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Prepare for two different outcomes: evacuating quickly or sheltering while ash falls. Build a portable go-bag, a home supply reserve and a vehicle cache, then learn your local hazard zones and routes. During an eruption, local emergency managers and volcano observatories decide when to shelter or leave; follow their instructions rather than relying on a generic checklist.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) lists below combine core emergency supplies with ash-specific protection, medical and pet needs, and the quantities those agencies actually publish. People outside the United States should use their own emergency-management and volcano-observatory guidance for local hazards and evacuation rules.
Design the kit around evacuation and sheltering
A volcanic eruption can produce ashfall, falling rock, lava, mudflows (lahars), toxic gases and fast-changing road conditions. Your kit is useful only if it supports the action officials order in your location. Prepare supplies in three places: a grab-and-go bag for each person, a home reserve for sheltering, and a vehicle cache that can be reached if roads are open.
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| Situation | What your supplies must support | Planning decisions |
|---|---|---|
| Evacuation | Leaving on short notice, traveling on designated routes and remaining away from the hazard zone. | Keep documents, medicines, water, food, shoes, eye and respiratory protection, and a way to receive alerts in portable bags. Identify more than one approved route and a family reunion point. |
| Sheltering from ash | Staying indoors while ash is falling and keeping indoor air and equipment as clean as possible. | Have N95 respirators, goggles, plastic sheeting, tape, food, water, medicines, a battery radio and cleaning supplies. Know how to close the building and shut down air movement. |
| Vehicle disruption | Handling delays, blocked roads or a stranded vehicle without entering an unsafe area. | Store a separate vehicle kit with water, food, maps, tools, first aid, a flashlight and other vehicle supplies; leave only when officials say routes are open. |
CDC’s instruction is explicit: “Follow the advice of local officials for information on preparing for a volcanic eruption.” Authorities may evacuate selected high-risk areas while allowing others to shelter, so a household should understand both plans.
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Map your local risk before you pack
Identify hazard zones and safe destinations
Use your local emergency-management office and volcano observatory to learn whether your home, workplace, school or regular travel routes are in a hazard zone. Mark official evacuation routes, bridges that could close, and destinations outside the threatened area. USGS planning guidance also recommends a family reunion plan: choose one meeting place nearby and another outside the local area in case a neighborhood is inaccessible.
Make the plan usable by every household member
- Write down the names and phone numbers people should call, plus an out-of-area contact who can relay messages.
- Decide who collects children, older adults, people with disabilities and pets if an evacuation order arrives during work or school hours.
- Give each person a role, such as carrying the radio, checking the medicine bag or closing windows.
- Explain that an official route may be slower than a familiar shortcut. Follow designated routes because other roads can be blocked, and expect traffic and delays.
- Practice leaving with the go-bags so you can find them in darkness or heavy ash.
Set up alerts and information sources
Keep a battery-powered radio and spare batteries in the home kit. During an event, continue listening for official updates even after you have sheltered or reached a destination. Conditions, road closures and evacuation boundaries can change.
Pack the CDC core emergency supplies
The CDC’s preparedness list is the foundation of a volcanic-eruption kit. Put frequently used items in labeled, waterproof containers so someone can grab them without sorting through boxes.
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|---|---|---|
| Flashlight and extra batteries | Keep spare batteries sealed and check the flashlight during kit inspections. | Power can fail, and ash or darkness can make travel hazardous. |
| First-aid kit and manual | Include the kit and its instructions where everyone can reach them. | Supports minor injuries while professional services are delayed. |
| Emergency food and water | Use nonperishable food and store water in sealed containers; see the quantity guidance below. | Road closures or shelter orders may prevent resupply. |
| Manual can opener | Pack one with canned food; an electric opener may be unusable during a power outage. | Makes stored food usable without electricity. |
| Essential medicines | Keep medicines in original labeled containers when practical and track expiration dates. | Evacuation or ash exposure can interrupt pharmacy access. |
| Sturdy shoes | Store a pair for each person with the go-bag, not buried in a closet. | Protects feet from rough, wet or ash-covered ground and broken material. |
| Respiratory protection | Use NIOSH-approved N95 respirators as described in the ash-protection section. | Reduces inhalation of ash particles during outdoor exposure or cleanup. |
| Goggles | Choose close-fitting eye protection and keep a pair for each person who may go outside. | Ash irritates eyes and can impair vision. |
| Battery-powered radio and spare batteries | Test reception and replace batteries during scheduled checks. | Provides official updates when internet or cellular service is unreliable. |
Add protection specifically for volcanic ash
Use the right respirator
CDC recommends a NIOSH-approved N95 respirator outdoors or while cleaning up ash indoors, worn according to its instructions. A nuisance dust mask is a last resort and provides less protection. A disposable particulate respirator does not filter toxic gases and vapors; an N95 is not a gas mask. Leave an area immediately and follow authorities’ instructions if officials warn of gas or other hazards.
