Stock water, light and sanitation inside
If people shelter for hours, they need water, light and a toilet. Store these where they are always ready.
How
- Store drinking water: Ready.gov advises one US gallon (about 3.8 litres) per person per day for several days, for drinking and sanitation.
- Store non-perishable food for several days and a manual can opener.
- Fit battery emergency lighting and keep torches with spare batteries. ICC 500 covers emergency and standby lighting; any wired lighting power should be protected to the same level as the room.
- Keep a sanitation kit: moist towelettes, rubbish bags, plastic ties and a bucket toilet with a lid, as Ready.gov lists. Hurricane shelters face longer stays, so plan for this.
- Remember that FEMA counts furnishings and stored supplies against the usable floor area. Use wall shelves.
- Rotate water and food on a fixed date each year.
- The battery or crank radio, two-way radios and first aid kit are listed once, in the comms and medical modules (comms-1, medical-1). Keep one set in the room.
Do these first
Sources
- Build a Kit. Ready.gov (FEMA), accessed 2026-11
- Safe Rooms and Storm Shelters (Building America Solution Center). US DOE / Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, accessed 2026-11
- FEMA P-320 Taking Shelter from the Storm: Building a Safe Room for Your Home or Small Business (6th ed., 2nd issuance). US Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), accessed 2026-11