Re: Emergency Preparedness
My kit is very basic because I don’t have any kids or pets… when you prepare a kit for yourself, prepare one for your pet too!
Shelter in place kit should have enough food/water to last for 2 weeks for each member of the family.. for go kit, recommendation is a 3 day supply of water and food, it can be a duffle bag, backpack for children, something on the wheels so you don’t have any trouble lugging it around.
Here is the sample pamphlet that I use and distribute all the time and highly recommend these items in the kit!
http://www.ready.gov/america/_downloads/checklist.pdf
For some information, check this out:
http://www.fema.gov/pdf/library/epc.pdf
Tips:
Prescription medicine:
(It works in my state, check with your insurance company and pharmacy if you can get the refill 3-4 days in advance)
If you are on a prescription medicine that gives you a supply for only 30 days.. get the refill on 25-26th day and store away those 3-4 pills (in labeled containers) if you continue doing so for a year, you will actually have a back up medication for almost a month) make sure you rotate them so they dun expire.
Cell phone and charger..
If you have an old (not broken cell phone) stash it away.. it can come handy during an emergency because some phones do allow you to call 911!
For children..
don’t buy new toys for the kit, in fact keep their favorite doll, stuffed animal, whatever it is so it looks familiar and gives comforth to them in case of an emergency. Better yet, have children be involved in preparing the kit and ask for their opinion.. they can help to remind you about changing/rotating the supplies in your kit.. make them responsible for such things 
Cash..
Important… credit cards may not work, ATMS might not be open/available!!
Develop and discuss your plan with your family.. and like I said before keep a list of out of state family/ friends in handy.. it played a critical role in emergencies in teh past.. if it’s a local emergency you might not be able to reach your family in the town but you might be able to make a call to someone in another state to inform about your well being!!
Here is a sample for family disaster plan.. I usually distribute this but I recommend developing one that fits your needs.. this should be used just as a guideline!
http://www.mass.gov/samh/pdfs/dph_family_displan.pdf
Hope it helps.. if anyone has any question, please do ask