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Buy enough correctly sized respirators for household members who may need them, and store them dry in their original packaging. Facial hair or a poor fit can prevent a tight seal; follow the fitting and use information supplied with the respirator. Do not let the presence of a mask persuade you to enter an evacuated or visibly dangerous area.
Protect eyes and contact lenses
Pack goggles for ash exposure and outdoor work. USGS Cascades Volcano Observatory guidance also calls for spare eyeglasses, contact lenses and cleaning solution. People who normally wear contacts should have glasses available because ash can become trapped under a lens and irritate the eye.
Keep ash out of rooms and electronics
USGS lists plastic and tape for reducing ash entry during extreme ashfall and plastic wrap for protecting electronics. Cut plastic to fit likely openings before an event, but do not seal a building in a way that blocks required ventilation or creates a carbon-monoxide hazard. Follow local instructions for doors, windows and ventilation equipment. Cover computers, radios and other equipment only when they are powered down and the covering cannot block necessary cooling.
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USGS household ashfall guidance specifies water for 72 hours at one gallon per person per day. The same guidance calls for nonperishable food for at least 72 hours for all family members, including pets. These are general household targets, not a promise that every eruption will be over in three days.
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| Supply | Published amount | How to apply it |
|---|---|---|
| Drinking and household water | One gallon per person per day for 72 hours, according to USGS household guidance. | Multiply the daily amount by the number of people and three days. Add water for pets and any additional care needs; store containers where ash cannot contaminate them. |
| Nonperishable food | At least 72 hours, according to USGS household guidance, including pets. | Choose foods household members can eat without refrigeration and pair canned goods with the manual opener. |
| Prescription medicines for evacuation | At least one week, according to CDC’s eruption-preparedness page updated and reviewed August 25, 2026. | Keep an evacuation supply separate from the general 72-hour food-and-water target. Ask clinicians and pharmacies how to obtain lawful emergency refills. |
Do not treat the medication recommendation as a one-week requirement for every item in the kit, or the 72-hour food-and-water guidance as a complete evacuation timetable. Officials may order a longer shelter or a rapid move, and local conditions determine what is safe.
Adapt supplies to medical, disability and pet needs
Respiratory and other medical requirements
USGS recommends extra medicines or oxygen for people with existing respiratory difficulties, based on their care needs. Ask the treating professional what backup amount, storage method and power arrangements are appropriate; never change oxygen settings or prescriptions on your own. Keep a written list of diagnoses, prescriptions, doses, allergies and clinician contacts with the medicine bag.
Pack spare eyeglasses, contact lenses and solution. Include mobility equipment batteries, hearing-aid batteries or communication aids if a household member uses them. Label equipment so a helper can identify it quickly. The core supplies remain the same, but the quantity and storage requirements must be individualized.
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USGS household guidance says to store food and water for pets, and CDC preparedness guidance includes household members’ specific needs. Pack a leash or carrier, bowls and any pet medicines with the pet supplies. Keep these items near the exit so an evacuation does not depend on finding them after an alert.
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Build an evacuation go-bag
A go-bag should be light enough to carry while wearing sturdy shoes and eye protection. Put the items that cannot be replaced quickly—medicines, respirators, glasses and contact supplies—in an inner pouch that stays dry.
- Assign one bag to each person who can carry one; use a shared bag for heavier water, food or first-aid items.
- Place the flashlight, radio, spare batteries, respirators, goggles, shoes and essential medicines where they can be reached immediately.
- Add at least three days of nonperishable food and water based on the USGS quantities, while reserving at least a one-week prescription supply for evacuation as CDC advises.
- Add household-specific items, pet food and water, and a paper copy of the reunion plan and medical information.
