Personal Preparedness New – Welcome to the Disaster Group

Personal Preparedness

Here is an excerpt of our Preparedness Condition Levels (PrepCon). We will be adding more to levels to these guides soon.

PrepCon Level 5

(Preparation Condition Level 5)

Applicable Scenarios: Basic Service Disruptive Event that is anticipated to last 3 days or less.

This is the start to your preparedness journey. These are the basic items that should be in your Go Bag, Apartment, Home, or Vehicle, ready for deployment quickly. These items can all be stored easily in your home or apartment for a shelter in place scenario. Fuel is only important if you have a vehicle and should be stored in a garage or other area outside of your living space.

Consider a tote or a backpack for your supplies. If you are just getting started this bag contains a lot of the items listed below. It is a good start for your preparedness: https://amzn.to/3GoE8JM

First Aid Kit: Hospitals and First Responders may not be available. You may not be able to safely leave your home.

An advanced first aid kit is critical to your survival. This first aid kit includes other survival items to assist with a disaster.

Basic first aid kit: https://amzn.to/3mc3Wly

Communications: It’s always important to communicate with your support group. Cell phones and Internet could be nonfunctional. These options below represent communications methods that require no outside infrastructure to operate. You should have a Weather Radio with your kit. Vital information can be received from the NOAA system.

TYPE : WEATHER RADIO (NOAA)

USE CASE Receiving Weather Info

RANGE N/A

LICENSE REQUIREMENTS None

TYPE : CITIZENS BAND RADIO (CB)

USE CASE Short Range Communications

RANGE 5-20 Miles

LICENSE REQUIREMENTS None

TYPE : FAMILY RADIO SERVICE (FRS)

USE CASE Team Communications

RANGE 1 Mile

LICENSE REQUIREMENTS None

TYPE :GENERAL MOBILE RADIO (GMRS)

USE CASE Team Communications

RANGE 1 Mile

LICENSE REQUIREMENTS YES: *GMRS from FCC.gov

* You will need to obtain an FCC GMRS license to legally transmit this radio. More information on GMRS: FCC.gov.

An unlicensed alternative is a CB or FRS Radio. A word of caution: these radios will have more users and could be congested.

Food and Water: Very quickly you will run out of food. We will go into to detail about long term food and water storage in later PrepCon levels, but this is the minimum you should have with you in a go bag. Shelf Stable Meals or Meals Ready to Eat (MRE’s) are the easiest to transport and contain everything you would need for meals. Some say they aren’t as appetizing as other options, but in a disaster situation calories count. You should have meals for you and your family ready to support yourselves for 3 days minimum, but optimally for at least 7 days.

Water should be available at a rate of 1 gallon per person, PER DAY. Another option is purchasing commercially available prefilled 5-gallon water jugs. You may already have these in your home with a dispenser.

Meal Ready to Eat: https://amzn.to/439ZWCq

Water Storage: https://amzn.to/40FJzMo

5 Gallon Water Jugs: https://amzn.to/3KzU9yV

Fuel: Depending on the disaster you should always plan to be prepared for 3-7 days on your own. If the power grid is down due to a natural disaster or other cause, you can use your vehicle to warm up or cool down. But this will require a full tank of fuel to sustain. If you need to leave your home the chances of gas stations having power or even fuel could be slim. It is recommended that you keep fuel at home equal to the amount of fuel all your vehicles can hold. This can be portable tanks or even a fuel cart. Use caution when refilling a vehicle and NEVER put fuel in any unapproved container. Never transport fuel inside your vehicle. If you have a pickup truck, it can be put in the bed. If your vehicle has a trailer hitch, the rack below is a good alternative. Just make sure to cover the fuel tanks with a tarp to deter theft. The rack below includes tarp and other supplies needed to secure fuel and other items.

Small fuel tanks: https://amzn.to/3GjDLzU

Larger fuel caddy with hand pump: https://amzn.to/40LwIbM

Hitch mounted storage rack: https://amzn.to/412fCpH

Other Small Items:

Storm Proof Matches: https://amzn.to/3Gi2y7A

AA & AAA Batteries: https://amzn.to/3Gj8jSK

LED Flashlights: https://amzn.to/3KfOQ6B

Toilet Paper: https://amzn.to/40GC5IV

Unscented Bleach: https://amzn.to/3Gk7mcR

Contractor Bags: https://amzn.to/3nSBWDG

Duct Tape: https://amzn.to/412pz6p

Tarps: https://amzn.to/41l8Qvx

Camping Propane: https://amzn.to/414B11s

Small Propane Stove: https://amzn.to/43jsw4G

Rapid Rope: https://amzn.to/3KAaJyD

Small Candles: https://amzn.to/3KAb58r

Paper Maps / Gazetteer for each state you could travel to: https://amzn.to/43fzEPA

LifeStraw water purification: https://amzn.to/3zCa1KZ

Combination Lock: https://amzn.to/3Gki3w1 Cables for Locks: https://amzn.to/414rdEy

This document is provided as a guide to your preparedness journey. We have compiled items we feel are important to your ability to “Self-Solve”. This list should not be relied upon exclusively.

Disaster Group is not responsible or liable for damages resulting from a natural disaster or information contained herein. It is the readers sole responsibility to prepare as you see fit. Disaster Group is a participant in the Amazon Services associates program and could earn a commission from qualifying purchases.