Your Home Emergency Kit
What the Government of Canada’s Get Prepared program says to keep at home for at least 72 hours: water, food, light, first aid, medications and documents, plus pets, older adults, emergency alerts and a simple family plan. Built for Lethbridge households, one step at a time.
On this page
The basic kit
An emergency kit is just the things your household would need if you had no power, no tap water and no quick trip to the store for three days. Get Prepared says to plan for at least 72 hours, whether you stay home or have to leave, and to tailor the kit to the people (and pets) in your house.
The things Gary sees people forget most are the basics: water, flashlights and some other source of light. Growing up on an acreage, power outages and everything else were a regular part of life. Town has far fewer disruptions, but he thinks every home still needs a ready-to-go kit, and in his words, “that’s one thing you hope they never have to use.”
Keep it together in one or two sturdy bins or bags, somewhere everyone can find it in the dark. A hall closet near the door is better than the back corner of the basement.
Water
About 2 litres per person per day, for drinking, cooking and washing up.
Food
Non-perishable food such as canned goods, energy bars and dried foods, and a manual can opener.
Light and radio
A wind-up or battery flashlight and radio, with spare batteries and battery packs.
First aid
Bandages, tape, gauze, antiseptic wound cleanser and disposable gloves.
Keys and cash
Spare house and car keys. Cash in small bills and coins, because card machines don’t work without power.
Charging
A phone charger and a charged power bank.
Hygiene
Tissue, toilet paper and paper towels, plus toiletries and menstrual supplies, and diapers and wipes if you have a baby.
Documents
Copies of ID, your emergency plan, a medication list and insurance details. More below.
You don’t have to buy a ready-made kit, although Get Prepared notes that you can. Most households already own half of this list. The job is gathering it in one place and filling the gaps.
Water
Water comes first, because it’s the one thing you can’t do without for long, and in a winter outage or a water main break it can be the first thing to go.
| Household | Per day | For 3 days |
|---|---|---|
| 1 person | 2 L | 6 L |
| 2 people | 4 L | 12 L |
| 4 people | 8 L | 24 L |
| 6 people | 12 L | 36 L |
- That’s a minimum. On a hot summer day, or for someone who is nursing, ill or working hard, you’ll want more. Pets need their own supply too.
- Store-bought bottled water is simplest. Keep it sealed, in a cool, dark place, and note the date on the case.
- Think about cooking and washing. Get Prepared lists water purification tablets, or extra water, among the additional supplies for cooking and cleaning.
- Know where your main water shut-off is. Get Prepared says everyone should know where the water valve is and how it works. If a pipe bursts in a cold snap, you’ll want it off fast.
What it means for you: if you only do one thing from this page today, buy water. A few cases in the closet takes ten minutes and covers the most important item on the list.
Food
Pick food your household actually eats, that doesn’t need the fridge, and that you can prepare with little or no cooking. Get Prepared suggests canned goods, energy bars and dried foods, replaced once a year.
- Ready to eat: canned fish, meat, beans, soups, stews and fruit; crackers; peanut butter or other spreads; granola or energy bars; dried fruit and nuts; shelf-stable milk or juice boxes.
- A manual can opener. It’s on every official list for a reason. An electric one is useless in an outage.
- Special diets: infant formula and baby food, allergy-safe foods, and anything someone needs for a medical condition.
- Something comforting. A treat or a familiar snack goes a long way with kids, and with adults.
- Disposable plates, cups and utensils save water you’d otherwise use for washing up.
If you plan to cook, the only safe indoor option during an outage is an appliance designed for indoor use, such as a natural gas stove. Get Prepared is clear that camp stoves, barbecues and portable burners are for outdoors only. See cooking safely in an outage.
Rotate, don’t waste. Eat the oldest cans from the kit in the fall and replace them with new ones. The food gets used, and the kit stays fresh.
Medications and health
For many households, this is the most important part of the kit, and the hardest to replace in a hurry.
- Prescription medications and medical equipment. Keep a supply in the kit, or at least keep them together where you can grab them in seconds.
- A written list of medications, with doses and what each one is for. Get Prepared lists this among the important documents. The Alberta Emergency Management Agency’s seniors toolkit notes that a list helps a pharmacy provide an emergency refill.
- Glasses or contact lenses and lens solution, plus spare hearing aid batteries.
