Good list. Try googling survival kits and you'll get more good ideas. You need maps in waterproof folder. Also a flare gun, which incidentally, can be used as a very unpleasant weapon if need be. You don't want to be shot with a magnesium slug. Same goes for a good sharp machete. Your weak point is the food. Not enough real nutrition.

Best regards,

Juan

You're also now packed for the Amazing Race! A two-fer.

I've been doing some research of my own into this, although my emergency kit is not quite as elaborate. I started out with the deluxe emergency kit from the Red Cross and added onto that. nitro-pak.com was a great resource for a lot of the missing bits.

Areyouprepared.com had a good deal on MREs as well.

A lot of places recommend a good 50 feet of nylon rope and some light sticks will come in handy as an alternate light source (redundancy should be the key for your heat and light sources). Look for a 'P-38' as a backup can opener too. Bring pen & paper and also some thick marker & charcoal to write as well.

Urban survival kits should also include cash ($100), coins and a pre-paid phone card just in case. A disposable camera will help you document things. Pepper spray was my defensive weapon of choice.

And finally, don't forget 'comfort food', a pack of playing cards and some books to read to calm your nerves and give you something to do.

Oh my, that tent looks flimsy! No outer skin? You'll be soaking wet after a couple hours of rain, and freezing when it's cold. You should also think about spare poles and some duct tape (or even "real" tent fixing material) to fix the tent.

You may want to reconsider storing 5 gallons of gas in your apt. That may be dangerous, and you might want to check if it's against fire ordinances, to boot.

Also, unless you keep a zippo on you, you'll need something to light your candles.

This all fits in your backpacks? Sounds heavy. Also, if this is a cat5 hurricane / nor'easter kit... most of those roll right over L.I. And the ferries won't be running then, either... you might want to plot an alternate escape to the west or north.

I've always thought my aunt&uncle's place in the northern Adirondaks would be a great place to ride out a major disaster... and if things get truly hairy, a Canadian refuge is not far away.

One other thing I've been reading is that Jell-o is a good source of instant energy and you can stick it into your survival supplies and it'll keep forever.

I'm doing the same as you -- planning for the worst, someday, and hoping that I'll never have to invoke those plans.

[rant]
Since when is it the Federal government's responsibility to save your ass from a natural disaster? What about your state and local government, why don't you mention them?

I'm glad that you're falling back to self-reliance, but I'm just wondering why so many people seem to think that the Fed owes them, individually?
[/rant]

That said... Remember if you're storing gasoline for an extended time, you should add a stabilizer to it (e.g. Sta-Bil, or similar). I see you've got a fire starter on the list, but you might want to have a backup. Some steel wool would do. Steel wool stretched between the poles of one of those D batteries will help start a fire. I remember that one from my Boy Scout days.

You might also consider some cans of Sterno as a compact, more portable addition to the stoves + fuels. You could probably do campfire cooking, but if your fuel sources are all wet, the canned heat would be a nice self-contained solution.

Since when? Since at least the Federal Disaster Relief Act of 1950, though the Federal role formally goes back to the post Civil War period and the US Army Corps of Engineers activities to relieve floods that were affecting newly freed African Americans. Congress broadened the Federal responsibility for disasters in 1974 and again in 1988.

My point is not to assign responsibility, but rather to underscore the ineptitide I am seeing from the Federal government's ability to manage a crisis. The gutting of FEMA did not help. The appointing of unqualified individuals did not help. The Bush administration's lack of planning and subsequent blame-shifting reminds me of the little kid who breaks the cookie jar and then yells loudly "Not me!" or "I didn't do it."

Perhaps this natural disaster will open the eyes of those millions who voted for Bush with the belief that he actually cares about this country and its people.

A real leader would stand up and take some responsibility. That is what leaders do.

No boat on your list? Even an inflatable of some kind might be a good idea. I've got life-jackets in my house and a canoe out back in case of massive flooding.

Lots of good ideas. Remember to formulate a Plan B, in case Plan A doesn't work out. Reality has a way of doing that. For instance, Cam's plan involves his girlfriend and twin brother. However, what if something happens and they just cannot get together--what's plan B?

I've also got 2 blank checks in my pack.

Cardboard boxes? All the best stuff won't do you any good if you can't carry it on your own. I would get a hiking pack and take what you can fit it in. I know you're hoping for the car, but...

