Emergency Preparedness Guides: Water, Food, Power and Communication
Prepare in stages: 72 hours first, then two weeks at home as FEMA suggests, then three months. Water comes first, at one gallon per person per day, then heat in winter, food, sanitation, first aid, light and a radio.
The hub guide lays out the plan and each guide in the series covers one need with the sizing math and the gear for it.
8 emergency preparedness guides
Long-Term Emergency Preparedness: Water, Food, Power and Heat When Everything Stops
A plan for a long crisis such as war or a grid collapse: what to store for 72 hours, 2 weeks and 3 months, in order of what runs out first, with gear for each.
Top picks: Saratoga Farms 5 Gallon Stackable Water Containers, 4 Pack (20 gal), ReadyWise Emergency Food Supply Bucket, 132 Servings, Midland ER310 Emergency Crank Weather AM/FM Radio
Updated Nov 2, 2026
Emergency Water Storage: How Much to Store and How to Make Any Water Safe
One gallon per person per day: what 2 weeks to 3 months of water looks like, the containers that hold it, and how to filter and disinfect water when taps stop.
Top picks: Augason Farms 55 Gallon Water Storage Barrel, Sawyer Squeeze Water Filtration System (SP129), Aquatabs 49 mg Water Purification Tablets, 100 Pack
Updated Nov 2, 2026
Emergency Food Storage: How Much Food per Person for 2 Weeks to 3 Months
Plan emergency food by calories, not servings: 2,000 a day per adult. What 2 weeks and 3 months look like in rice, beans, cans and freeze-dried buckets.
Top picks: ReadyWise Emergency Food Supply Bucket, 132 Servings, Mountain House Buffalo-Style Chicken Mac & Cheese, 12 Servings, US Shelby P-38 Military Style Can Openers, 2 Pack
Updated Nov 2, 2026
Cooking Without Power: Stoves, Fuel and How Much to Store
Cook through a long outage: propane, butane, wood and solar stoves compared, how much fuel 2 weeks or 3 months takes, and the carbon monoxide rule.
Top picks: Gas One GS-3400P Dual Fuel Butane or Propane Stove, Coleman Triton 2-Burner Propane Stove, EcoZoom Rocket Stove, Wood and Charcoal
Updated Nov 2, 2026
Solar Power for a Long Grid-Down: Keep the Fridge, Lights and Radio Running
A generator stops when the fuel runs out. How much solar and battery keeps a fridge, freezer, lights, CPAP and phones running for weeks or months, by build size.
Top picks: BLUETTI AC200L, BLUETTI AC180, EcoFlow DELTA Pro 3
Updated Nov 2, 2026
Emergency Communication When Phones Go Down: Radios, GMRS and Satellite
How to get warnings and reach family when cell towers and internet fail: NOAA and shortwave radios, GMRS two-way radios, satellite messengers and a family plan.
Top picks: Midland ER310 Emergency Crank Weather AM/FM Radio, Midland GXT1000VP4 GMRS Two-Way Radios, 2 Pack, Garmin inReach Messenger Satellite Communicator
Updated Nov 2, 2026
Sanitation and First Aid When Water and Hospitals Are Stretched
When toilets cannot flush and help is far away: a bucket toilet that works, hygiene with little water, a real first aid and bleeding control kit, and medicines.
Top picks: Reliance Double Doodie Toilet Waste Bags with Bio-Gel, 12 Bags, Surviveware Comprehensive Premium First Aid Kit, 238 Pieces, North American Rescue Individual Bleeding Control Kit with C-A-T Tourniquet
Updated Nov 2, 2026
Prepper Budget: How Much to Spend, and How Much Prep Is Too Much (or Not Enough)
What emergency prep costs at each stage, why the first few hundred dollars do most of the work, and clear signs you have prepped too little or too much.
Top picks: Midland ER310 Emergency Crank Weather AM/FM Radio, Sawyer Squeeze Water Filtration System (SP129), BLUETTI AC180
Updated Nov 2, 2026