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Welcome to Week 3 of National Preparedness Month! This week's theme is:

How to… Build an Emergency Kit

A disaster supplies kit is simply a collection of basic items your household may need in the event of an emergency.

Try to assemble your kit well in advance of an emergency. You may have to evacuate at a moment’s notice and take essentials with you. You will probably not have time to search for the supplies you need or shop for them. Make sure that the kit is physically located near an exterior door that is accessible should an event like an earthquake make the structure unsafe to enter.

You may need to survive on your own after an emergency. This means having your own food, water and other supplies in sufficient quantity to last for at least 5 days. Local officials and relief workers will be on the scene after a disaster but they cannot reach everyone immediately. You could get help in hours or it might take days.

Additionally, basic services such as electricity, gas, water, sewage treatment and telephones may be cut off for days or even a week, or longer. Your supplies kit should contain items to help you manage during these outages.

Information on disaster kits and much more can be found at www.ready.gov