Some of my thoughts about your plan:

What happens if you, your brother, and the girlfriend are not able to get to the apartment where the stuff is? (work, shopping, etc.)

Why not leave some/most of it in the car, where you plan to meet anyway?

What about the extra charger for your cell phone (even a car charger)?

An cellular modem for the laptop (so some of your loyal readers can find you while you're blogging on the run)?

A flare gun? (OK, that's a bit much.)

Make one of your flashlights an LED headlamp. They make walking and setting up camp in the dark a lot easier. Always have extra flashlight bulbs, too.

Sunscreen.

More batteries, man.

Don't forget maps of your area and any surrounding areas to which you might try to flee.

Two-way radios with a 5-mile range are cheap and can be very useful.

Each should have a whistle with a predetermined whistle pattern to find one another in crowds and what not.

Emergency blankets are small, lightweight, can add warmth, and can be used for a quick tarp shelter from rain or sun.

Parafin + sawdust firestarters

A bottle of whiskey

Aluminum foil for hats to protect against the fed's mind-control rays :-)

It's more important to be able to move quickly, and to be resourceful, than to have all these items.

Funny Cameron. :)

Moving to Mexico here in a few months.

Tell your bro to get that MacUpdate link on his newly designed blog pages. I guess sites like MacFixIt (of which he really hated at one point) became a higher priority.

Hope you can say, "I told you so" to me when I don't create an emergency bag of stuff. Sounds heavy to carry!

Cheers,
-J

Katrina proved it's naive to trust the government (but didn't we all know that anyway?); more diappointingly, it proved it's naive to trust your neighbors. The better planned you are for crisis, the more attractive a target you become in the time of a crisis-- for many people don't plan. I'd be careful with all those candles, flashlights, camping stoves and fire-starting kits you've got. And I'd lose the bat. It's NOT as intimidating as a gun. It's also heavy, unwieldly and impractical. You can't use it effectively inside a confined space such as car or tent. And if you're injured or defending yourself against more than one person? Time to put anti-NRA sensibilities aside. If my husband packed a bat into our emergency kit, I'd be enraged by such a pathetic attempt to defend our children. I don't think I'd go for ravioli either. Professional sport bars are high in calories, protein, carbohydrates and take up little space. What is the bleach for?

A gun in the hands of someone who doesn't regularly use one is probably more dangerous to that person and his/her family than to any possible attacker.

That, of course, is just my opinion.

A few more items you may want to consider:

Instead of 2 cardboard boxes, you may want to consider a single large plastic box, many have wheels, something sturdy enough to sit on, in the event you end up in a shelter.

A couple of black Sharpee pens.

Toilet paper. (It's the little things that mean a lot.)

Bungee cords (you can almost never have too many).

50 feet of synthetic line, nylon.

A multi-tool, like a Leatherman or a Greber multi-plier.

Box of plastic zip-lock storage bags.

Those funky shears that can cut through a penny, or your jeans in a hurry.

"Always carry a towel."

Insect repellant.

Baby wipes.

Disposable camera (2)

Heavy duty plastic eating utensils

Small folding saw.

Pair of leather gloves.

Inflatable mattress, patch kit and air pump.

couple of those foam-bead pillows.

toenail clippers

couple of packets of mole skin

hard candy

extra socks

Keep all of your important records in a plastic file box(es). Keep your most important records (birth certificate, passport, insurance papers) in a single file in the event you have to abandon your vehicle. Perhaps have digital copies backed up somewhere, though I don't know what their legal validity might be, should it ever come to that.

earplugs (if you're in a shelter, you'll appreciate this)

a large trash bags (Line the main compartment of your pack with one if you're walking out. Use the smaller bags for other things you want to keep dry. Water finds its way everywhere.)

Small hand broom and dust pan.

My list is biased toward a short-term (3 to 5 days) shelter stay. After that, presumably you can go home, or you have to press on to relatives' homes somehow. If you can use your own vehicle (fuel and roads permitting), this is all manageable. If you have to rely on government transportation, or walking, you're going to be leaving most of this behind, so think about that before the National Guard starts telling you to leave the big box and get on the bus.

In the city, I'd look into doing something like converting a jogging stroller into a means of carrying the big box if you have to walk out.