A question for LDS: What in the world is a 72 hour kit?

Ha! No, not a doomsday kit, though that's hilarious. It's nothing more than an emergency kit with enough food, medicine and whatnot to last for 72 hours in case of an emergency. And I don't think it's just a Mormon thing, though we do try to be prepared. I live in SoCal, and a lot of people here have them, regardless of religion.

Then again, with all the earthquakes, floods, and fires that we have here, emergency preparedness is just plain common sense.

The definition has been well stated! That's pretty much what I understand a 72 hr kit to be...a backpack with food, medicine, personal care items that will last for 72 hr (in case of emergency).

The United States Government has encouraged all citizens to have a 72 hr kit as well.

Anyway, here is the .gov website with a basic list of items. Your list will vary depending on what you personally need:

http://www.ready.gov/america/getakit/

Lots of places sell 72hr kits of different shapes & sizes.

Some helpful things we have included in our kits are cash & a laminated picture of our family picture which includes medical allergies and phone numbers. I certainly hope I will never have to use my kit but it's a good feeling to know that I have it (and that I know exactly where it is if needed)!

I'm Mormon, and we are all encouraged to have a 72 hour kit as part of our general focus on being prepared and self sufficient.

Basically, 72 hours is the average amount of time it takes for help to arrive in the event of an emergency - flood, tornado, terrorist attack, etc. So we have a 72 hour kit which includes everything we need to survive those first 72 hours. Non-perishable food, drink, warm clothing, matches, etc, and even things like photocopies of ID documents, a photograph of our family (in case we get separated) and something for shelter. My 72 hour pack is in a rucksack in my garage, and if some kind of emergency is declared and we have to evacuate our home, I can just grab it and go. My kids also have little packs so if the worst comes to the worst, my family can survive for 72 hours until help arrives.

The prophets have also encouraged us to store a year's supply of food, to have a good education (so that we can support ourselves in work) and to avoid debt. It's all part of being prepared and responsible for ourselves.

With every day pass, our country is getting into more and more trouble. The inflation, unemployment and falling value of dollar are the main concern for our Government but authorities are just sleeping, they don’t want to face the fact. Media is also involve in it, they are force to stop showing the real economic situation to the people. I start getting more concern about my future as well as my family after watching the response of our Government for the people that affected by hurricane Katrina.

According to recent studies made by World Bank, the coming crisis will be far worse than initially predicted. So if you're already preparing for the crisis (or haven't started yet) make sure you watch this video at http://www.familysurvival.tv/ and discover the 4 BIG issues you'll have to deal with when the crisis hits, and how to solve them fast (before the disaster strikes your town!) without spending $1,000s on overrated items and useless survival books.

Er.. I'm not LDS, but what I know as a 72 hour kit is a kit designed for evacuation, or taking shelter from a disaster. Things like food, water, maps, and other essentials.

Actually, Homeland Security recommends that all families in the USA have a 72-hour-kit. They have a website called Ready.gov that has more information about this.

Basically, all LDS add to their bags are their scriptures. =)

I'm one of Jehovah's Witnesses but as one of the others said here, it is simply an emergency kit.

We've had lots of information about being prepared with all the natural disasters and things that come up so much lately.

It is common to many people whether they have any religion or not.

I believe that it is 72 hour because that is usually how much time it takes to mobilize large groups of people to evacuate people from an area.

Debbie

Supplies of stuff that'll keep you going for 72 hours in case of a natural disaster or something like that.

It's a short-term preparedness kit, like Tugstein said. But it also includes things like emergency blankets, flashlights, pocketknife, etc, etc.

I wish it were more mysterious...it's actually pretty prosaic, eh?

It's just food that's supposed to last 72 hours... (Granola bars and what not?)

Nothing too exciting. :]