Brown is the new black, Thursday is the new Friday, and 2-weeks of emergency supplies is the new recommendation in place of the 3-day plan.

For years Emergency Managers have wanted this, particularly in communities prone to earthquake, tsunami and other catastrophic natural disasters which threaten to render communities isolated and inaccessible for prolonged periods.

To be clear, the 72-hour kits you packed for your home, car and workplace are still a great idea — even essential — but remember that they’re your ‘grab and go’ solution in an emergency or disaster. While a 3-day supply is an invaluable resource, especially during a premises evacuation (when you must leave your home or office unexpectedly), the contents optimistically assume that relief is right around the corner. Supplies are typically designed to sustain for anywhere from a few hours to a few days which you should assume will not be sufficient for a large-scale event.

In a moment, a natural disaster like tsunami or landslide can turn connected communities into islands.

Let’s talk about 14 days. If you’re feeling ambitious and want to exceed the recommendation, more power to you. If you’re feeling skeptical about it as a ‘best practice’, keep reading. There isn’t one good reason but several to consider creating a 2-week cache of food & supplies.

Catastrophic disasters like the Nepal Earthquake (2015), Japanese Tsunami (2011) and Hurricane Katrina (2005) are but few reminders of the devastation and desolation that are synonymous with a large occurrence. People and entire communities are isolated from one another. Critical infrastructure is compromised. First responders are in high demand and short supply. Standard communications are crippled. Affected jurisdictions and citizens alike must wait for additional help to arrive.

To use earthquakes as an example, some natural hazards provide little/no warning. We encourage people to think about where they might be during a disaster, and to carry a kit; but what if the problem is different and you have friends visiting when the event occurs? What if your child is having a birthday party? What if your neighbors house is destroyed and they have nowhere to go? In these scenarios, view your 14-day kit as four 3-day kits.

Standard 14-day supply kit — buy it off the shelf then make it your own.

Another reason for the 2-week plan is that a 3-day supply of food may not last as long as you think it will, and this is twofold: It simply may not be a sufficient amount to sustain you personally or you may have more mouths to feed than expected. For the sake of argument and this article, we’re referring primarily to food, but this is also true of other items in your kit like medication and first aid supplies.

Whether you’re planning food and water for 3 or 14 days, take time to consider that relying on typical caloric intake may not be sufficient. Depending on the circumstance, you may quickly find that even the 2500 calorie meal option (yum — military rations) you planned on doesn’t meet your needs. Unless your daily routine is physically rigorous, there is a good chance that you will burn more calories during a catastrophic event than you do during a normal day.

Yum — military rations.

If you’re a typical on-the-go person with daily activities like working out, climbing stairs at the office, running from meeting to meeting, working in the field or even instructing an exercise class, measure your ‘normal’ activities against these which could easily comprise your 1–14 post-disaster days. This includes: Fleeing to safety while perhaps helping others do the same, performing rescue operations, administering first aid, setting up camp (think backpacking as opposed to camping or glamping in improved sites), foraging for ad hoc supplies, making repairs, removing debris, caring for others, wrangling kids/pets, walking distances you’re accustomed to driving, and searching for missing persons to name a few.

Students in Seaside, OR, practice tsunami evacuation routes.

If the catastrophe you’re planning for requires premise evacuation, preparing for 2 weeks of self-sufficiency looks quite different than if you’re planning to shelter-in-place (aka don’t evacuate, stay where you are, possibly take hazard-specific precautions until help arrives). Packing a mobile supply kit demands a more strategic approach than packing for home, but there is no shortage of resources to help you get started.

Public websites (e.g. FEMA and Red Cross) and private vendors offer an endless range of disaster planning resources. Supply lists and kits are a great place to start, but they tend to be one-size-fits-all and as such don’t take into consideration your special needs. So use the list, buy the kit, but think outside the box in terms of your personal needs and specific environment. Then ask yourself: Is three days enough?

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