72 Hours Without Utilities – 9 Items You’ll Need after Disaster Strikes

Natural disasters like hurricanes, tornadoes, and floods often cause widespread destruction, leaving many without power, water, or gas for days. Year after year heroic linesmen come together to re-establish power as soon as possible after a hurricane or a tornado strikes. While they’re doing everything in their power to restore the grid, the first 72 hours after a disaster are still going to be mostly on you to survive if you’ve decided to stay in place.

The same has been true for Hurricane Milton which threatened mass destruction when it was still a Category 5 hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico, though, thankfully, it lessened to a Category 3 on landfall near Siesta Key, which has still been destructive enough to leave at least five dead and millions without power, but could have been much, much worse.

If you live in an area prone to devastating weather you’ll probably want to do a lot of prepping, but if you’re new to prepping, it might be hard to know where exactly to start, and that’s what we’re looking at in this article, with a focus on what you’ll need if you decide to stay, or you’re forced to, as many have been during Hurricane Milton, by gas shortages at pumps due to the mass evacuations, over 2000 gas stations in Florida running out of fuel these days.

1. Water and Purification Supplies

Water is your most essential resource in the first 72 hours without utilities. The recommended minimum is one gallon of water per person per day, covering both drinking and sanitation needs. However, when utilities are down, accessing clean water can become impossible. It’s not enough to have bottled water; you should also have water purification tablets or a portable water filter, as well as something called flocculants.

The best advice for water is to boil it, as that’s the simplest tried and tested way to have good drinking water. Flocculants can help with that as well as they clear particles in water. At the very least have, besides stored water, a flocculant and a camping stove so you can turn any water into drinkable water.

2. Non-Perishable Food for Quick Nourishment

When the power goes out, refrigerated and frozen foods spoil quickly. For the first 72 hours, you’ll need non-perishable, ready-to-eat foods that don’t require cooking. Canned goods like beans, vegetables, and soups are staples, as are dry goods such as energy bars, nuts, and jerky. Look for high-calorie, nutrient-dense options to maintain your energy during a high-stress situation.

Also take into account how your food is portioned, as following a disaster you might be forced to evacuate nonetheless, if your home is no longer habitable and you won’t realistically be lugging around a sack of beans, even if that would be the cheapest option.

3. First Aid Kit and Prescription Medications

In the immediate aftermath of a disaster, medical services may be delayed or unavailable. A well-stocked first aid kit is vital for treating injuries and ailments while you wait for help. Include basics like adhesive bandages, antiseptic wipes, pain relievers, gauze, and medical tape. In this regard, remember that more of the basics is usually better as a lot of cuts and scrapes are the more likely injuries post-disaster

Don’t forget to include prescription medications you or your family members may need. Refill prescriptions regularly to ensure you always have a sufficient supply in case pharmacies are closed or inaccessible for an extended period. It’s also a good idea to store over-the-counter medications for common issues like allergies, indigestion, or colds.

Be sure to pack in your first aid kit some superglue as it’s a sterile and a quick way to close up small cuts and nicks.

4. Battery-Powered Radio and Backup Power Sources

When utilities go down, communication systems often follow. You can be cut off from vital news and emergency updates during those critical 72 hours. A battery-powered or hand-crank radio is your best way to stay informed. NOAA weather radios are particularly helpful for receiving official emergency alerts and updates about ongoing conditions.

To ensure your electronic devices stay powered, have backup power sources like extra batteries, a solar charger, or a portable power bank. These can help keep essential items like your phone charged, which is crucial for communication with family and emergency services.

We can’t stress the importance of good communication systems, the best example why this is necessary are Hurricanes Frances and Jeanne in 2004. After Frances hit Florida on September 5, 2004 as a Category 2 hurricane, it was followed by Hurricane Jeanne making landfall as a Category 3 only two miles away three weeks later, pounding the same area and being one of the deadliest hurricanes in history. Moreover, we shouldn’t forget that hurricanes frequently spawn tornadoes around them, Hurricane Frances spawning 103 by itself.

5. Flashlights, Lanterns, and Headlamps

The first 72 hours without power can be especially challenging at night. Darkness can make navigating a damaged home or neighborhood dangerous, especially with debris and potential hazards in your path. LED flashlights, headlamps, and lanterns are critical for ensuring safe movement after nightfall.

Opt for battery-powered or solar-powered lights. Consider having a mix of both to avoid running out of batteries too soon. Rechargeable options can be powered using a solar charger during the day, making them more useful in long outages.

6. Temporary Shelter

If your home is severely damaged or flooding makes it unsafe to stay inside, you’ll need a backup shelter plan. Emergency tents or tarps can serve as makeshift shelters, protecting you from the elements while you await rescue or repairs. Tarps are also useful for covering damaged roofs or broken windows, helping keep out rain or wind.

Staying warm is another challenge, especially if temperatures drop or you’re wet from flooding. Emergency blankets, or space blankets, are compact but highly effective at reflecting body heat, helping prevent hypothermia in cold or wet conditions.

