New to all of this and would like some help.

Hi everyone,

I live in Washington DC and would like to know if you guys could recommend a good survival kit for two people that would cover all of the bases. Basically, I live in an apartment in the city and am worried about terrorism. I would like a kit where if something happens, I guess I could hole up for a couple days in the apt. until things clear up. I guess the kit would need a radio, food, water, etc.

Could you guys recommend a good kit and a reputable company ? I'd like to spend between 100-150 if possible.

Thanks for the help.

Greetings flashman, thanks for stopping by.

I'm sure that you'll get a few responses to your question, but thought I'd jump in. If you are looking for a kit to make life easier in your apartment in case of something happening, I would stock up on a few supplies to start with. Buy a few 7 gallon water carriers (think 1 gal of water per person per day), have a way of cooking such as a camping stove, coleman stove, propane/charcoal grill (be sure to do it outdoors though), and make sure you have extra blankets or sleeping bags. This should be mandatory in anyone's dwelling considering that a contractor could cut a water main, gas line, or electrical line and not just being prepared for terrorist activities. Also if you have any portable radios/TV's in your house, stock up on batteries preferrably lithium since they have a 10 year shelf life. Use your portable electronics and see how long they last on a set of batteries to get an idea of how many you may need.

As an experiment, take a weekend or a few days and turn off all power, water, and heating. See how you do with what you have, and then find out what you may need to get. For the $100 to $150 you are looking to spend, you should be able to buy what you need for way less than that price.

There is a section here on ETS that will give you a great start - adapt it to your circumstances. Out here in California, someone always sells "earthquake kits" after a major shaker. Uniformly they are pretty junky and way overpriced, although probably better than nothing at all.

You named the basics in your post. Just off hand, be sure you have good flashlights and adequate batteries to power them and your radio, lots of plastic bags for wate disposal, etc. (very versatile), a good basic first aid kit, and good reading material, crossword puzzles, etc. to pass the time.

Just now saw a news release on CNN advising us all to stock up for threat level "Orange". I am off to supplement my supply of plastic sheeting. Don't forget the duct tape. <img src="images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />

As a number of others here have suggested, instead of buying a "kit"; that often has inferior or useless items, try and assemble your own kit using quality items that are actually needed. It has been often suggested that when preparing for any type of emergency, try using a severe storm as the model for which to prepare. Think of what you would need if you lost all your utilities for 3-4 days. Water, food, blankets, flashlights w/batteries, radio, sanitary supplies are a start. Make a list of those items you think you will need and start to assemble them into some type of container, Rubbermaid products are a good start for a home kit. Check out both here and other web sites what items are recommended. We would be happy to check out your list or items in your possession and make recommendations. By assembling your own kit/supplies, you will have started to use your best "survival tool" your mind. Pete

if you want to stay home during a "incident", just buy more growcery's than normal and rotate the food ( use the older stuff first.) and if you buy in bulk it will be even cheaper than your normall growcery's ! same goes for most other things like batterys, trash bags, fuel, etc.
using formiliar food is much beter than ration's since you are used to it.
most emegency things can be found around the house, you just have to notice it. using those thing to construct a kit will be much cheaper and it will be closer to you specs.

Thanks for all of your suggestions. I'm glad I was able to find some folks to answer my question. This is a fantastic web site.

Fema preparedness checklist
Very good recent addition from a new member
low budget urban thread
very similar thread
discussion from 911 nyc survivors
survival comm's
urban edc

Flash, other than what the other guys have suggested I would consider a chemical toilet in your list. It could get pretty bad if your water was cut off following an incident of any type. I would also consider something like heavy plastic sheet and some wood to effect temporary repairs to any glass blown out, in fact while i'm rabbiting on about glass why not get some self adhesive film to put over any exterior glass to stop it shattering, therefore cutting down on the projectile hazard glass produces. Other thoughts, decent multi-class fire extinguisher about 9 litres of wet foam and a 2kg dry powder or CO2 for electrical fires.

I hope this helps and welcome to the discussion group.

Johno

Welcome, you've gotten some great advice so far, and if I may, I'd like to take it a step further.
In case you haven't noticed, trafic in the DC area is undesireable on a good day. Street closings and traffic jams are just a way of life. While you'fe creating a house kit, you might start one for your vehicle too. If you happened to be over here in VA when the next attack occurs, you're not getting home because all the bridges will probably be closed at least temporarily. Doug has a good vehicle kit listed on this site that you can build and modify to fit your needs.

Just a thought,
Chris.

Everyone gave great advice,I'll just add my 2 cents.You will do one of two things,shelter in place,or bug out.If sheltering in place,I strongly advise you to keep duct tape and plastic sheeting to seal up windows and doors if the attack came in the N,B,C form.Now be carefull using things like camp stoves and the like inside,a CO detector would be nice to monitor this.

I too buy a little extra food each week and rotate my supplies.I like food that doesn't need a lot of water or heat to prepair.Some people like to store rice and pasta for it keeps a long time,well you might not have the water or fuel to spare to cook it.Just a thought.

After not having power for 11 days once I realized I needed a battery radio,so I got one that gets am/fm and TV channels(great for news).I like battery operated lights along with oil lamps.candles are cheap but they cause 30 house fires a year in the city I work for(not that oil lamps are all that much safer) something to think about.

I also have a Coleman heater that runs on those small green propane tanks.$30,and it heats a couple rooms fine.

Keep in mind police,fire,ems and the utility companies will be overtaxed,you will need to do all those tasks yourself.I could go on and on but I got to leave for work,good luck and maybe later we can go over B.O.B's.

The epiphany of being prepared often elicits the same responce of a lost hiker- panic! We want to have it all NOW <img src="images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" /> A year later your wiser and holding a garage sale or listing stuff on EBAY; the #10 freeze dried lima beans, his and her Gilly suits.... So, like our lost hiker sit down, take a deep breath and make a plan. Realizing the need and assembling even the most basic of supplies and tools just put you in the minority of prepared people.

lol! Panic just about sums it up! I've been a city boy all my life (just figured out what a "leatherman's tool" is <img src="images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />). But, I've taken the deep breath and am now putting together my kit. Your site is really well done. Thanks for everything and I'm sure I'll be posting more questions later!

Flashman, since you live in the D.C. area, check out Costco, Sam's Club and Ollie's for many items you may need at reasonable prices. When you get the chance take a Red Cross First Aid and CPR class. The best preparation is having the knowledge and training on how to use those items you buy. Trained individuals generally do not panic in time of crisis, their training will kick in and they become part of the solution for themselves, their families and community. Pete

I agree totally with pete-knowledge is the best first aid item you can have-kits are a brilliant 2nd best!

Mark