- Refrigerated medications: plan ahead for how you’ll keep them cold in an outage. Ask your pharmacist how long they’ll keep.
- Power-dependent medical devices: see the medical devices section on the power outages page.
- First aid kit. Our first aid page covers what goes in a home kit, and kids can build their own with the mini first aid kit page.
- Sunscreen and insect repellent, and N95 or surgical masks, which Get Prepared lists for specific hazards such as wildfire smoke.
For health advice that isn’t an emergency, Albertans can call Health Link at 811. For an emergency, call 911.
Documents and money
Get Prepared suggests keeping both paper and digital copies of important documents. Put the paper copies in a waterproof bag inside the kit.
- Identification for each person: birth and marriage certificates, passports, citizenship papers.
- Your household emergency plan, with contact information.
- The list of medications, with doses and purposes.
- Contacts for emergency services, doctors and support services.
- Health insurance details and each person’s Alberta health number.
- Home, tenant and vehicle insurance records.
- Banking information and next-of-kin contacts.
Albertans who have a Green Sleeve for their health care planning forms can keep it on or near the fridge. The Alberta Emergency Management Agency’s seniors toolkit suggests this so emergency personnel can find it.
Cash in small bills and coins belongs in the kit too. When the power is out, card machines and bank machines can be out as well.
A digital copy is only useful if you can reach it. Keep it somewhere you can open from any device, protected with a strong password, and make sure a trusted family member knows how to get to it too.
Extras worth having
Beyond the basics, Get Prepared lists additional supplies for specific hazards or longer emergencies:
- Basic tools: a hammer, screwdrivers, work gloves and a pocket knife.
- A whistle, to signal for help.
- Hand sanitizer and garbage bags.
- Duct tape, scissors and plastic sheeting, which are also what you’d use to shelter in place from hazardous air.
- Pen and paper.
- Candles with waterproof matches or a lighter, stored safely. (For light, Get Prepared‘s power outage advice prefers flashlights, because candles are a fire risk.)
- A small fuel stove and fuel, with a firm warning: never use it indoors, in tents or in any other enclosed space.
Seasonal items
Swap these in and out when the clocks change:
- Fall and winter: warm clothing, gloves, socks, hand warmers, ice grippers for boots, a portable shovel and extra batteries. Our what to wear page explains layering for our cold.
- Spring and summer: rain jacket, umbrella, waterproof footwear, sunscreen, hats, insect repellent and a fan.
Pets
If you have to leave, pets go with you. The Government of Alberta’s pet preparedness page says to plan for them before an emergency, including how they’ll be cared for if you’re separated. Its pet kit list includes:
- A 7 to 14 day supply of food and water.
- A 14-day supply of medications, in a waterproof container.
- A sturdy, labelled carrier or crate.
- An extra collar or harness and an extra leash.
- Current vaccination records and insurance information.
- A recent photo of you and your pet together, which helps prove ownership if you’re separated.
The same page suggests a pet profile card for each animal (one paper copy in the carrier, one digital), a list of pet-friendly hotels, kennels and friends in and outside your community, and a buddy who can pick up your pet if you can’t get home. Get Prepared adds: identify kennels or friends’ homes where your pets can go in an emergency.
The Government of Alberta says never to leave a pet behind in an evacuation. If you truly have no choice, don’t confine or tether them, and leave out food and water.
Older adults and special needs
Get Prepared says elderly family members and anyone with limited abilities or special needs should be part of your plan, and that someone should check on people who live alone. The Government of Alberta notes that older adults can be more vulnerable because of things like limited mobility and reduced strength or senses.
The Alberta Emergency Management Agency’s toolkit for seniors suggests:
- A support network. Neighbours, family, caregivers and community groups who know your needs, and a “buddy” who will check on you and your home or pets.
- A communication plan that names who will contact you, with backup ways to reach each other because phone systems can get overloaded.
- Spare batteries for hearing aids and other devices, such as power wheelchairs.
- Labelled equipment. Walkers, oxygen tanks and other aids labelled with your contact information.
- A plan for leaving quickly if mobility is limited, and for power-dependent equipment (talk to your equipment provider).
- Copies of documents in a waterproof bag, including allergy lists, medical device instructions and utility contacts.
