a kit small enough for a desk drawer or locker: water, food, any medications you take, a flashlight, a phone charger and comfortable walking shoes for the trip home.

Pets, Babies and Special Needs

• Pets: most emergency shelters accept only licensed service animals, so plan where your pets would go. Pack at least a five-day supply of pet food and water, a leash or carrier, and vaccination records.
• Babies: formula, diapers and wipes. Infants outgrow sizes quickly, so update a baby kit every two to three months.
• Medical needs: a 7-day supply of prescriptions, copies of prescriptions, and backup power or batteries for any medical device.

When to Check and Replace Your Kit

A kit only works if it is current. Check it twice a year; the twice-yearly clock change is an easy reminder.

• Replace water you bottled yourself every six months.
• Swap out food, medications and batteries before they expire.
• Check the car kit more often, since heat and cold wear it out faster.
• Rethink the kit every year as your family changes: new medications, a new baby, a new pet, a new job.

Once the kit is ready, learn what to do during an earthquake and practice it with your household.