Red Cross Emergency Recommendations

Items and practices recommended by the American Red Cross for a complete emergency preparedness kit.

Other preparedness guides

Continue reading

The American Red Cross emergency-kit baseline

Survival essentials for every household

The American Red Cross recommends every household assemble a kit covering at least three days of basic survival needs at home and a smaller, portable kit for evacuation. Their core list emphasises one gallon of water per person per day, ready-to-eat food that does not require cooking, a battery- or hand-crank radio tuned to NOAA Weather Radio frequencies, a flashlight with spare batteries, a first-aid kit, and copies of important documents in a waterproof container.

Family communication plan

The Red Cross places equal weight on planning, not just supplies. Every family should designate an out-of-state contact person whom all household members can call or text when local lines are jammed. Children should know the contact's number from memory. Practise two evacuation routes from your home and two meeting points: one near the home for fast emergencies like fire, one farther away for evacuations.

Beyond the basics

Households with infants, older adults, people with disabilities, or pets need tailored additions: formula and bottles, hearing-aid batteries, pet food and a current rabies certificate. The Red Cross also recommends taking a free first-aid and CPR course; supplies do not help if no one knows how to use them.

About the EmergencyKit.app checklist

How we built it

EmergencyKit.app combines the official emergency-kit recommendations published by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the American Red Cross, USA.gov's Ready.gov campaign, and the German Federal Office of Civil Protection (BBK) and Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency (MSB). Each item on the checklist is tagged with the organisations that recommend it so you can see at a glance how well-supported it is.

The 20% body-weight rule

A go-bag should weigh no more than roughly 20% of the carrier's body weight. Above that threshold, evacuating on foot becomes painful, slow, and risky for older or smaller adults and for children. The weight checker on the homepage estimates your kit's total weight from the items you select and warns you when you cross the limit, so you can swap heavier items for lighter alternatives before you actually need to leave.

Three days, then more

The baseline kit covers a 72-hour window because that is how long it typically takes public services to restore basic supplies after a major disaster. Households in high-risk regions for hurricanes, wildfires, or earthquakes should plan for at least two weeks of food, water, and prescription medication on top of the baseline kit.