I tell people the most important item to have in your disaster kit is water. People start dying after 72 hours/three days if they don't have water. We have 10 gallons stored in blue 5-gallon containers for my wife and me. Then recently I blogged on acquiring a camping/hiking-style water filter for both of our car kits.
Of course, having a water filter still means you have to find water. Which comes to the tip I got from Steve, a Southwest Airlines pilot just this past Monday. He recommends carrying a golf ball in your mobile disaster kit, since they always seem to "find the water."
I could not resist!
Eric Holdeman is a contributing writer for Emergency Management magazine and is the former director of the King County, Wash., Office of Emergency Management.
