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Emergency Go Bag Checklist
The supplies to pack for a quick evacuation, from water and food to documents and keys.
A real, editable checklist below — tick, tap a line to rewrite, drag to reorder.
Tick the circles, tap any line to change it, drag the dots to reorder.
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ABC7 lists four items first: water, food, a first aid kit and medications. ABC7 recommends one gallon of water per person per day, and a three-day supply for an evacuation. Leave some room in the bag. Educator Donald Dust, quoted by HuffPost, says to keep space for things relief centers provide or that you pick up along the way. This list covers one grab-and-go bag per person. It leaves out the larger home kit, with tools and fuel for staying put.
Why these items are on the list
- Water, one gallon per person daily. ABC7 recommends one gallon per person per day: three days for evacuation, two weeks if you stay home.
- Non-perishable food. Easy-to-open, easy-to-prepare food is preferable; granola bars and nuts are named as examples.
- First aid supplies. Marathon's go-bag list pairs them with prescription medications.
- Prescription medications. Add a printed list of prescriptions in case you need refills.
- Medical devices you rely on. Pack the medical devices you use, such as inhalers or EpiPens.
- Flashlight and spare batteries. Pack extra batteries for the radio as well as the light.
- Battery or crank radio. Battery-operated or hand-crank both work; Marathon's kit list names a NOAA weather radio.
- Emergency whistle. Donald Dust, a self-reliance educator, recommends keeping one handy in the bag.
- Phone charger or power bank. After a major disaster, electricity and cell service may be unavailable.
- Cash in small bills. ATMs may be unavailable, so carry small denominations.
- Copies of ID and insurance papers. Birth certificates, passports, insurance policies and health insurance cards.
- Cloud scan of documents. Dust suggests scanning them to your cloud account and sending paper copies to faraway relatives.
- Written emergency contact list. Keep it on paper as well as in your phone.
- List of drug and food allergies. Include allergies to any drug, especially antibiotics, and to foods.
- Sturdy shoes and spare clothes. Add socks and pack layers for the weather.
- Blanket or space blanket. Either works; keep the bag light enough to carry, with some space left free.
- Local map. Marathon's list and the LinkedIn guide both include a local map.
- Photos of family and pets. Marathon's list includes them for re-identification purposes.
- Spare glasses, contacts, hearing aids. Include extra hearing aid batteries and any other vital personal items.
- Spare house and car keys. Extra copies of each go in the bag.
- Pet food, water and supplies. Make a go-bag for pets too, and pack their food.
- Items for children and seniors. Pack special-needs items for children, seniors or people with disabilities.
- Comfort items for kids. Small toys, books or familiar comfort items.
- Water purification tablets. The LinkedIn guide also lists a small filtration device as an alternative.
Tick items off on your phone as you pack, then keep the list for the next check. If there are several of you, give each person a copy so every bag has its own list.
When to use it
Use it when you first build the bag, then again every six months, as one LinkedIn guide suggests, to replace expired items.