For emergencies like earthquakes, hurricanes, wildfires, or even just power outages, the Federal Emergency Management Agency recommends that all households stockpile 72 hours’ worth of supplies. Today’s Amazon Prime Day sales are one of the most affordable ways to do that. Let’s run through the deals.
Water
The most important thing you’ll need in any emergency is clean drinking water. Every person in your household requiresa minimum of one gallon per day, just to drink. You’ll wantmore for pets and any cleaning you may want to do.
Amazon isn’t offering any Prime Day deals on bottled water, but the site remains one of the cheapest and most convenient ways to stockpile that. Twelve packs of half-liter Nestle water bottles are available for just $2.23, with free delivery for Prime members. Each 12 pack contains about a gallon and a half of water, so order at least two for each of your family members.
Water is heavy and can’t be compressed, so it’s hard to take with you. For a go bag, you’ll want a filter. At two ounces, a Lifestraw is one of the lightest, most compact ways to remove bacteria and parasites from water sources. They’re available today at 43 percent off.
Shelter
Following an earthquake, tornado, or hurricane, your home could be destroyedor rendered unsafe. Outdoors, you’ll need shelter from sun and rain. The cheapest, easiest way to provide that is with a big blue tarp, and Amazon has those on sale with 33 percent savings.
But, you’ll be more comfortable in a tent. Today you can save $110 on an eight-person Coleman tent that will make room for your whole family.
Safety and First Aid
First Alert’s Standard Home Fire Extinguisher is $13 off today. That’s good, because you’re supposed to keep one of these on each floor of your house, and in your kitchen and garage.
I also keep one ofFirst Alert’s Car Fire Extinguishers in all of my vehicles. They’re small enough to fit under a seat, but come with a secure mounting bracket you can attach to your reach hatch, roll bar, or bulkhead. They’re $10 off today.
There area number of deals on comprehensive first aid kits today; of those,the Surviveware Large First Aid Kitlooks best. The 200-item collection should be plenty for families, includes a guide book, and is packaged in a robust, well-organized bag. Make sure to add any medications you or any family members might need.
Go ahead and add a headlamp for all family members to your kit. You may already have flashlights lyingaround for camping or general use, but storing everything togetherwhere it can be easily and reliably accessed is the key to emergency preparedness. The Black Diamond Spot headlampcan put out up to 300 lumensand runs on common AAA batteries. It’s 25 percent off today.
Sanitation
If you lose access to running water, you’re also going to lose the ability to easily deal with human waste. And that can add up quickly. Thick, strong contractor bags can be used for multiple purposesand provide an affordable, effective solution for waste storage and disposal. They’re 21 percent off today.
You’ll also want to have plentyof hand sanitizer in your emergency kit, so you can avoid contracting or spreading infections. Cases of portable Purell hand sanitizer bottles are 20 percent off today.
Eight-hundred-count packs of baby wipes are 40 percent off right now. They’re an easy way to keep your entire body clean and sanitary in the absence of running water.
Communication
The Federal Emergency Management Agency suggests all households keep a battery-powered radio in their emergency kits. One allows you to receive emergency broadcasts, and is how the government will communicate potentially life saving information during and in the aftermath of any disaster. You can save 20 percent on those today.
You may also want to equip yourself with the ability to communicate with family members over distance, in the absence of functioning phone networks. This three-pack of Motorola communicators is $46 off for Prime Day.
Power
Lithium batteries have a ten-year shelf life, and are the most convenient, affordable, portable way to power essential gadgets during an emergency. Mark packs with their expiration dates, and keep ample batteriesfor all your essential gadgetsin your kit, separate from any batteries you may use day to day. I like Energizer Ultimate Lithiums, which aren’t on saletoday.
You may also want to power non-essential items like area lights, cell phones, or computers. The Anker Powerhouse 200 portable battery is ideal for that purpose, and is $110 off today.
You can run a solar panel into the Powerhouseto keep it powered up over a longer period. This 130 watt panel will do that, and comes complete with a charge controller. It’s $55 off.
Everything Else
provides comprehensive info on disaster preparedness. The site provides free survival guides for common disasters that can be printed out and stored in your emergency kit.