Popular Mechanics: The Best Emergency Supplies for Safety During a Disaster

From tools and kits to gear and devices, this list of essential items includes what you should have on hand.

Popular Mechanics: The Best Emergency Supplies for Safety During a Disaster

Last updated:
September 9, 2025
|  5 min read
An opened pocket knife.

Popular Mechanics: The Best Emergency Supplies for Safety During a Disaster

Popular Mechanics: The Best Emergency Supplies for Safety During a Disaster

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From tools and kits to gear and devices, this list of essential items includes what you should have on hand.

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Popular Mechanics: The Best Emergency Supplies for Safety During a Disaster

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The Best Emergency Supplies for Safety During a Disaster

We are at a climate-change tipping point that shows no signs of mitigating the causes. Where I live in Montana, wildfires are a growing threat, and we spend a good amount of our summer with an eye on the radars to monitor conditions and blazes. One of the ways people (myself included) who live in zones under threat of natural disasters can prepare is by having an emergency kit.

This doesn’t just mean a first-aid kit (though those are important to include) but a portable collection of items you can grab-and-go in the event of an outage or evacuation. This includes floods, fires, hurricanes, tornadoes, broken-down cars, and everything else that puts you in situations where you need extra supplies. To put it simply: It’s better to be prepared.

Continue reading to learn more about emergency supplies for a disaster, written by Maggie Slepian.

Popular Mechanics: The Best Emergency Supplies for Safety During a Disaster

The Best Emergency Supplies for Safety During a Disaster

We are at a climate-change tipping point that shows no signs of mitigating the causes. Where I live in Montana, wildfires are a growing threat, and we spend a good amount of our summer with an eye on the radars to monitor conditions and blazes. One of the ways people (myself included) who live in zones under threat of natural disasters can prepare is by having an emergency kit.

This doesn’t just mean a first-aid kit (though those are important to include) but a portable collection of items you can grab-and-go in the event of an outage or evacuation. This includes floods, fires, hurricanes, tornadoes, broken-down cars, and everything else that puts you in situations where you need extra supplies. To put it simply: It’s better to be prepared.

Continue reading to learn more about emergency supplies for a disaster, written by Maggie Slepian.

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Media Mentionsn from Maggie Slepian
Maggie Slepian
She has backpacked thousands of miles around the US, and is an avid bikepacker, climber, and mountain biker.
Media Mentions

Popular Mechanics: The Best Emergency Supplies for Safety During a Disaster

The Best Emergency Supplies for Safety During a Disaster

We are at a climate-change tipping point that shows no signs of mitigating the causes. Where I live in Montana, wildfires are a growing threat, and we spend a good amount of our summer with an eye on the radars to monitor conditions and blazes. One of the ways people (myself included) who live in zones under threat of natural disasters can prepare is by having an emergency kit.

This doesn’t just mean a first-aid kit (though those are important to include) but a portable collection of items you can grab-and-go in the event of an outage or evacuation. This includes floods, fires, hurricanes, tornadoes, broken-down cars, and everything else that puts you in situations where you need extra supplies. To put it simply: It’s better to be prepared.

Continue reading to learn more about emergency supplies for a disaster, written by Maggie Slepian.

Photo thumbnail Blog Author
Media Mentionsn from Maggie Slepian
Maggie Slepian
She has backpacked thousands of miles around the US, and is an avid bikepacker, climber, and mountain biker.
Media Mentions
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