An Emergency Checklist for Travelers

Carefree traveling doesn’t mean caution-free traveling. Emergencies can, and often do, occur while you are on the road and far away from home.

A Premium Gear Kit from Live Prepared keeps all the emergency gear you could need in one backpack for easy transport. But what if you didn’t bring it with you? Even though sometimes checking a full-blown emergency kit with everything you’d need to ride out a catastrophe might be a little overkill, there are some basic items that can easily be kept on hand. As well, it’s smart travel planning to figure out ahead of time where you can acquire emergency goods while you’re away. The same goes for medical services.

Use Local Resources

When you’re overseas, the nearest embassy or consulate is a great resource for all emergency planning and services. Many credit cards also may offer emergency services as perks for members. It’s worth checking your cards benefits program.

Google Shopping and Yelp offer mobile users filters to help find local businesses offering products and services. Obviously having items shipped during times of trouble likely won’t work, but knowing ahead of time which local stores carry emergency supplies can be super helpful.

Water is Life

Water is probably the most important commodity in an emergency. Water bottles with purifying filters are easy to pack and take along (they come standard in Premium Gear Kits from Live Prepared), and are actually a smarter option than plastic water bottles that won’t make it past security checkpoints anyway. Another good thing to know is that drinking fountains are highly regulated in most places and can provide safe, clean sources of water as well. (Mobile apps have even been developed to assist you in finding a drinking fountain nearby.)

Food is Key

Food is often the trickiest and most cumbersome product to find or keep stored while on the move. The proliferation of tasty meal bars puts a lot of this worry aside. The military tactic is to utilize perishable food first, and then consume food that lasts longer; this is a great approach when traveling too. When it comes to emergency food, remember that it’s all about calories to give you energy: between 1500 to 2000 calories per day for women and between 2000 and 2500 calories per day for men is recommended. Nutrient-dense foods pack a lot of calories into small items, so they’re ideal for travel. Take at least a few Live Prepared emergency food pouches with you-- they’re easy to carry and prepare.

Gear Essentials

A small combination keychain-whistle-flashlight can also come in handy in a number of ways. Whistles are critical tools to let people know where you are. Avalanches while skiing or landslides while sightseeing might leave you out of sight. Whistles can alert responders to your location, or can be used to call for help to assist others. Flashlights come in all sizes, and when the lights go out, even the tiniest source of light can lead to safety. Keeping a small pack of waterproof matches in, say, your toiletry kit, isn’t a bad idea either.

Stay Connected

Since communication is all-important during emergencies, mobile phones are likely the best life-saving device you can own. Not only can they serve as radios and sources of information, you can load them up with apps from alert-services to shelter maps. Be sure to check with your mobile provider to see if you’ll have service in the country you’re traveling to. Roaming charges can be expensive, but a high phone bill is worth it if it keeps you safe.

Also, you can make use of technology by uploading prescription medicine information and keeping copies of important documents such as passports on your own secure cloud server as backup can keep them within download reach no matter where in the world you are. An easy way to scan these documents is to simply take a picture.

Don’t forget an extra charger.