What disaster preparedness experts have packed in their go bags

Hurricanes, floods, heat waves, and wildfires have become more frequent and severe as the planet warms. The world is seeing unprecedented destruction from this type of weather: the first six months of 2025 marked the U.S.’ costliest first half of a year for major disasters, racking up $101 billion in damages. 

Scientists studying extreme weather expect this risk to grow, and that means more people could be in harm’s way. One study published in Nature last May estimated that a person’s risk of experiencing these climate hazards has doubled since 1960.

But a number of studies also show that preparing for this kind of disaster could save your life.  

And the time to prepare for more disasters is now. The upcoming hot and humid summer weather makes certain natural disasters more likely. To learn about some of the best ways to prepare, we spoke to Benjamin Hofbauer, climate adaptation researcher at the University of Hamburg in Germany, and Nicole Errett, climate health and policy researcher at the University of Washington, about how they personally prepare for disasters.

These interviews have been edited for length and clarity.

Ferrari: Why is it a good idea to plan ahead for extreme weather and natural hazards? 

Hofbauer: There’s a direct causal link between climate change and the increase of weather events that lead to disasters. Storm surges, heat waves, droughts that might cascade into forest fires… These things are all not always—but usually—driven by climate change: made more likely through climate change and made more intense. Anyone can see by looking at the past ten years how it’s become normalized that there are [so many] hurricanes and floods. It’s unprecedented, and it continues to be unprecedented.

Errett: The process of thinking through what you would do if something happened today is much better to do when you’re calm, and not experiencing the trauma in the moment. In disaster planning we often say, “it’s not the plan, it’s the planning.” Just thinking through [a plan] is helpful and communicating it to the people in your family.

Ferrari: How do you think about emergency preparedness in your day-to-day life?

Errett: It’s integrated into the way I do things. For example, I always have extra water in my car, and in my house, and I rotate it continuously… Bottled water does expire, I think because of plastic leaching into the water… so we try to rotate through big packs of bottled water once a year, not just have the same bottles sitting there for years.

My gas tank is always full. I always make sure that I have some cash at home and in my wallet. So it’s more integrated into what I do—I like to make extra supplies accessible, so I can rely on them. It often happens with people’s disaster kits that they buy them, put them in the back of the closet, and if and when they use it, things don’t work, it’s all expired and old, or they don’t remember where it is. So, I try to keep this stuff in rotation, and top of mind!

[I also have] an increased awareness of hazards: For example, when I go to the Oregon coast and there are tsunami warnings, I always know when I’m in the tsunami zone, and how to get out of the tsunami zone. It’s a heightened awareness of what’s happening around me and building up my capacity so that if something does happen, I’m ready.

Hofbauer: I spent time in a part of Florida where there was a hurricane risk. We had some preparations, a box with things from a FEMA checklist: nonperishable foods, matches that you keep in a waterproof container, a radio, a phone charger, cat food in our case… There are a lot of resources online. They also guide you through how to play through scenarios, and think, “if there is a fire, what are we going to do?” And how to talk about it with your family. Talking about it changes your whole perception of managing [emergencies], and it takes some of the fear away. 

I started thinking about these things a lot more through my work, not just as a researcher but also as a person, and how I relate to my community: Who is in my surroundings? Being mindful of those people around you, building community, and using that knowledge you built to support each other through disasters.

Ferrari: What do you always have prepared, ready to grab in case of an emergency?

Errett: If you live in an area with hazards that could result in evacuation, like hurricane or wildfire areas where you might have to leave quickly, having a go bag is important. It can have lists of medications, copies of your important documents, and you can quickly stick it in your car so you’re not running around trying to find everything when you’re under this enormous stress of needing to evacuate. 

If there’s an extreme event, you might not get to refill prescribed medication—but if you have a monthly prescription, usually you can refill it with your insurer up to a week in advance. If you have a three-month supply, oftentimes you can refill it up to a month before. So if you do this over the course of a few months, you can end up with a little extra to have stockpiled if something does happen. 

My family also has extra canned food that we rotate through… a camp stove that’s accessible that we use when we go camping, but that we could also use in the event of a disaster. I have a first aid kit in my car… and an emergency kit with a flashlight, electric jumpers for the car, a space blanket… water, one of those life straws that can help filter water, and [iodine] tablets you can stick in water to clean it.

Hofbauer: Here [in Germany] it might make sense in the winter to make sure you have some means of keeping yourself warm in case there’s a breakdown of energy infrastructure. We’ve had a lot of freezing temperatures in the last few weeks… so depending on your geographical location, it makes sense to think about the needs where you are.

Ferrari: What’s a good place to get started for anyone who wants to be more prepared in case of an emergency?

Errett: Chipping away at a list is easier than going to the store and making an emergency kit in one fell swoop. You can make the list, or use an online video, and one week at the grocery store you buy a few extra cans of food, the next week you get some water, and start checking it off… you don’t need to do it all at once!

Hofbauer: Something that might help is visualizing scenarios. Thinking, “what actually happens if we don’t have electricity for a few days?” Just bringing that into your mind, and thinking about what you would do, eases the burden of feeling overwhelmed… Sit down with your partner and say, “I heard it’s going to rain, what happens if our basement floods?” 

It’s also good to think about your neighbors and the people around you, because it’s not just the physical impact, it’s also the psychological impact of the thought of possibly losing everything––and the powerlessness you might feel can be dealt with better on a communal level. 

A critical aspect, especially with increasing intensity [of extreme weather], is that people take up more responsibility themselves, because often the agencies we rely on do not have capacity to deal with the intensity of these events. Individual preparation really makes a difference, and community building… Taking responsibility into your own hands. Making it more real by talking it through every now and then. Instead of just expecting everything will work out, it becomes something tangible you can do something about.