What to put in a go bag
29 things, in a waterproof bag anyone in the house can lift, kept somewhere you can grab on the way out.
By Hamza Rivera, updated
Short answer: UNICEF Philippines' go-bag checklist has twenty-nine items. UNICEF does not rank them, so this page suggests starting with drinking water, ready-to-eat food, a first aid kit, a torch, a charged power bank, a whistle for every person, a written list of emergency numbers, antibacterial soap, cash in small notes and government-issued IDs.
Written for the Philippines. Emergency numbers are on their own page.
The list below is UNICEF Philippines' emergency go-bag checklist. Their version is in Taglish and gives the items on their own; this one gives the same items in English with a line saying what each is doing in the bag, because an item you understand is an item you replace when it runs out. The items are UNICEF's.
Source: UNICEF Philippines, Emergency Go-Bag checklist. Read 20 September 2026.
If you pack nothing else, pack these 10
Every one of them is on UNICEF's list. UNICEF does not rank its list. These ten are a good place to start.
The 10 to pack first, laid out
Every one is on UNICEF Philippines' list, and the full wording of each is under the drawing. UNICEF does not rank its list. These ten are a good place to start.
- Water
- Drinking water
- Food
- Ready-to-eat food that will not spoil
- First aid
- A first aid kit
- Torch
- A torch, crank or battery
- Power bank
- A charged power bank
- Whistle
- A whistle for every person, children included
- Numbers
- A written list of emergency numbers, including your barangay and LGU
- Soap
- Antibacterial soap
- Cash
- Cash in small notes
- IDs
- Government-issued IDs
Source: UNICEF Philippines, Emergency Go-Bag checklist. Read 20 September 2026.
- Drinking water Tap water can be cut off or turn unsafe after a disaster. DOH says to drink only from a safe and reliable source.
- Ready-to-eat food that will not spoil Easy-to-serve food, enough for three days, the Office of Civil Defense says. Crackers, biscuits and canned goods. If you pack cans, the PHIVOLCS kit adds a can opener.
- A first aid kit UNICEF lists alcohol, band-aids, antiseptics, bandages and tweezers. The PHIVOLCS school kit list is further down this page.
- A torch, crank or battery Power can stay off after the storm has passed. A crank torch can be charged by hand.
- A charged power bank Your phone is the radio, the map and the way your family finds you.
- A whistle for every person, children included UNICEF says one for every member of the family, children included.
- A written list of emergency numbers, including your barangay and LGU A dead phone takes your contacts with it.
- Antibacterial soap DOH says to wash your hands before and after eating and after using the toilet.
- Cash in small notes Card terminals and ATMs need power to work.
- Government-issued IDs
The full list
Four groups, 29 items. Print it, or work down it with the bag open on the floor.
Water, food and medicine
- Drinking water Tap water can be cut off or turn unsafe after a disaster. DOH says to drink only from a safe and reliable source.
- Ready-to-eat food that will not spoil Easy-to-serve food, enough for three days, the Office of Civil Defense says. Crackers, biscuits and canned goods. If you pack cans, the PHIVOLCS kit adds a can opener.
- A first aid kit UNICEF lists alcohol, band-aids, antiseptics, bandages and tweezers. The PHIVOLCS school kit list is further down this page.
- Medicine for fever, cough, colds, diarrhoea and anything else your household takes DOH warns that floods spread water-borne diseases. If anyone shows a sign of infection, DOH says to see a doctor or go to the nearest health facility at once.
- A thermometer A fever can be a sign of infection. DOH says to see a doctor or go to the nearest health facility at once if anyone has one.
- Vitamins and baby medicine UNICEF lists vitamins and medicine for babies as their own item.
Tools
- A torch, crank or battery Power can stay off after the storm has passed. A crank torch can be charged by hand.
- A charged power bank Your phone is the radio, the map and the way your family finds you.
- A whistle for every person, children included UNICEF says one for every member of the family, children included.
- A portable radio PHIVOLCS says to keep updated on instructions from a battery-operated radio.
- Candles and matches A backup to the torch. The BFP says to keep an eye on every lit candle, and suggests solar lights or lamps over frequent candle use.
- A raincoat DOH’s typhoon advice is to keep yourself dry and warm.
- Rope Tying a tarpaulin, hauling a bag, marking a route.
- A blanket
- Notebook and pencil A pencil writes when wet and needs no battery.
- A written list of emergency numbers, including your barangay and LGU A dead phone takes your contacts with it.
- A toy or comfort object for each child UNICEF lists it with the emergency tools.
Toiletries
- Antibacterial soap DOH says to wash your hands before and after eating and after using the toilet.
- Toothbrush and toothpaste
- Spare clothes One change per person, packed dry.
- Mosquito repellent DOH says more stagnant water means more mosquitoes and more dengue, and that repellents help.
- Menstrual pads
- Nappies and wet wipes for babies
- A COVID-19 safety kit UNICEF does not say what goes in it. For ashfall, UNICEF says to have goggles and a thick face mask for each person.
Documents and cash
- Cash in small notes Card terminals and ATMs need power to work.
- ATM card or passbook
- Government-issued IDs
- An ID card showing your blood type and an emergency contact For the moment you cannot answer for yourself.
