Babies and older people
Bottles, baby food, tins of milk, nappies and each person's medicines. ISSSTE adds food for special diets.
Hour zero
Mexico's emergency backpack list
Mexico's National Center for Disaster Prevention (CENAPRED) says what goes in the mochila de emergencia must last 72 hours and be enough for the whole family. The list is on gob.mx. The emergency number is 911.
Read6 min read
Updated11 Nov 2026
TopicHour zero
Official sources8
What goes in the backpack
These are the items CENAPRED calls essential, with its reason for each.
- Torch with batteries. An earthquake can damage the electrical wiring.
- A radio that works without internet, TV or the mobile network, for alerts and official instructions.
- Bottled water, still rather than sparkling.
- Non-perishable food. Tins work well. Pick light, single-portion food that is easy to open and gives energy.
- Warm clothing: a blanket, clothes, a rain jacket and spare shoes in case yours get wet.
- Lighter or matches.
- Whistle, to call for help if someone is trapped.
- Photocopies of your important papers, or copies on a USB stick.
- A spare house key, since keys get lost in a rushed exit.
- Medicines and tins of milk if anyone at home is a baby, on treatment or elderly: bottles, baby food, medicines, formula and nappies.
- Cash.
- Photos of each family member and of your pets.
Why 72 hours
CENAPRED puts it this way: «Los alimentos, medicamentos, baterías, así como artículos para resguardarte de los cambios de temperatura que contenga la mochila de emergencia, deben contemplarse para que duren 72 horas y alcancen para toda la familia.» In English: “The food, medicines, batteries and items to protect you from temperature changes in the emergency backpack should be planned to last 72 hours and be enough for the whole family.”
The count is per family. One backpack has to see everyone in the home through three days.
We read the CENAPRED pages on 11 November 2026. They were published in 2018 and 2019 and are still live on gob.mx.
How much water to pack
CENAPRED asks for bottled water without giving litres. The Fallback72 calculator uses the US CDC figure of 3.8 litres per person per day.
| People | Water for 72 hours |
|---|---|
| 1 | about 11 litres |
| 2 | about 23 litres |
| 3 | about 34 litres |
| 4 | about 45 litres |
| 5 | about 57 litres |
| 6 | about 68 litres |
3.8 L per person per day for 3 days (CDC), rounded. The water calculator adds pets and hot weather for your home.
Fit it to the people you live with
CENAPRED and ISSSTE, the state workers' health institute, ask that the backpack cover everyone, animals included.
Pets
Their food, a recent photo and their vaccination card.
Everyone's papers
Copies of birth certificates, CURP, ID cards, vaccination records and medical cards, in a sealed plastic bag and scanned onto a USB stick.
The backpack and earthquakes
CENAPRED gives the same list for facing an earthquake. Three things change how you use it:
- Keep it visible and within reach, best in the safest part of the home or along your evacuation route.
- Check the torch batteries. The torch tops the list because a quake can knock out the wiring.
- Pack the whistle where you can find it fast: it is how a trapped person calls for help.
- Keep a second backpack in the car or at work, as CENAPRED asks.
What the 48-hour list adds
That version names a few items the main list leaves out.
| Item | What for |
|---|---|
| Directory of family, schools, emergency services and Protección Civil | In case your phone is lost or flat |
| Personal hygiene and menstrual products | Washing during days away |
| Two or three changes of clothes | More changes than the 72-hour list |
| First aid kit | Basic wound care |
| Portable radio and lamp with spare batteries | News and light |
| Tools for simple repairs | Small fixes |
Source: CENAPRED, Prepara tu mochila de emergencia. ¡No lo pienses!.
Questions people ask
What should a Mexican emergency backpack contain?
A torch with batteries, a radio, bottled water, tins and other non-perishable food, warm clothing, a lighter or matches, a whistle, copies of papers, a spare key, medicines, cash and photos of the family and pets.
What is the mochila de emergencia for?
Leaving home with what you need and getting through the first 72 hours after a disaster, according to CENAPRED.
How much water goes in it?
CENAPRED sets no litre figure. At the CDC's 3.8 litres per person per day, a family of four needs about 45 litres for three days.
Where do I keep it?
Somewhere visible and easy to reach, best in the safest part of the home or on your evacuation route. CENAPRED also suggests a second one in the car or at work.
One backpack per person or per family?
CENAPRED plans it for the whole family. ISSSTE suggests one per household or flat, so it stays light enough to carry.
Next step
Tick off your own
The Fallback72 72-hour checklist runs on your phone and remembers what you already have. The Fallback72 book, on paper that works with the power out, is still being written: join the list to hear the launch date first.
Read next
Sources
- CENAPRED: Incluye en tu mochila de emergencia artículos para las primeras 72 horas (Spanish) The quote. 15 Nov 2019, read 11 Nov 2026.
- CENAPRED: Ten lista tu mochila de emergencia (Spanish)
- CENAPRED: ¡Sácate un 10 en tu mochila de emergencia! (Spanish)
- CENAPRED: Mochila de emergencia. ¡Prepárala! (Spanish)
- CENAPRED: Prepara tu mochila de emergencia. ¡No lo pienses! (Spanish)
- ISSSTE: Mochila de emergencia (Spanish)
- Government of Mexico: 911
- CDC: How to Create and Store an Emergency Water Supply