Be Ready For An Emergency With a Grab & GO Bag

Grab and GO: How to prepare for an emergency.

The tornadoes sweeping across the USA are a good time to be reminded that even if you are not in the path of a hurricane, flood, tornado or wildfire, it’s important to be ready for an emergency.

Pack an emergency Grab and Go bag and be ready to evacuate quickly, including for a personal family emergency that requires immediate travel.

Emergency Grab & Go List

These are the must haves from the NYC Dept. of Emergency Management, to Grab and GO:

Copies of your important documents

• Including insurance cards, photo IDs, proof of address, etc.
• Keep them in a waterproof and portable container within your Grab and Go bag.

ecoxplorer tip – 

• Ask you insurance company if it will accept digital copies of your important documents, and place them on a small portable drive.

Extra set of car keys and house keys

Cash

• Keep at least $50-$100 on hand, especially in small bills, since ATM machines and electronic cash registers won’t be working if the power is out.

Bottled water and non-perishable food

• Such as energy or granola bars and energy supplement drinks

Flashlight

• Traditional flashlight bulbs have limited lifespans, so pack extra batteries.
• Light Emitting Diode (LED) flashlights, however, are more durable and last up to 10 times longer than traditional bulbs.

Battery-operated AM/FM radio and extra batteries

• It’s also a good idea to have one of those portable power packs to provide emergency power to your mobile phone, and be sure it’s fully charged.

A list of the medications each member of your household takes, why they take them, and their dosages.

• Medication information and other essential personal items.
• If you store extra medication in your Go Bag, be sure to refill it before it expires.

First-aid kit

Contact and meeting place information for your household

• Include an old-fashioned paper regional map

Child care supplies or other special care items

• Pack a change of clothing for each member of the family.

A Go Bag should be packed in a sturdy, easy-to-carry container such as a backpack or suitcase on wheels, and it should be easy to find, grab and go if you have to leave your home in a hurry.

A Go Bag should be ready to go at all times of the year, for any emergency.

Find more tips on planning for emergencies on Ready.gov. 

Let’s hope you don’t need it.  But it always pays to be prepared.

This grab and go advice was published originally on my other website NYC on the Cheap which was hacked, ransomed and destroyed in Feb. 2022.

This article was published originally in 2016 and updated annually, including for 2025. 

We re-publish it regularly, depending on severe weather events in the news.

ecoXplorer Evelyn Kanter is a journalist with 20+ years of experience as a newspaper and magazine writer, radio & TV news producer & reporter, and author of guidebooks and smartphone apps – all focusing on travel, automotive, the environment and your rights as a consumer.

ecoXplorer Evelyn Kanter is President Emeritus of the International Motor Press Assn. (IMPA), a former Board Member of the Society of American Travel Writers (SATW) and a current member of the North American Travel Journalists Assn. (NATJA) and the North American Snowsports Journalists Assn. (NASJA).

Contact me at evelyn@ecoxplorer.com.

Copyright (C) Evelyn Kanter