Preparedness deck

Everything your squad does in the first hour, the first day, and the first week.

Field checklists, gear lists and a printable one-page plan. Work through it once with your household, print it, and keep a copy in every go-bag and glovebox.

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Phase checklists

Tick these in order. Each phase assumes the one before it is done.

01The first hour

0–60 minutes

Account for people, kill the hazards, decide stay or go.

Account for every person and animal in the household
Check gas, water and power shutoffsKnow where the wrench lives
Send one status message to the squad threadLocation, condition, plan
Pull the go-bags to the door
Decide: shelter in place or evacuateWrite the decision down with a time

02The first 24 hours

1–24 hours

Stabilize water, light, comms and a check-in rhythm.

Fill every clean container and the bathtub liner
Set the 12-hour squad check-in schedule
Switch to battery or hand-crank radio for official alerts
Move refrigerated food to a cooler, eat perishables first
Confirm the primary and fallback meeting points with everyone

03The first week

Days 2–7

Ration, rotate, repair, and pool what the squad has.

Ration to one gallon of water per person per day
Post needs and surplus on the squad boardFuel, meds, formula, tools
Rotate a watch if the area is unstable
Log medications, doses and refill deadlines
Document damage with photos before cleanup

04Recovery

Week 2 and beyond

Restock, debrief, and close the gaps the event exposed.

Restock everything used within 14 days
Run a squad debrief: what failed, who was unreachable
Update contact methods and meeting points in the app
Recruit for the skill gaps the event exposed
Re-download the offline packet with the new plan

Gear lists

Four kits cover almost every scenario. Split the cost across the squad — nobody needs two of everything.

72-hour go-bag

Per person, staged by the door and in each vehicle.

3 L water + filter straw
2,000 kcal/day of no-cook food
Headlamp + spare batteries
Trauma kit: tourniquet, gauze, shears
Emergency blanket and dry layer
Printed squad packet + cash
Multi-tool and 25 ft paracord
N95 masks and nitrile gloves
Paper map with meeting points marked

Shelter-in-place kit

Two weeks at home with no power, water or deliveries.

14 gal water per person
Two weeks shelf-stable food per person
Manual can opener and camp stove + fuel
Battery/crank radio (NOAA capable)
Power station or inverter + solar panel
Sanitation: bucket, liners, absorbent, bleach
Prescription buffer (30 days) and OTC meds
Fire extinguisher and CO detector
Gas shutoff wrench and duct tape

Comms kit

Assume cell towers are down or saturated.

GMRS/FRS radios with charged spares
NOAA weather radio
Written frequency and callsign card
Offline maps downloaded to each phone
Battery bank per person (10,000 mAh+)
Whistle and signal mirror
Written out-of-area contact number

Vehicle kit

Evacuate on short notice without a store stop.

Half tank minimum, always
Jumper cables and tire plug kit
Tow strap, gloves, folding shovel
Road flares or LED beacons
Water, food bars, blankets for the whole family
Printed route cards with two alternates

Printable family plan

Fill it in by hand. One page, no power required.

Family emergency plan

Squad ______________________ · Date __________

People

Household members: Name · phone · special needs
Animals: Name · food · carrier location
Out-of-area contact: Often reachable when local lines are not

Places

Primary meeting point: Walking distance from home
Fallback meeting point: Outside the neighborhood
Regional rally point: If the area is evacuated
Evacuation route A / B: Avoid the same bridge or canyon twice

Comms

Radio channel / privacy code
Check-in times: Every 12 hours by default
Signal if you must leave a location: Note left where?

Utilities & essentials

Gas shutoff location
Water shutoff location
Breaker panel location
Critical medications and doses

Start your squad Contact