When it comes to fuel, what does your body need more than less than air but more than food? Water, of course.
In an emergency or disaster, the water supply may become contaminated or a power outage may keep water from getting to your floor* if you live in a condo or an apartment building. It’s best to collect and store water BEFORE any contamination cycles through the system or the system water pressure drops.
But who has room for even temporary emergency water storage, especially in cozier dwellings? Turns out, most of us do! One easy and inexpensive way to do this is to keep a plastic liner or a water storage container (such as the WaterBOB), next to your tub. You can put it in your tub and fill it when you hear that the water supply may become contaminated or when serious blackouts threaten. Then you can use this water (wisely and sparingly) for drinking, cooking, and cleaning.
*In a power outage, water may not reach the higher floors because the pump systems that are responsible for pushing water to the upper floors rely on electricity to function. Without power, the pumps are unable to operate and the water pressure in the system drops, making it difficult or impossible to pump water to the higher floors. Additionally, in larger cities, most buildings have a water tank on the roof that is powered by electricity that cannot be refilled in an outage, so the water level in the tank will decrease and the pressure will drop.