BESTPREP.
ES SOS

The project

Self-reliant, not scared

BESTPREP is a practical guide, in English and Spanish, to help anyone cope on their own when, in a disaster, emergency services are stretched too thin. There are no ads. Some links in the gadgets section are affiliate links, and we always say so.

Principles

  • No fear-mongering. The vast majority of emergencies are outages, storms or water cuts. Preparing for them is common sense, not fear.
  • Useful over exhaustive. We'd rather give five steps people actually take than a hundred nobody will.
  • Built for the real world. We use examples from the US, Latin America and Europe, and point out what changes from one country to another: emergency numbers, alerts, radios or products.
  • Cheap first. Almost everything we recommend is already in your home or costs little. Gadgets are a complement, never the starting point.

Method and sources

Official recommendations are a reliable base, but they tend to be very general. That's why each guide combines two types of sources:

Preparedness experts

Websites and guides that test gear, consult emergency professionals and explain the reasoning behind each recommendation:

  • The Prepared (theprepared.com): go-bag, prioritized first aid kit, water, filters and pantry guides.
  • The Survival Mom (thesurvivalmom.com): water storage and purification.
  • TruePrepper (trueprepper.com): home kits, power and communications.

Official bodies

When sources disagree, we say so and choose the most cautious option. When a recommendation only applies to one country, like a weather radio, a license or a product, we point it out and give the alternative.

Important notice

This website is for general information. It doesn't replace medical care or instructions from the authorities. In an emergency, call your country's emergency number and follow what emergency services tell you.

Privacy

We use no cookies, third-party analytics or trackers. Fonts are served from this same domain. The checklist saves your progress only in your browser, your language choice is stored the same way, and the calculator sends no data anywhere.