7. Personal Hygiene and Disinfection

The first 72 hours after a disaster, you could probably not care less about personal hygiene, but that changes if you need to do wound management. Stock up on essentials like hand sanitizer, wet wipes, and rubbing alcohol. These allow you to stay relatively clean even when you can’t access a shower.

You’ll also need to think about waste management. You could spring for a small composting toilet, but those are expensive and another thing to lug around. While not the most glamorous, a bucket and some heavy duty trash bags get the job done.

8. Important Documents and Cash

In the chaos of evacuating or dealing with a disaster’s aftermath, it’s easy to forget essential documents. Store copies of identification, insurance policies, medical records, and property deeds in a waterproof and portable container. This ensures quick access to the information you need when applying for relief aid or filing insurance claims.

Since electronic payment systems often go down, having cash on hand is crucial. Small bills are particularly useful, as many stores and vendors may only be able to make limited change. Ensure you keep an emergency stash to buy essential items if ATMs and credit card systems are out of service.

9. Personal Protective Gear

After a natural disaster, hazards like broken glass, exposed nails, or fallen debris can make even basic movement risky. Sturdy work gloves and thick-soled boots are essential to protect your hands and feet as you clear debris or move through damaged areas.

Conclusion

If you do decide to not evacuate from coming natural disasters or live in an area prone to flooding, it pays to be prepared. If you remember the rule of threes, you can survive three days without water or food, so you could probably get away with not being prepared or losing those preps in the disaster, but the most important aspect of preparedness is situational awareness.

If at any point, it comes down to leaving and surviving, or staying and dying, always choose the former and always be aware of your breaking point or the point where your situation is no longer tenable and you need to leave.

Written by

Growing encyclopedia of survival, your source of uncommon wisdom for dangerous times.

Latest comments
  • So the email I recieved is titled “Top 3 Essentials For a 2025 Crisis”. But the article title includes the phrase “9 Items You’ll Need after Disaster Strike”. Even that isn’t correct, as it’s really more than 9 items, as “8. Important Documents and Cash” and “4. Battery-Powered Radio and Backup Power Sources” are two examples of more than two items. I know these are relatively minor things. But if you can’t get such minor things correct, should we really trust you for the more major things?

    • I relate to the preparedness community, but only to a point. It seems that they dwell in always getting started at a most basic level and conflate avoidance of inconvenience with lasting concerns. I’ve enjoyed an ocean crossing in a hurricane with me as navigator and at the helm keeping the boat from being turned over which was like a roller coaster ride — fun. I’ve enjoyed a bicycle ride in a hurricane and timed it for a tailwind both ways and experienced the calm of the eye as it passed for me to also switch my direction to back home and get a tail wind that way. For both, there was zero threat to my preparedness and only of passing interest. True preparedness is for change. Real preparedness also includes healthy living because without good health all else become greater survival challenges. Terms used such as “until rescued” or “until things return to normal” are indicative of planning for events which come and go and perhaps reliance upon society through government. But, what about societal and economic collapse with government failure and new tyrannical governments filling that void! In the sharpest of contrast, my preparedness is for change. History of hundreds of nations over thousands of years is a chronology of change. (Read “The Five Thousand Year Leap” by Skousen) After things change, there is no return to normal and that has never been in all of history. Such uninformed thinking is fantasy! “Preparedness” based upon fantasy is false. I’m not saying it doesn’t exist — just that it can be deception to conflate plans to not be momentarily inconvenienced with actual preparedness for change. It is not preparedness at all and rather a diversion from preparedness though shrouded in some elements of commonality. At some point, things will not “return to normal!” Rather, historically, after change, things change again and again. Entire civilizations and nations come and go. Beyond man, all of the plant and animal kingdom have experienced many changes. Those that have adapted are here today and those that haven’t, we know about them through fossils and they are extinct. My preparedness is far greater than for a storm here or there as I’m prepared for nation ending and extinction events. I’m prepared for my future generations (after I have children and that after the special one for me finds me) to survive the harsh times to come with the advantages I’ll give them to thrive and live in freedom in the future and study the history these times to know we need to be prepared for more than storms that come and go and localized events here and there. The entirety of the concept of survival without electricity or fuel is an unfortunate distraction away from true preparedness as man has survived just fine without that even being imagined. Ask yourself: How much of what you mistakenly call your “preparedness” is actually to have temporary alternatives to recent luxuries? For real and lasting survival scenarios, their short-term supplies will soon run out and they essentially delayed having to address change. Essentially that means they aren’t really prepared at all and likely more vulnerable in several ways. I question if those stocking fuel and electricity alternatives are actually soft and weaker for believing they need such to survive. Real preparedness consists of a full range spectrum that includes primitive to advanced technologies for change.
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    • Don’t care about minors things! If he promised 3 and sen d 2… ok you can reclaim. But if he promise 3 and send we 9…10…what’s the matter???

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