Sources for the 72-hour kit guidance
Where 72 Hour Kit's guidance comes from: Ready.gov's kit and water pages, the American Red Cross survival kit list, Ready.gov's pet guide and National Weather Service pages.
Guidance we built on, checked 25 October 2026
- Ready.gov, build a kit: the basic disaster supplies kit, additional items, maintaining the kit.
- Ready.gov, storing water in plastic soda bottles: cleaning, sanitizing, filling, labeling and replacing self-bottled water every six months.
- American Red Cross, survival kit supplies: 1 gallon per person per day; 3 days for evacuation, 2 weeks at home; 7 days of medication; documents and family items.
- Ready Illinois, water: two quarts to drink and two for food and sanitation; who needs more water.
- Ready.gov, pets (contents read from Ready.gov's pet preparedness leaflet): the pet emergency kit.
- Ready.gov power outage safety tips (page; content read from Ready.gov's power outage leaflet): generators 20 feet from windows, doors and garages, carbon monoxide alarms, refrigerated medicine.
- FoodSafety.gov, keeping food safe when you lose power: 4 hours, 48 and 24 hours, the 40°F rule.
- National Weather Service, NOAA Weather Radio help: the seven channels and SAME codes; county list; using SAME; weekly test example.
Figures the tools work out
- Meals are counted as three a day per person; the official lists say "several days" or "3 days".
- 16.9 oz bottles and cases of 24 are converted at 128 fluid ounces per gallon.
- The go-bag uses 3 days and the home supply 14 days, following the Red Cross.
Spotted an error or a figure that has changed? Let us know