the survivalistMy Disaster Shopping List:
Here's some of the emergency equipment I've gathered together, or plan to, or wish my wife would let me buy. This list is by no means complete or authoritative, but it's a good start for any aspiring survivor.
Water:
Fifteen gallons in nonbiodegradable containers. For a family of four or five, this is three days' emergency supply in case tap water is immediately tainted.
Ten heavy-duty 5-gallon collapsible water containers. Keep them empty until an emergency.
Fifty-five gallon drum for emergency water. I wish I had room for this.
Food:
Three months' worth, canned and packaged. Variety and quality is key. This is easy to do by buying extra food in your next three or four trips to the grocery store.
Electronics:
Home flashlights.
Emergency-crank and solar-powered radio.
Key-ring photon light for subway and elevators.
RadDetect Personal Radiation Detector
Quake Alarm: a no-brainer, even for people who think they're not in earthquake zones.
DVD-Rs for computer backup.
Health:
First-aid kit: Leave it intact for emergencies.
Bleach: a few gallons for wiping, purifying water (only if absolutely necessary), and for disinfecting mail and other incoming items in the event of an ongoing biohazard. Keep an eye-dropper near the bottle.
Emergency key-chain whistle, in case rescuers need to find you.
Quick Escape Mask: a smart, all-purpose portable mask to keep in your commute bag.
MyXcaper Mask: good for escaping home-fire smoke.
Relenza/Tamiflu. Also lots of ibuprofen, acetaminophen, and Phenergan, a prescription anti-nausea drug.
U.V. air purifier: I'll probably buy a few of these the instant they detect a human-to-human mutation of H5N1. It's not smart to wait that long, but for now I am.
Flu preparedness guide: a good idea to download, maybe print out.
Build your own emergency kit here.
