Light & power
Information
Health & first aid
Food & water
Hygiene & household
Personal needs
Home emergency kit vs grab bag
They serve different purposes. A home emergency kit helps you manage disruption while staying at home. A grab bag is a smaller set of essentials that can be taken if authorities tell you to leave quickly.
Home kit
Keep the main supplies together in an accessible place. Include your household-specific needs and enough essentials for a short period of disruption.
Grab bag
Keep a smaller, portable set ready. If there is a fire, leave immediately and do not delay to collect a bag or belongings.
Make the checklist fit your household
Consider people, pets, medication, mobility, communication needs and anything else that would be difficult to replace during a disruption.
Check the kit regularly
Replace items that expire, recharge batteries and power banks, and update contact details when they change.
Keep important information offline
A paper copy of key numbers and essential information can help when your phone, internet connection or power is unavailable.
UK sources
Ready72 summarises established guidance. Use the official sources below for the latest incident-specific information.
Start with one useful action.
Check what you already have, tick off the gaps and use the full Ready72 guide to plan for water, power cuts, flooding and other short-term disruptions.