Â鶹´«Ã½

Skip to main content

What to pack during an emergency

Share

A major can happen at any time so it's best to be prepared.

Knowing what to have at home, or take with you for an evacuation, can be useful and even life-saving.

From wildfires to infectious disease outbreaks, here is what the Canadian Red Cross and the B.C. government recommend people take with them if they are thrust into potentially life-threatening situations.

You'll need to build or buy a with enough food, water and supplies that can last for at least three days.

Have a bag or backpack ready in an easily accessible area of your home such as a hall closet, garage or spare room.

Here are some recommended essential items for your bag:

  • Bottled water: Each person needs at least four litres per day for drinking and sanitation; pets need about 30 mL of water per kg of body weight per day;
  • Non-perishable food;
  • Manual can opener if you're bringing canned food;
  • Masks and hand sanitizer;
  • Items such as medications, baby products and extra glasses;
  • Important family documents, such as copies of birth and marriage certificates, passports, licences, wills, land deeds and insurance;
  • A copy of your emergency plan;
  • Crank or battery-operated flashlight, with extra batteries;
  • Battery-operated or crank radio;
  • Extra keys for your house and car;
  • First aid kit;
  • Extra cash, including smaller bills;
  • Personal hygiene items;
  • Pet food and pet medication;
  • Cellphone with extra charger or battery pack.

Check your emergency kit every year in case you need to replace supplies.

Other items you can consider packing:

  • Change of clothing and footwear for each person;
  • Plastic sheeting;
  • Garbage bags, twist ties and moist towelettes for personal sanitation;
  • Toilet paper;
  • Inverter;
  • Scissors and a pocket knife;
  • Whistle;
  • Multi-tool or basic tools, such as a hammer, wrench and screwdriver;
  • Duct tape;
  • Sleeping bag or warm blanket for each person;
  • Toys, games, books, deck of cards;
  • Paper maps;
  • Easily portable ceremonial items;
  • Traditional foods that may be difficult to find in stores;
  • 'Help' or 'OK' sign to display outside your window during a disaster.
     

Vehicle emergency preparedness kit

Pack an emergency kit in your vehicle, as well, in case an emergency happens and you get stuck in your car.

These are some recommended items to keep in your car along with your emergency kit:

  • Road maps;
  • Road flares;
  • Work gloves;
  • Windshield washer fluid;
  • Jumper cable or battery pack;
  • Sand, salt or kitty litter;
  • Shovel and ice scraper;
  • De-icer (methyl hydrate);
  • Phone charger.

Have you left your home or are you preparing to do so because of the wildfires? Do you have any advice on what to pack for emergencies? What did you bring and what do you wish you had brought? CTVNews.ca wants to hear from you.

Share your story by emailing us at dotcom@bellmedia.ca with your name, general location and phone number in case we want to follow up. Your comments may be used in a CTVNews.ca story.

CTVNews.ca Top Stories

British Columbia saw a rare unanimous vote in its legislature in October 2019, when members passed a law adopting the United Nations Declarations on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, setting out standards including free, prior and informed consent for actions affecting them.

A pedestrian has died after reportedly getting struck by an OPP cruiser in Bala early Sunday morning.

Two and a half years after losing her best friend and first love to suicide, Brooke Ford shared her story of grief and resilience at the CMHA Windsor-Essex Suicide Awareness Walk.

opinion

opinion How to make the most out of your TFSA

The Tax-Free Savings Account can be a powerful savings tool and investment vehicle. Financial contributor Christopher Liew explains how they work and how to take full advantage of them so you can reach your financial goals faster.

Local Spotlight

When a group of B.C. filmmakers set out on a small fishing boat near Powell River last week, they hoped to capture some video for a documentary on humpback whales. What happened next blew their minds.

A tale about a taxicab hauling gold and sinking through the ice on Larder Lake, Ont., in December 1937 has captivated a man from that town for decades.

A pizza chain in Edmonton claims to have the world's largest deliverable pizza.

Sarah McLachlan is returning to her hometown of Halifax in November.

Wayne MacKay is still playing basketball twice at Mount Allison University at 87 years old.

A man from a small rural Alberta town is making music that makes people laugh.

An Indigenous artist has a buyer-beware warning ahead of Sept. 30, the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.

Police are looking to the public for help after thieves broke into a Lethbridge ice creamery, stealing from the store.

An ordinary day on the job delivering mail in East Elmwood quickly turned dramatic for Canada Post letter carrier Jared Plourde. A woman on his route was calling out in distress.

Stay Connected