Emergency kits

10 people have replied to my survey - 2 of you have emergency kits prepared.  Hmmmmmm....

Here is a list of suggested items -
*Water bottles, two or three of them should be enough, four or five if you have room.
*Food for 72 hours.  Remember, your appetite might be 'off' - I ate VERY little in the first 72 hours after the storm.  You are typically running on adrenaline, so don't over-pack on the food front.  Simple-to-digest, high-energy stuff is a good place to put your focus.
*A change of clothing, including socks, underwear, etc. If you live in cold-weather climate, remember needs for that during that time of the year.
*any meds/toiletries that you can't live without (stores were closed, due to power outage, so people were not able to fill prescriptions)(I recommend rotating these, every time you fill your scrip, put the new one in here, and take the one out that has been in there for a month and use it.  - if your med has to be refrigerated I'm not sure what you would do)
*a change of shoes if you can fit it in. (particularly important if you run a 'shoe-less household' and people are likely to be caught without their shoes on)(several of our kids, and the neighbor's boys too, were shoeless.  There was glass EVERYWHERE! Those of us with shoes had to go dig through the rubble and try to find shoes for those that didn't have them.  One of our son's walked out in his church shoes and no socks!)
*cash ($40-50 should be enough, though more wouldn't hurt)
*copies of important documents, such as driver's license, marriage license, lease papers, mortgage papers, birth certificates (be sure that at least one verifies your address for you).  Many people were unable to get assistance from FEMA until they could prove that they were from the affected areas, and/or prove that they were who they said they were.  Store these inside of a zip-lock bag. 
*a head-lamp/batteries - hand's free is a VERY good thing.  Particularly if you will be dealing with children in your 'escape'.  (and remember to rotate the batteries out now and then)

I recommend that you pack it all into some sort of a small back-pack.  Again with the hands free thing.  We were dragging wheeled suitcases behind us as we walked over a mile to where the cars were.  We had to walk through water for 150-200 feet, holding tight to hands of kids and CARRYING the suitcases at that point.

Anyway, that is my suggestion.  Spoken from experience.  It would probably be a good idea to check sights like the Red Cross, etc and see if they have more comprehensive lists.