How to Choose the Right Earthquake Survival Kit

The right earthquake survival kit depends on three things: how many people you're covering, where the kit will be stored (home, car, office, or a bulk order for a community or business), and whether you're buying a ready-made kit or assembling one. Earthquake Store sells ready-made 72-hour survival kits, emergency food and water, survival gear, and earthquake shutoff valves, so the practical decision is usually between a pre-built kit sized to your group and individual add-on gear like gas shutoff valves or firefighting equipment.

Start with the 72-hour kit vs. the two-week supply

These are two different standards, and mixing them up is the most common buying mistake.

• 72-hour kit: Covers the critical first 24–72 hours after a disaster. Earthquake Store's own framing is that "the first 24-72 hours following a disaster are critical," and that having the right survival kit, food, and water "can make the difference between life and death." This is the kit you grab and carry.
• Two-week supply: Earthquake Store cites FEMA guidance that everyone should have two weeks of food and other survival gear. FEMA's list, as described on the site, includes food that requires no refrigeration, water, a first aid kit, flashlights with extra batteries, a radio, and optionally tents and sleeping bags.

A practical approach: buy or build a 72-hour kit for evacuation and a separate two-week stock for sheltering at home. They serve different scenarios and shouldn't be treated as interchangeable.

Match the kit to people and place

Earthquake Store states it supplies "individuals, communities, governments, and businesses with ready-to-use emergency supplies," so bulk orders are within scope if you're equipping a group rather than a household.

Check the core contents

Whatever kit you pick, verify it covers these categories. The site's own FEMA summary gives you a checklist to compare against:

• Food and water — no refrigeration required; water included
• First aid kit
• Light — flashlight with extra batteries
• Communication — a radio
• Shelter and warmth — tents and sleeping bags listed as optional additions

If a kit is missing any of the first four, factor in the cost of adding them before you compare prices.

Decide on add-on gear

Two categories of extras come up specifically for earthquakes, and they solve different problems than a survival kit does.

Automatic seismic gas shutoff valves

These cut off gas automatically during a quake, addressing the fire risk that follows shaking. Listed examples and prices from the site:

• Automatic Seismic Earthquake Gas Valve (Formerly Koso) – PSP 300 3/4" Horizontal — $265.00 USD
• Little Firefighter Automatic Seismic Gas Shut-off Valve – AGV150HP, 60 psi, 1-1/2" — $295.00 USD

Note the size and orientation differences (3/4" horizontal vs. 1-1/2"): match the valve to your actual gas line before ordering.

Firefighting and alert devices

• Portable Home Firefighting Water Pump Kit — $1,195.00 USD
• Quake Alarm — $69.95 USD, listed as sold out at the time of this information

These are optional. A survival kit keeps people alive in the hours after a quake; a shutoff valve or pump protects the property. Decide which risk you're actually trying to reduce.

Build vs. buy

Earthquake Store's pitch is explicit: "Time is precious, so don't waste it creating your own survival kit." Buying ready-made saves assembly time and guarantees the contents are already matched to a standard. Building your own can be cheaper and lets you customize, but you take on the work of sourcing every category above and rotating food and water. If your priority is having a complete, immediately usable kit, the ready-made route removes that labor.

Before you order

• Count the people and locations you're covering.
• Decide whether you need a 72-hour kit, a two-week supply, or both.
• Compare kit contents against the food, water, first aid, light, and radio checklist.
• If you're adding a gas shutoff valve, confirm the pipe size and orientation first.
• For bulk or institutional orders, contact the store directly rather than buying individual kits.

Earthquake Store also offers guidance on creating your own emergency handbook with tips for earthquakes, hurricanes, power outages, fires, floods, and other events — useful as a free complement to whatever kit you buy.