What it means for you: if you have a parent or neighbour living alone, the most useful thing you can do is agree now on who checks on them in a storm or outage, and how. Then do it when the time comes.
Alberta Emergency Alert
Alberta Emergency Alert is the province’s public warning system. According to the Government of Alberta, alerts give critical information about a potentially life-threatening situation in your area, such as a wildfire, flood or tornado, and tell you what to do.
- Who issues them: local authorities (fires, floods, hazardous materials), police (including AMBER Alerts), 511 Alberta and the province’s transportation ministry (dangerous road conditions), and Environment and Climate Change Canada (weather). The Alberta Emergency Management Agency supports all of them.
- Critical alerts mean take action now to protect your life, for example a wildfire that requires a community to evacuate immediately.
- Advisory alerts mean get ready to act if a threat develops, for example a wildfire that might lead to an evacuation.
- How they reach you: compatible phones, TV and radio in the affected area receive alerts automatically, free and with no subscription. You can’t opt out.
- The app: the free Alberta Emergency Alert app lets you follow other places too, such as where an older parent lives or where you camp.
Current alerts are posted on the Government of Alberta’s Alberta Emergency Alert page. For weather warnings, Environment and Climate Change Canada’s free WeatherCAN app and our forecast page help you see trouble coming.
An emergency alert can make a phone, TV or radio make a loud, strange sound. It’s a message to help keep people safe.
Wonder: why do you think the sound is so loud and unusual?
Try this: with a grown-up, read our Home Alone and Weather-Ready page and find the part about alerts. Then practise what you’d do: stay calm, read the message, and tell a grown-up.
Your family plan and meeting places
A kit is only half of it. Get Prepared offers an online form that takes about 20 minutes and prints out at the end. Its main points:
- Safe exits. Know the ways out of your home and your neighbourhood.
- Meeting places. Pick a spot just outside your home for a sudden emergency like a fire, and a safe place to meet that doesn’t depend on being at home, such as a community centre, library or school.
- Contacts. Choose one contact person close by and one out of town. Everyone in the family checks in with them if you’re separated.
- Kids at school or daycare. Learn the school’s emergency policy and give it the name of someone who can pick up your children if you can’t.
- Special needs and pets. Include older relatives and anyone with special needs, and arrange where each pet can go.
- Know your home. Make sure everyone knows where the fire extinguisher, water valve, electrical panel, gas valve, floor drain and emergency kit are.
- Know your risks. Plan first for the emergencies most likely where you live.
Text first, talk short
When lots of people are trying to call at once, networks get jammed. Get Prepared advises using text messages, email or social media when you can, because they need less capacity, and keeping any phone calls brief.
The City of Lethbridge also offers a printable Household Emergency Action Plan on its preparing for an emergency page.
What it means for you: once the plan is written, walk it. Find the meeting spot together, show the kids the water shut-off, and practise one fire drill. A plan you’ve rehearsed once is worth ten you haven’t.
Storing and checking the kit
- Label it. Get Prepared suggests clear, labelled plastic bags or bins, so you can see what’s inside.
- Keep it reachable. Near an exit, not under the Christmas decorations.
- Check it twice a year, when the clocks change. Look at expiry dates on food, water, medications, ID and insurance, swap seasonal clothing, and test the flashlights and radio.
- Charge the power banks every few months, even if you haven’t used them.
- Build a grab-and-go bag for each person, a lighter version of the kit for leaving in a hurry. See get-home and go bags.
Sources
- Public Safety Canada, Emergency kit checklist: canada.ca
- Public Safety Canada, Make an emergency plan: canada.ca
- Public Safety Canada, Emergency planning resources (people with disabilities, children, pets and service animals): canada.ca
- Public Safety Canada, Power outages: how to prepare (flashlights rather than candles; outdoor cooking equipment outdoors only): canada.ca
- Government of Alberta, Build an emergency kit: alberta.ca
- Government of Alberta, Pet preparedness: alberta.ca
- Government of Alberta, Make an emergency plan: alberta.ca
- Alberta Emergency Management Agency, Emergency Preparedness Toolkit for seniors (2021): open.alberta.ca
- Government of Alberta, Emergency alerts: alberta.ca
- Government of Alberta, Alberta Emergency Alert (current alerts and app): alberta.ca
- City of Lethbridge, Preparing for an emergency: lethbridge.ca