You can create an emergency grab bag for less than $150 – a lot cheaper than what some commercial ones cost.
The recent coronavirus outbreak has seen face masks, hand sanitiser and long-life food fly off the shelves in supermarkets. Now’s a good time to update or put together an emergency grab bag in case a non-viral disaster also strikes.
We were able to construct a kit of decent quality for $150, significantly less than some of the commercial kits. It’s likely you can build a comparable kit for even less than this, as many of us already have spare backpacks, torches, radios and drink bottles.
Our kit contains*:
*Items available and prices correct as of 04 March 2020.
But remember, there’s no one-size-fits-all solution. Think about where you’re most likely to be when disaster strikes, and build your kit accordingly. If you work a short walk from home, chances are you won’t need a kit as comprehensive as this. But if you commute for an hour each day from an outlying suburb you’ll need enough supplies for a long walk home, including sturdy shoes, water and snacks for energy.
The most important part of emergency preparedness is making a plan for you and your family that covers the following:
After being in all of the CHCH quakes the most important thing to have firstly is cash as if ATM's go down and banks are shut then you can't buy petrol, or supplies. If you can spare it put in your grab bag about $200 - luckily we had done this and used all of it over a week.
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