New Zealand's National Emergency Management Agency is blunt about this: in a real emergency, you could be on your own — without power, water, or help arriving — for three days or more. Some regions have been without water for far longer than that. A go-bag (also called a grab bag or getaway kit) isn't paranoia. It's the difference between managing that gap calmly and not managing it at all.
Grab Bag vs Household Supplies — They're Different Jobs
It's worth understanding the distinction Civil Defence draws. Your household emergency supplies are for staying put — food, water, and sanitation for three days or more at home. Your grab bag is different: it's what you take with you if you need to evacuate quickly, so it needs to be lighter, faster to grab, and ready by the door — not buried in a cupboard behind the Christmas decorations.
What Goes in a Grab Bag
Every household member should have their own bag. Based on Civil Defence's official guidance, each one should include:
- Warm clothes suited to the season
- A bottle of water and some snacks
- Copies of important documents and photo ID
- Any medications you rely on
- A basic first aid kit
- A torch, a portable radio, and spare batteries for both
- A mask or face covering
If you have specific dietary or medical needs, make sure your bag reflects that — generic supplies won't always cut it, and emergency shelters may not be able to provide for you.
Water — The Number That Matters
Civil Defence's figure is simple to remember: at least nine litres of water per person, covering three litres per person per day for three days, for drinking and basic sanitation. Store it in your household supplies as a baseline, and keep a smaller bottle in your actual grab bag for the first stretch of an evacuation.
The Car Kit — A Different Scenario
A flood, a snowstorm, or a serious traffic accident can leave you stuck in your vehicle for hours with no warning. Civil Defence recommends keeping a basic kit in your car year-round:
- Sturdy walking shoes and a waterproof jacket
- Essential medications
- Snack food and water
- A phone charger cable and a torch
If you're driving in extreme winter conditions, add a brush, a shovel, tyre chains, a windscreen scraper, and extra warm clothing. Keeping an eye on MetService forecasts and checking road conditions before you travel is the first and easiest line of defence.
Don't Forget Work
The same logic applies wherever you spend your day. Civil Defence suggests keeping sturdy shoes, a waterproof jacket, a torch, snack food, and water at work too — and it's worth having a plan with colleagues who live nearby for getting home together if things go seriously sideways.
The First Aid Kit Inside the Bag
Your grab bag's first aid kit doesn't need to be a full trauma kit — that's what your course training is for. A solid basic kit covers plasters in various sizes, sterile gauze dressings, bandages, tape, and disposable gloves. If you take prescription medication, note that some (like anything requiring refrigeration) can't live in the bag permanently — a visible reminder note on the outside of the kit, so you grab it on your way out, solves that problem cheaply.
Cash Still Matters
It's easy to forget in a card-and-phone world, but power cuts can take out EFTPOS and ATMs entirely. Civil Defence specifically recommends keeping some cash on hand — coins and small notes are more useful than large bills, since change may not be available.
Build It, Then Actually Check It
A grab bag isn't a "pack once and forget" project. Batteries go flat, kids grow out of clothes, medications change, and documents expire. Put a reminder in your calendar every six months to actually open the bag, check what's in it, and swap out anything stale — the same way you'd check smoke alarm batteries.
Know Where to Find the Detail
This covers the essentials, but Civil Defence's own site — getready.govt.nz — has region-specific guidance, translated resources, and detailed checklists for households with babies, pets, or specific medical needs. It's worth a proper read once your basic bag is sorted.
Sourced from the New Zealand National Emergency Management Agency's official Get Ready guidance (getready.govt.nz). Check the site directly for region-specific advice.