It’s a good idea to have your own personal GAR pack, a backpack or satchel that is ready to grab in an instant in case of an emergency. These days, we never know what may happen. At least a 3-5 day supply of bare necessities is recommended.

There are plenty of web sites that have a list so long that you could never carry it all. Every pack should have at a bare minimum:

Flashlight

Pocket knife

Water – as much as you can carry; at least 1 gallon per day per person

Blanket (space blankets are cheap, effective and compact)

Change of clothes

First aid kit (or Band-Aids, bandages, Neosporin, gauze, etc)

Medications (prescription and OTC)

Beef Jerky or some kind of dehydrated food

Battery powered radio

Whistle to signal for help

Moist towelettes for sanitation

Wrench or pliers

Can opener

Plastic bags for personal sanitation

Toilet paper

Important family documents (insurance policies, identification and bank account records should be kept in a waterproof, portable container)

Dust masks or cotton shirt to filter air

Miniature Poker Deck for communing with your Aumakua (see Kalo) – great to have on board for advice!

Kukui Ho`Ola

Cash (enough to get by on for a week, but not lose sleep over if it were stolen)

Survivalists speak in terms of duration.: Short term is 3 days; Midterm is up to a year; Long term is the rest of your life. Plan on short term and hope for the best.

Don’t think for one minute that something like this could never happen to you. It might not, but the folks in New Orleans didn’t think it would ever happen to them! Some deaths could have been prevented if some of these folks had had their GAR packs ready.

Hurricanes, flash floods, tornadoes, wild fires, volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, terrorist attacks (or threats) could force any one of us out of our homes at a moment’s notice. It is wise to be prepared and hope you never need to put your GAR pack to test.

At the very least, have extra gallons of water on hand.