Emergency Car Kit

 In the event of an emergency there is a good chance that someone in your family will be away from home.  It would be advisable to assemble an Emergency Car Kit to help sustain those away from home in the event something were to happen.  Items can be stored in a backpack or a tote.  Below is a list of suggested items.

Car Emergency Preparedness Checklist
There is no place of greater importance to keep a survival kit than your car because of the fact that you are usually located within close proximity of your vehicle at all times and can gain immediate access to emergency supplies in a disaster situation.

Use the car emergency preparedness checklist below ensure that you have the proper emergency kits and supplies in your car to prepare you and your loved ones for a disaster:

Emergency Food
Just keeping preserved food in your car is not enough because most store bought food will not store safely in a car for more than a few months. A 3 day survival supply of emergency food is the minimum survival recommendation and you should maintain a week's supply of emergency food in your vehicle for proper emergency preparedness.

Emergency Water
You should also keep a minimum of 3 days of emergency drinking water in your car emergency kit. However, storing bottled water is not the smartest or cheapest way to store emergency water in your car. Because of the extreme temperatures that occur inside your vehicle, bottled water will store safely for less than 6 months. (If you keep bottled water in the car rotate it often.)  Since water remains the most important survival item to have, each car survival kit should have boxed water brand name known as Aqua Bllox and water purification tablets which can be used to purify extra water for drinking without having to carry it in your kit if you have to walk to a safe location.

Emergency Shelter Supplies
If you get stuck in your car or have to travel by foot in the cold, you will need proper emergency shelter supplies. That is why you need emergency shelter supplies in your car emergency preparedness kit. Each of our car survival kits come with the proper shelter supplies including emergency thermal blankets for warmth, ponchos to protect you from the weather, and a tube tent for easy emergency shelter from the elements. Additional recommended emergency home shelter supplies include body warmer pads.


This list was created by  the KITSAP COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT.