US and Canada 72-Hour Kits: What Ready.gov and Get Prepared Say

Quick answer: Canada asks households to be self-sufficient for at least 72 hours, with 2 litres of water per person per day in the kit. Ready.gov now says to store 1 gallon (about 3.8 litres) per person per day for “several days”, rather than naming a fixed number. Both say to add more if you can. In places hit by hurricanes or big earthquakes, officials go further: Florida asks for at least 7 days and Oregon for 2 weeks.

The “72-hour kit” is one of the best-known ideas in household preparedness. It comes from a simple point: after a big emergency, help may take days to reach everyone, so households need to look after themselves at first.

Here is what the official US and Canadian programmes say today, what has changed recently, and when you should plan for longer.

The US: Ready.gov’s “Build a Kit”

Ready.gov is the public preparedness site run by FEMA’s Ready Campaign. Its kit page says that after an emergency you may need to manage on your own for several days.

The core water advice is 1 gallon per person per day, for drinking and sanitation. Ready.gov’s water page adds that children, nursing mothers, people who are ill and anyone in a hot climate may need more, and that needs can double in very hot weather.

What Ready.gov puts in a basic kit

Water and at least a several-day supply of non-perishable food
Battery-powered or hand-crank radio, plus a NOAA Weather Radio
Flashlight and spare batteries
First aid kit
Whistle and dust mask
Plastic sheeting, scissors and duct tape
Moist towelettes, rubbish bags and plastic ties for sanitation
Wrench or pliers, and a manual can opener
Local maps
Mobile phone with chargers and a backup battery

Its “additional items” list includes prescription and non-prescription medicines, glasses, baby and pet supplies, important documents, blankets, a change of clothes, a fire extinguisher, and cash or traveller’s cheques.

Ready.gov also suggests keeping kits at work and in the car, and reviewing your kit once a year as your family’s needs change.

What changed: from “three days” to “several days”

Older versions of Ready.gov’s checklist asked for water and food for at least three days. An archived Ready.gov checklist from 2009 uses that wording. The current kit page, last updated in 2026, and the water page say “several days” instead.

Ready.gov hasn’t explained the change on the pages we checked. In practice, it nudges people away from treating three days as enough.

Canada: Get Prepared’s 72 hours

Canada’s national Get Prepared advice has moved from the old getprepared.gc.ca address to Canada.ca. The core message hasn’t changed: be ready to be self-sufficient for at least 72 hours, whether you shelter at home or evacuate.

The emergency kit checklist asks for 2 litres of water per person per day for drinking, cooking and hygiene. Health Canada’s food and water page puts it slightly differently: 2 litres per person per day to drink, plus another 2 litres for cooking and cleaning. If you have the space, the more generous figure is the safer one to aim for.

What Canada puts in a basic kit

Item	Notes from the official checklist
Water	2 litres per person per day
Food	Non-perishable, such as canned food and energy bars, plus a manual can opener
Light	Wind-up or battery-powered flashlight, and extra batteries
Radio	Wind-up or battery-powered
Power	Phone charger or power bank
Health	First aid kit and medicines
Money	Cash in smaller bills and coins
Documents	Copies of ID, your emergency plan and contacts, medication list, insurance and banking records
Other	Extra keys, toilet paper, tissues and towels

The checklist also says to add more supplies if you can, in case the emergency lasts longer. Health Canada suggests replacing emergency food every year or by the date on the label.

FEMA in 2025–2026: what has and hasn’t changed

FEMA has been under review. In January 2025, an executive order set up a FEMA Review Council to examine the agency. In May 2026, the council approved its final report.

Most of its recommendations are about money and responsibility after disasters. They include raising the cost threshold for federal disaster declarations, paying recovery money to states as up-front formula grants, and reducing FEMA’s staff. The recommendations are not binding. Some could be done by executive action, while others would need Congress to pass laws.

None of this changes the household advice. The Ready Campaign is still running. On 1 September 2026, FEMA launched National Preparedness Month under the theme “Americans Stand Ready”. It asked households to make a plan, sign up for local alerts, and build a kit over time using Ready.gov’s list.

If anything, the direction of travel is towards more self-reliance at household and state level. That is a good reason to have your own supplies in order.

When officials say 72 hours is not enough

Three days is a minimum. Several US and Canadian agencies ask for more where the risks are bigger.

Who	Hazard	What they ask for
Florida Division of Emergency Management	Hurricanes	Food and water for each family member for at least 7 days
Oregon Department of Emergency Management	Earthquakes and other disasters	Supplies for at least 2 weeks (“2 Weeks Ready”). At 1 gallon a day, that is about 14 gallons (53 litres) of water per person
British Columbia (PreparedBC)	Earthquakes and other disasters	4 litres of water per person per day, and food for three days to a week
Ready.gov	Hurricanes	Warns you may not be able to get supplies for days or even weeks afterwards
Ready.gov	Winter storms	Asks you to gather supplies in case you need to stay home for several days without power

If you might have to leave quickly, for example ahead of a wildfire, PreparedBC also recommends a separate grab-and-go bag alongside your supplies at home.

What this means wherever you live

The 72-hour kit is a good first goal for any household, anywhere. Once you have it, think about your local risks:

Hurricanes, big storms or long power cuts: aim for a week.
Major earthquake zones: two weeks is a sensible target, as Oregon advises.
Cold winters: add heating, warm bedding and a safe way to cook.

Use the more generous water figure if you can. One gallon (about 3.8 litres) per person per day covers drinking and basic hygiene. Our guide to how much water to store explains storage. For the full kit, see our 72-hour emergency kit guide, and for longer stays at home, the 30-day food stockpile guide.

Not sure how far your supplies would stretch? See how many days your household would last.

72-hour kit checklist (US and Canada)

Every amount here is a minimum from official advice, so plan for your own household’s needs, and always follow the instructions of your local emergency management officials.

Sources & further reading

Every fact in this post was checked against the sources listed above on 1 November 2026. Advice changes: always follow your local authorities.