Bug InStay home and ride it out
Bug in: how to stay home safely through a crisis
Home is where your supplies, your bed and your neighbours are. Unless authorities tell you to leave or the house itself is unsafe, staying put is usually the safest choice. Here is how to make it work for two weeks.
Guides
- Emergency kit Checklist Bugging in in an apartment A practical guide to staying put in a flat during a crisis: what is different in an apartment (lifts, water pressure, sewage, heat, neighbours), how to organise room by room, and how much water and food each person needs for 7, 14 or 30 days.
- Emergency kit Checklist Home supplies for 2 weeks What to keep at home to get through two weeks of power cuts, snowstorms, lockdowns or water outages without worry. A complete checklist, by category.
- Emergencies Bug in or bug out? How to decide between staying home (bugging in) and evacuating (bugging out): the advantages of each, 10 clear signs that you need to leave, and why leaving early matters.
- Emergency kit Checklist Complete supplies list The master list of supplies for a crisis of two weeks or more: water, food, cooking, heat, light, power, communication, first aid, hygiene, tools, clothing, documents and money. With priorities and tips so you do not waste money.
- Water How much water to store The common recommendation is 4 liters (about 1 gallon) per person per day. How to calculate your household's supply, which containers to use, where to keep them and how long water lasts.
- Water Hidden water at home Where to find water at home when the taps stop: the water heater, your pipes, the toilet tank, ice cubes and liquid in canned food. How to get it out safely and which water you must never drink.
- Food The rotating emergency pantry How to build two weeks of food from your normal shopping, store it properly and eat it before it expires.
- Food Checklist Non-perishable food list Over 40 foods that keep for months or years without a fridge, grouped by category, with shelf life and storage tips. What to buy first and what to avoid.
- Food Checklist 14-day pantry meal plan A two-week menu made only from food that keeps without a fridge, with breakfast, lunch and dinner, a shopping list for one adult and the gear to cook without power.
- Food Checklist 3-day no-cook emergency menu A complete 3-day menu for a power outage or emergency, using food that needs no cooking and no refrigeration. Shopping list for one person and for a family of four.
- Food Equipment Cooking without power Camping stove, induction hob on a power station, passive cooking in a thermos and no-cook meals. What to choose for an apartment, and the rules that prevent poisoning.
- Energy Heating without power What to do in winter when the power and heating go off: how to keep the warmth in one room, which heat sources are safe indoors and what you must never use.
- Emergencies Power outage (blackout) What stops working when the grid goes down, what to do in the first hours, how to keep the food in your fridge safe and how to get through several days without power, summer or winter.
- Energy Equipment Light and communication without power Which flashlights and lanterns are worth it, why you need a battery radio, how to keep your phone alive for days and how to stay in touch when the mobile network is down.
- Energy Equipment Portable power stations What a 500, 1,000 or 2,000 Wh power station can run, how long it keeps a fridge, boiler or router going, LiFePO4 vs NMC, and when a solar panel is worth it.
- Health Checklist Hygiene without running water How to wash with two liters of water, how to set up an emergency toilet when the water stops in an apartment building and how to handle waste to avoid disease.
- Health Emergency medication supply How to talk to your doctor about a 1 to 2-week reserve, how to store medicines properly (including insulin without power) and what to do if you run out in a crisis.
- Home Security in a crisis How to protect your family in a crisis: meeting points and a communication plan, how to check information and avoid panic, how to protect your data, money and home, plus a checklist.
- Health Air in an emergency Why breathable air is the first survival need, what makes it dangerous (smoke, dust, carbon monoxide, chemicals), what N95/FFP2 and FFP3 masks can and cannot do, and what to do if you are trapped in a building full of dust or smoke.
- Energy Communicating in a disaster What to do when the network is down or jammed: text messages, an out-of-town contact, a radio for news, licence-free walkie-talkies (FRS, PMR446) and CB for family and neighbours, ham radio, satellite messengers and notes left at the meeting point.
- Home Basement as a shelter How to turn a basement or cellar into a shelter for air-raid alerts, tornadoes or radiation warnings: what to check about the structure, air and flooding, what to keep there (water, light, a toilet, places to sleep) and what never to do.
- Home Safe room at home There's no single safe room for every situation. How to choose the right spot in your house or apartment for an earthquake, air raid, nuclear emergency, chemical accident, tornado or severe storm and a break-in, and what to keep there.
- Emergencies Air raid and drone alerts: taking shelter What to do when an air raid siren sounds or a phone alert warns of an aerial threat: the safest spot in an apartment, the two-wall rule, what to do outdoors or in a car, how to set up a shelter corner and what to do with drone debris.
- Emergencies Chemical accident: shelter in place What to do when you get an alert about a toxic cloud from a plant, train or tanker: how to shelter at home, how to seal a room, why not to go to the basement, when to evacuate and what to do if you've been exposed.
- Emergencies Nuclear emergency and iodine tablets What to do in the first hours after a nuclear accident: get inside, stay inside, stay tuned. How to decontaminate, which food and water are safe, and what potassium iodide tablets do, who they're for and when to take them.