Earthquake Emergency Kit: 9 Items Most Household Kits Are Missing

Most store-bought emergency kits are built for a power outage. An earthquake emergency kit has a different job. The shaking is over in under a minute, and then you are standing in the dark on a floor covered in broken glass, with the water off and a gas line that may or may not be leaking.

That gap is why the best earthquake emergency kit advice does not come from the label on a bucket. It comes from the agencies that plan for a magnitude 7 on a real fault. Their lists name a handful of cheap items almost nobody has, and they set a supply target more than 4 times longer than the one most people quote.

What makes an earthquake emergency kit different from a regular one?

An earthquake emergency kit has to work with zero warning, in the dark, in a house full of broken glass, and for a lot longer than 3 days. No other common hazard asks for all 4 at once. A hurricane gives you days of warning; a quake gives you none, so the kit has to already be where you will be standing.

The other difference is underground. Wind and fire take out the wires overhead, and crews restring those fast. A quake breaks water mains, sewer laterals, and gas lines buried under the street. In the U.S. Geological Survey HayWired scenario, a hypothetical magnitude 7.0 on the Hayward Fault, restoration runs "months for gas, water, and highway bridges." Not days. Months.

We covered riding out the shaking and securing the things that fall in our guide to earthquake preparedness at home. This piece is only about the kit, and only about the items earthquakes demand that other disasters do not.

Why keep shoes and a flashlight in a bag tied to your bed?

Because the signature earthquake injury is a cut foot, and it happens after the shaking stops. Windows, mirrors, and dishes end up on the floor as a layer of glass you cannot see in the dark, and most people swing bare feet straight onto it.

The Earthquake Country Alliance, the group behind the ShakeOut drill, puts it in one sentence: "Keep shoes and a flashlight in a closed 'under-bed bag' tied to each bed."

Three words in that sentence are doing real work, and most people skip all three.

• Closed. An open tote, or shoes left on the floor, fills with glass and plaster dust.

• Under-bed. A bag in a closet is on the wrong side of the glass. The point is reaching it without standing up.

• Tied. Shaking slides loose objects across a floor. A bag lashed to the bed frame is still there at 3 a.m. One merely tucked under may not be.

Add leather work gloves. The glass that cuts feet cuts palms.

The flashlight is not a convenience either. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is blunt about open flame after a quake: "Do not use matches, lighters, appliances, or light switches until you are sure there are no gas leaks." Until you have checked for gas, a flashlight is the only light you are allowed to make.

What 9 items are most earthquake emergency kits missing?

1. A closed bag tied to each bed. Closed-toe shoes, a flashlight, work gloves. One per sleeping person, not one for the house.

2. An adjustable wrench staged at the gas meter. The USGS supply list calls for "crescent and pipe wrenches to turn off gas and water supplies." A wrench in a bin in the garage is a wrench you do not have. Zip-tie a 10 or 12 inch adjustable to the meter riser.

3. A whistle on every bag. The Earthquake Country Alliance says to teach everyone "to use emergency whistles and/or to knock three times repeatedly if trapped." A whistle carries through debris and walls. A voice gives out fast.

4. N95 dust masks. Cracked masonry puts concrete and mortar dust in the air. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health lists "soil, sand, concrete, brick, and cement" as sources of respirable crystalline silica, the dust behind silicosis. The CDC's post-quake guidance is to "protect your mouth, nose, and eyes from dust."

5. A pry bar. Frames rack out of square during strong shaking and doors jam shut. A 24 to 30 inch flat bar opens one without destroying it.

6. Sanitation supplies. The USGS list includes "waterproof, heavy-duty plastic bags for waste disposal" for a reason. The bucket setup is below.

7. Cash in small bills. Card readers and ATMs both need power and a network.

8. Two weeks of water, not 3 days. The biggest gap in most kits, and it has official numbers behind it.

9. A second and third kit. One in the car, one at work.

Notice what is not on that list: anything tactical, branded, or subscription-based. Preparedness is a mindset, not a stockpile.

Should you shut off the gas after an earthquake?

No, not unless you smell gas or hear it hissing. Shutting it off on a hunch costs you heat, hot water, and cooking for days, and you are not permitted to turn it back on yourself.

The CDC draws the line at a detectable leak: "If you smell gas or see a broken line, shut off the main valve from the outside." Cascade Natural Gas tells customers to "only turn off your gas if you smell or hear natural gas leaking," notes "you will need a crescent or pipe wrench to turn the valve," then adds the part that surprises people: once it is off, leave it off. A technician has to check the system, restore service, and relight the appliances.

So: keep the wrench at the meter, know the quarter turn that closes the valve (the hole in the tang ends up crosswise to the pipe), and leave it alone when there is no leak.

The Earthquake Country Alliance condenses it to "know the location of utility shutoffs and keep needed tools nearby." If you have never found yours, our walkthrough on how to shut off your gas, water, and electricity is a 20 minute job.

How much water should an earthquake emergency kit hold?

14 gallons per person, which is 1 gallon per person per day for 2 weeks, plus 14 more for each pet. That is the published figure from the Washington Emergency Management Division, which tells households to gather supplies to last "at least 2 weeks."

Oregon publishes the same target. The Oregon Office of Emergency Management defines being 2 Weeks Ready as having "an emergency plan and enough supplies for you and everyone in your household to survive for at least two weeks following a disaster." The USGS supply list agrees, calling for "water for each family member for at least two weeks."

So where did 72 hours come from? It is a reasonable floor for a fast-recovery event and better than nothing. It is not a planning number for a major quake on an urban fault. The HayWired fact sheet puts gas, water, and bridge restoration in months, and estimates 44 billion dollars of lost gross state product in the first 6 months. Pipes under a liquefied street do not get fixed in 3 days.