- Passports, birth and marriage certificates, land and insurance papers, medical records Keep them dry, in a sealed plastic bag inside the waterproof bag.
Source: UNICEF Philippines, Emergency Go-Bag checklist. Read 20 September 2026.
Source: DOH, Water-borne Diseases Advisory, 29 July 2017. Read 8 October 2026.
Source: DOH, On guard for leptospirosis as rainy season continues, press release of 7 August 2024. Read 8 October 2026.
Source: PHIVOLCS, Earthquake Preparedness Guide: What to do Before, During and After an earthquake (June 2009, reprinted April 2011). Read 8 October 2026. The guide is a download listed on that page.
Source: GMA News, on the BFP, Fire prevention tips from BFP, 3 March 2025. Read 9 October 2026.
Source: PTV News, on the Office of Civil Defense, What's in a 'go bag'?, 25 July 2021. Read 9 October 2026.
What goes in the first aid kit
UNICEF's checklist names five things for it: alcohol, band-aids, antiseptics, bandages and tweezers. PHIVOLCS names what is inside one, in the earthquake survival kit it sets out for schools. Ito ang laman ng first aid kit, ayon sa PHIVOLCS.
- Alcohol
- Bandages
- Absorbent cotton
- Gauze
- Masks
- Adhesive plasters
- Medicine
- Tweezers
That is the whole of the PHIVOLCS list. UNICEF's list adds antiseptics. This page adds nothing to either. What to actually do with any of it is a separate question and not one this site answers. For that, call the numbers on the hotline page, or take a course with the Philippine Red Cross, which runs Standard First Aid and Basic Life Support training.
Source: PHIVOLCS, How to Conduct an Earthquake Drill in School: Primer for Teachers (printed October 2011 by DOST-PHIVOLCS). Read 23 September 2026. Linked from the PHIVOLCS Earthquake Preparedness page as a scanned two-page primer. Every phase and stage on this page was read from that scan on 23 September 2026.
Source: Philippine Red Cross, Contact Us (143, Standard First Aid and Basic Life Support training). Read 8 October 2026.
What changes for each hazard
The same bag works for each of these. These are the changes UNICEF names once you know what is coming.
- Typhoon
- Check the go bag is complete and your phone and power bank are fully charged. If your area floods often, raise anything the water could reach, the bag included.
- Earthquake
- Keep the bag where you can reach it once the shaking stops. UNICEF says to take it and go to the nearest open area or evacuation area, and not to use the lift.
- Volcanic eruption
- Add goggles and a thick face mask for every person, as UNICEF advises. The PHIVOLCS evacuation poster also shows a dust mask and safety goggles.
- Flood
- UNICEF says that if your area floods often, you should raise anything floodwater could reach. Keep the bag up high.
Source: UNICEF Philippines, Emergency preparedness tips: typhoons. Read 23 September 2026. UNICEF publishes this page in Filipino. The lines below are its wording, grouped as it groups them, with two obvious typos corrected (kumala to lumala, and handa ng to handa na). UNICEF’s line on cutting tree branches is left out, as Philippine agencies do not give it, and UNICEF’s “check the power lines yourself” is replaced by PAGASA’s rule, marked (PAGASA), that an electrician checks them before the main switch goes back on. The lines are UNICEF’s own Filipino wording.
Source: UNICEF Philippines, Emergency preparedness tips: earthquakes. Read 23 September 2026. UNICEF publishes this page in Filipino. The lines below are its wording, grouped as it groups them, except three lines marked (PHIVOLCS), which are PHIVOLCS’s own Filipino from its Gabay sa Paghahanda para sa Lindol (2015). They replace UNICEF lines that differed from PHIVOLCS: to stay where you are if outside, to head for one spot in the house, and to wait for an official tsunami advisory by the sea. PHIVOLCS’s tsunami page goes further: do not stay in low-lying coastal areas after any felt earthquake. UNICEF writes Drop, Cover and Hold; this sheet uses the PHIVOLCS term, Duck, Cover and Hold.
Source: UNICEF Philippines, Emergency preparedness tips: volcanic eruptions. Read 30 September 2026. UNICEF publishes this page in Filipino. The lines below are its wording, grouped as it groups them, with two obvious typos corrected. The lines are UNICEF’s own Filipino wording. UNICEF’s “basang tela” (wet cloth) is changed to a damp clean cloth, which is what the PHIVOLCS ashfall sheet says, and UNICEF’s line about children helping with the clean-up is left out, as Philippine agencies do not give it.
Where to keep it, and when to check it
UNICEF gives four instructions about the bag itself rather than its contents. Use a waterproof bag. Make sure anyone in the family can carry it. Make sure it stays complete. Keep it somewhere it is easy to grab in an emergency.
UNICEF says to keep the go bag complete. The Office of Civil Defense says to check and replenish it every three months. Water, batteries, medicine and baby supplies all expire or get borrowed, and a bag nobody has opened since it was packed is a bag of out-of-date food.
Copy the numbers for the written list
Source: UNICEF Philippines, Emergency Go-Bag checklist. Read 20 September 2026.
Source: PTV News, on the Office of Civil Defense, What's in a 'go bag'?, 25 July 2021. Read 9 October 2026.
