What would you do in the face of an event like Sandy? If you haven't really thought about a worst case scenario, you are not alone.

“In a recent survey 67 per cent of prairie residents said they had not taken steps to prepare in the event of a disaster,” said Kim MacLean, Canadian Red Cross disaster management lead for Saskatchewan.

We might be safe from hurricanes this far inland, but she points out that flooding, forest fires, tornadoes and blizzards all do happen here and people need to be ready.

Any emergency kit should have enough water and non-perishable food for each person in the house to last for three days.

“You need at least two litres of drinking water per person per day,” she said, adding that some people may want to factor in their pets.

Storing extra water and canned food along with flashlights makes sense, but the list for an emergency kit includes some things that people may not always consider. For example, a manual can opener so you can actually open your food.

“Also having a crank or battery-operated radio so you can get information,” MacLean said, noting that way you will know about evacuation orders right away.

People should also consider what would happen if an entire area lost power for more than a day – which did happen to a significant group of people in Saskatchewan this summer.

“Things like cash, I think people don’t realize that you can’t use an ATM and you just sort of forget about it,” she commented.

In case you do have to leave your home right away in a state of emergency, MacLean recommends keeping a bag packed with basic supplies and important documents like IDs and copies of insurance information.