Two notes most guides skip. 14 gallons weighs about 117 pounds, so it lives at home in rotation, not in a go-bag. And your water heater is a 30 to 50 gallon tank you already own, which is exactly why strapping it is worth doing. Our breakdown of how much water to store per person covers rotation and containers.

What do you do when the toilet stops working?

You stop flushing and switch to buckets, because a cracked sewer lateral does not announce itself. This is the least glamorous part of an earthquake emergency kit and the first one people regret skipping.

Washington's Clallam County emergency guidance is direct: "After a disaster, DO NOT flush a toilet until given the OK by a local official." You cannot inspect the damage. If the line is "broken under your house or under the street, it will be hard to impossible to know," and a flush puts sewage under your floor.

The method Pacific Northwest agencies teach is the twin-bucket emergency toilet, and the trick is separation:

• Two 5 gallon buckets, one for urine and one for solids. Keeping them apart controls the smell, because the worst odor comes from the two mixing.

• A tight-fitting lid for each bucket, plus one bucket-mounted toilet seat.

• Carbon cover material for the solids bucket: finely shredded paper, sawdust, or dried leaves.

• Toilet paper, soap, disposable gloves, and hand sanitizer alongside.

Plan for weeks, not days. The same guidance points at New Zealand, where residents were "unable to flush their toilets for months." Two buckets, two lids, a seat, and a bag of shredded paper is cheap gear for a genuinely miserable problem.

Why split your earthquake emergency kit across home, car, and work?

Because an earthquake does not wait until everyone is home. You spend most of your waking hours somewhere other than your bedroom, so one kit in the hall closet covers a minority of your week. Washington Emergency Management advises building toward the 2 week goal at home while also "making smaller kits for your vehicle, work, and other places you spend time." Each one is different:

• Car kit. Shoes you can walk 10 miles in, water, a paper map, gloves, a flashlight, a phone battery. Bridges get inspected before they reopen, and cell networks jam long before they fail.

• Work kit. Closed-toe shoes, a flashlight, a whistle, an N95, water, and 3 days of any prescription. If you wear dress shoes to an office on the 14th floor, the shoes are the whole point.

• Home kit. The 2 week water and food, the sanitation buckets, the pry bar, and the wrench at the meter.

When is the Great ShakeOut drill in 2026?

The 2026 Great ShakeOut is October 15, 2026 at 10:15 a.m. local time, per the Oregon Office of Emergency Management. The ShakeOut program lists that date for every participating region. It is always the third Thursday of October.

The drill is 60 seconds of Drop, Cover, and Hold On. The useful part is the 20 minutes after, the best standing appointment you will get to audit the kit. Do these 4 things the same hour:

1. Check every bed. Is the bag there, closed, tied, and holding shoes that still fit whoever sleeps there?

2. Put the wrench at the meter and confirm you can reach the valve without moving anything.

3. Count your water in gallons and write it down. Compare it to 14 per person.

4. Turn on every flashlight. Replace what is dead.

None of that takes a weekend or a budget. You don't have to be extreme to be ready. Start with what you have and build from there.

Frequently asked questions

What should be in an earthquake emergency kit?

The earthquake-specific core is a closed bag tied to each bed holding shoes, a flashlight, and work gloves, plus an adjustable wrench at the gas meter, a whistle, N95 dust masks, a pry bar, and twin-bucket sanitation supplies. Then the general basics the USGS lists: water for at least 2 weeks, shelf-stable food with a manual can opener, a first aid kit, a battery radio, a fire extinguisher, and your medications.

How many days of supplies do you need for an earthquake?

Two weeks, not 3 days. Both the Washington Emergency Management Division and the Oregon Office of Emergency Management publish a 2 week readiness target, and the USGS supply list calls for water for at least 2 weeks. The 72 hour figure is widely considered too short for a major quake, because buried water, sewer, and gas lines take far longer to repair than overhead power.

Should you turn off your gas after every earthquake?

No. Shut the gas off only if you smell gas or hear it leaking, the line both the CDC and gas utilities draw. Once it is off, leave it off and call your utility, because a service technician has to inspect the system, restore service, and relight your appliances. In a widespread event that call can take days, so shutting off the gas needlessly costs you heat and hot water for nothing.

Why do you need shoes in your earthquake kit?

Because broken glass covers the floor in the dark, and cut feet are the classic post-quake injury. The Earthquake Country Alliance advises keeping shoes and a flashlight in a closed under-bed bag tied to each bed, so you can put them on before you stand up. Closed-toe shoes with a stiff sole are the right choice. Slippers and sandals are not.

Do you need a dust mask after an earthquake?

Yes, and an N95 is the practical choice. Cracked masonry fills the air with concrete and mortar dust, and NIOSH names concrete, brick, and cement as sources of respirable crystalline silica. The CDC's post-earthquake guidance is to protect your mouth, nose, and eyes from dust, which a cloth covering does poorly and a fitted N95 does well.

The numbers, in one place

On that last row: we looked, and no emergency management agency we could find publishes a dollar figure for emergency cash, so any number you see online is a guess. The reason to carry it is mechanical. Card readers and ATMs need power and a network, so keep what covers a few days of small purchases, in bills small enough that nobody has to make change.

You never know, but you can always be ready.

Sources: U.S. Geological Survey, USGS HayWired scenario fact sheet, Earthquake Country Alliance, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Washington Emergency Management Division, Oregon Office of Emergency Management, Clallam County, Washington Emergency Management, Cascade Natural Gas, The Great ShakeOut.