The thing about an emergency kit is you never know when you are going to need it, and it will be too late once the event happens, whether it’s an evacuation from a flood or fire or a long term blizzard or power outage, keeping you hunkered down at home.

Canadian Red Cross emergency management spokesperson from Saskatchewan, David Smith, says the general guideline is to have enough supplies to last 72 hours, but for those that are more remote, you might want to add a few more days onto that.

The kit should all be in one place and preferably portable. It should include food, water, any needed prescriptions, diapers, formula, a portable radio and copies of your important documents, like your insurance information and your identification, and if you have a pet, include food and supplies for them as well.

For a full list of emergency kit recommendations click here.

Click here for more on creating a disaster kit on a budget.