Last reviewed 30 October 2026
If a hurricane or major storm is coming, prepare for two weeks, not three days. After the biggest recent hurricanes, power, fuel and stocked shelves took one to two weeks to come back — that gap, not the storm day itself, is what your supplies are for. Work in this order: water, food, medicine, power and light, information, then documents and evacuation.
Water first
Store at least 1 gallon per person per day — a family of four needs 56 gallons for two weeks (run your own numbers). Fill every container you own before landfall, including tubs and coolers, and keep bought storage off the floor, inside the cooled part of the house. If storage space runs out, store what fits and plan to purify the rest: a gravity filter or purification tablets turn a two-week problem into a manageable one.
Food your family will actually eat
Buy food your household already eats — a crisis is the wrong time to introduce new food to a small child. Build the two weeks on staples (rice, beans, oats, peanut butter, canned meat) with a no-cook layer for the first days when there's no power or water to spare: bars, ready meals, canned food eaten cold. A teenager eats more than an adult — plan 2,500 calories a day for teens, 2,300 for adults, less for small children.
Babies and toddlers
Stock diapers and wipes for the full stretch (roughly 8–10 changes a day for a young toddler), formula if you use it — ready-to-feed is safest — plus baby food, children's pain reliever, and a comfort item or two. Children overheat faster than adults; shade and fluids are safety items, not comforts.
Power, light and information
Lanterns or flashlights for every room you'll use at night, batteries, and a charged power bank per adult. Skip candles around small children. A battery or hand-crank radio is how you'll hear boil-water notices and shelter information when phones die — local radio keeps broadcasting when networks don't.
Medicine and documents
Keep at least two weeks of prescription medication if your pharmacy allows it, plus a basic first aid kit. Photograph or copy insurance papers, IDs and medical cards into a waterproof folder, and keep a digital copy in cloud storage. Fill the car's tank early — gas stations run dry and pumps need power.
If you evacuate instead
Everything above packs down: the 3-day version of this list — water, no-cook food, medications, diapers, documents, chargers, cash in small bills — is your go-kit. Decide your destination before the evacuation order, not during it.
Sources: Ready.gov — Hurricanes · Ready.gov — Build a Kit
Run your household's exact numbers — water, calories, diapers, gear and cost, for 3 days to 90 — with the free DayCount Supply calculator.
Open the calculator