Living on a fault line? Scenario: your town’s been hit by an earthquake powerful enough to cut your power, disrupt communications and inhibit travel. Here are few products to put into your earthquake emergency kit to help you and yours stay up an running whilst others are struggling.

• A solar or hand cranked radio with access to emergency radio bands. Many of these gadgets are designed for camping and going off-grid and thus pack added features like an LED flashlight.
• A portable solar charger for your laptop and other gizmos is a must – though a wi-fi signal may be hard to come by. Keeping your spirits up by maintaining a modicum of normalcy will provide many benefits. Kids can be entertained, you can have phone service if and when it’s available, and you can keep other less-prepared individuals powered-up.
• Hot food is always a mood lifter. No power, not to worry. Go all Ed Begley Jr. and break out your solar cooker – all you need is some strong sunlight and a little bit of time…a commodity that, unfortunately, may be in great supply.
• Potable water will be a major issue. There are a wide range of portable water filters designed for camping and hiking and general survival. For a quick fix – keep a case of gallon jugs of bottled water in your pantry – an earthquake is no time to worry about plastic – your whole town may be a landfill.
• Flashlights are a must. You can go with a solar flashlight, although if it runs out of juice at night you’ll be up a creek – get a flashlight that charges via shaking or cranking so all that’s required is some elbow grease.
• If hygiene is an issue, a solar shower can provide a quick cleansing spritz. The one at right holds five gallons of H2O which it heats via a small solar panel.
• In the case of a long-term emergency you may only have a few clothing items available. You may want to consider having a hand-powered, portable washing machine in your basement or garage.
• Always have a multi-tool and Swiss Army knife handy in case you need to get all “MacGyver’.
• Food may be short supply. Think ’1950′s bomb shelter’ and stash some canned goods for emergency use. Energy bars are always something to keep in the cupboard – just consume and replace them regularly to ensure freshness. Update your food larder every six months or so.
• Keep your supply of any critical meds in a safe place for easy access.
• Stash some good green cash.