How much emergency water does your family actually need?
You do not need to predict the end of the world to prepare for the next boil-water notice, storm outage, frozen pipe, or week when stores are picked over. Start with the one thing every household needs first: water.
Calculate your household water gap
Official guidance commonly starts at 1 gallon per person per day. This tool turns that into a family number and adds pets, formula/medical needs, and a small cleanup buffer.
This is planning math, not fear math. Start with one realistic step you can actually store.
Your family water target
For 4 people over 7 days, plus pets/extra needs.
Approximation only. Bottled water is easy to start with, but bulky.
Often easier to store under beds, in closets, or along garage walls.
What to do after you calculate it
- Store a realistic first layer this week, even if it is only one shelf, closet, or under-bed container.
- Keep at least some water in grab-and-go containers in case sheltering stops being the safe option.
- Print the First 72 Hours guide so your plan does not depend on power, Wi-Fi, or a charged phone.
Get the free First 72 Hours guide
Return to the Preparedness Meter
Next: connect the three core tools
Water, food, and readiness work best together. Check the other gaps while the numbers are fresh.