- Store bags by an accessible exit and tell every household member where they are. Recheck contents after replacing or using anything.
Prepare a separate vehicle cache
Keep a vehicle supply cache rather than assuming the home kit will be in the car when an evacuation begins. CDC examples include food, flares, booster cables, maps, tools, a first-aid kit, a fire extinguisher, sleeping bags, a flashlight and batteries. Store supplies so they cannot shift into the driver’s footwell or obstruct visibility.
A vehicle cache does not authorize driving into ash, lava, a lahar path or a closed road. Ash can reduce visibility, damage engines and make roads slippery. Obey evacuation instructions and use designated routes; authorities warn that traffic and delays are likely.
Know how to shelter during ashfall
Close the building before ash enters
When authorities advise sheltering, CDC says to close and lock windows and outside doors. Turn off heating, air conditioning and fans that bring outside air indoors, and close the fireplace damper. Keep the battery radio working for updates. Do not improvise changes that create a fuel-burning or ventilation hazard; follow local emergency instructions for your building.
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Use protective equipment for necessary exposure
Avoid going outside while ash is falling unless officials say it is necessary. If you must go outdoors or clean ash indoors, use the NIOSH-approved N95 respirator and goggles described above. Keep children and people with respiratory conditions away from ash whenever possible.
Recognize when sheltering may no longer be safe
CDC notes that ashfall lasting more than a few hours can make sheltering unsafe over time. Roof load, blocked air intakes and changing hazards may require leaving. Listen for official instructions about whether and when to evacuate; do not decide solely from the amount of ash visible outside.
Maintain the kit between eruptions
- Check water containers, food dates, medicines, respirators, batteries and pet supplies on a regular schedule.
- Replace anything used, damaged by moisture or contaminated by ash.
- Test the radio and flashlights, and keep spare batteries sealed until needed.
- Update the hazard map, routes, reunion contacts and school or workplace arrangements when people move or routines change.
- Rehearse both a daytime and nighttime departure, including transport for people, pets and mobility equipment.
- Keep plastic, tape and electronics coverings together so they can be deployed quickly if ashfall begins.
Common preparation errors to avoid
Relying on one generic emergency box
A general kit may omit N95 respirators, goggles, plastic and tape, contact-lens supplies, oxygen or pet provisions. Use a generic kit only as a starting point, then add the volcano-specific and household-specific items listed here.
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Assuming a dust mask is equivalent to an N95
CDC describes nuisance dust masks as a last resort with less protection. Keep NIOSH-approved N95 respirators available and remember that particulate respirators do not remove toxic gases or vapors.
Planning only for three days
USGS’s 72-hour food-and-water target is useful, but CDC separately advises at least one week of prescription medicines for evacuation. An eruption can produce longer closures, so keep listening to local officials and follow any extended-supply direction they issue.
Sealing a house without considering ventilation
Plastic and tape can reduce ash entry during extreme ashfall, but sealing openings incorrectly can create dangerous indoor conditions. Use the closing, equipment-shutdown and fireplace-damper steps from CDC and any building-specific instructions from authorities.
Use this final pre-eruption checklist
- Evacuation routes, hazard zones and two reunion locations are written down and understood.
- Each person has access to a go-bag with a flashlight, batteries, first aid, food, water, can opener, medicines, sturdy shoes, N95 respirator, goggles and radio access.
- Water is calculated at one gallon per person per day for 72 hours, with additional water for pets and care needs.
- Nonperishable food covers at least 72 hours for people and pets.
- Evacuation medicine supplies cover at least one week of prescriptions, as CDC recommends.
- People with respiratory conditions have clinician-directed extra medicines or oxygen, and everyone has needed glasses or contact supplies.
- Plastic, tape and plastic wrap are stored for ash protection, and a separate vehicle cache is stocked.
- Everyone knows how to close windows and doors, shut down heating, air conditioning and fans, close the fireplace damper, and monitor the radio when sheltering.
- Everyone understands that local officials—not the kit owner—decide whether to shelter, evacuate or change routes.
CDC’s “Preparing for a Volcanic Eruption” and “Safety Guidelines: During a Volcanic Eruption” pages were updated and reviewed August 25, 2026. The USGS household ashfall page was modified December 16, 2015; its quantities remain identified above as USGS guidance, while current protective actions should follow local authorities and current CDC advice.
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