Best Emergency Water Storage for Earthquake Preparedness (2025 Guide)

Last updated: February 2025

Water is the single most critical supply in any earthquake emergency. You can survive weeks without food, but only about three days without water. When an earthquake damages water mains, contaminates municipal supplies, or knocks out power to pumping stations, you need a reliable plan to access clean drinking water — and that plan starts long before the ground shakes.

This guide covers the best water storage containers, purification systems, and emergency water sources to keep your household safe through an extended disruption.

Key Takeaways

• FEMA recommends storing a minimum of 1 gallon of water per person per day — 3 days is the minimum, but 14 days is the realistic target for a major earthquake.
• A family of four needs at least 56 gallons for a two-week supply, not counting pets or hot weather.
• Your water heater already holds 40–60 gallons of emergency water — learn how to drain it safely before you need to.
• Even properly stored water can become contaminated after an earthquake breaks pipes, so pair storage with purification.
• Stackable containers like WaterBricks offer the best balance of capacity and portability for apartment and house storage alike.

Why Water Storage Matters After an Earthquake

When a major earthquake strikes, municipal water systems are among the first pieces of infrastructure to fail. Underground pipes crack and break. Pumping stations lose power. Treatment facilities can sustain structural damage. After the 1994 Northridge earthquake, parts of Los Angeles lost water service for days. Following the 2010 Chile earthquake, some communities went without running water for weeks.

Even if water continues flowing from your tap after a quake, it may not be safe. Broken mains can allow soil, sewage, and chemical contaminants to seep into the water supply. Local authorities may issue boil-water advisories, but if you've also lost power or gas, boiling isn't always an option.

That's why the preparedness approach has two layers: store enough clean water to get through the initial emergency, and have the ability to purify additional water from alternative sources.

earthquake safety tips

How Much Water Do You Actually Need?

FEMA and the American Red Cross both recommend a minimum of 1 gallon per person per day for drinking and basic sanitation. That breaks down to roughly half a gallon for drinking and half a gallon for food preparation and hygiene.

But that's a survival minimum. In practice, you'll want more if:

• You live in a hot climate or it's summer (increase to 1.5 gallons/day)
• You have young children, elderly family members, or anyone who is ill
• You have pets (dogs need roughly 1 ounce of water per pound of body weight per day)
• You need water for cooking dehydrated or freeze-dried emergency food

Realistic storage targets:

A 14-day supply sounds like a lot, but it's achievable with the right combination of dedicated storage containers and awareness of backup water sources in your home.

FEMA Water Storage Guidelines

Water Storage Products Compared

Dedicated Water Storage Containers

WaterBrick 3.5-Gallon Containers

WaterBrick 3.5-Gallon — Rugged, interlocking BPA-free HDPE containers designed to stack like building blocks. Each holds 3.5 gallons (about 29 lbs when full). The rectangular shape maximizes storage space compared to round containers. $18–$22 each. Best for: apartments, closet storage, modular systems you can build over time.

WaterBricks are one of the most practical solutions for earthquake preparedness because they solve the biggest problem with water storage: portability. A full 55-gallon drum weighs over 450 pounds and isn't going anywhere if you need to evacuate. A single WaterBrick weighs about 29 pounds — manageable for most adults to carry. The interlocking design means you can stack them in a closet, under a bed, or along a garage wall.

The flip side is cost. Building a 14-day supply for a family of four (56 gallons) requires 16 WaterBricks at roughly $20 each — around $320 just for containers. But the durability and versatility justify the investment for many households.

Scepter 5-Gallon Military Water Can

Scepter 5-Gallon Military Water Can (MWC) — The same heavy-duty water container used by the U.S. and Canadian military. Thick-walled BPA-free HDPE with a wide-mouth cap and integrated handle. About 42 lbs when full. $25–$35. Best for: rugged durability, outdoor storage, vehicle kits.

These containers are built to survive being thrown around in military vehicles, so they'll handle an earthquake just fine. The wide mouth makes filling and cleaning easier than narrow-neck containers. The downside is that they don't stack as efficiently as WaterBricks, and at 42 pounds when full, they're at the upper end of comfortable carrying weight.

Reliance Aqua-Tainer 7-Gallon

Reliance Aqua-Tainer 7-Gallon — Affordable blue water jug with a hideaway spigot and vented cap for smooth pouring. BPA-free. About 58 lbs when full. $14–$20. Best for: budget-conscious families, bulk water storage in a garage.

The Aqua-Tainer is the go-to budget option for water storage. At under $20, you can buy four of them (28 gallons) for the price of a single WaterBrick setup. The spigot is convenient for dispensing water without tilting the heavy container.

The tradeoffs: they don't stack well (the shape is somewhat irregular), the plastic is thinner than WaterBricks or military cans, and at 58 pounds when full, a 7-gallon container is too heavy for some people to carry comfortably. Still, for stationary garage storage, they're hard to beat on value.

WaterBOB Bathtub Bladder

WaterBOB — A disposable, food-grade plastic bladder that sits inside your bathtub and fills from the faucet. Holds up to 100 gallons. Includes a siphon pump for dispensing. $30–$40. Best for: capturing water before a predicted event or at the first sign of an earthquake swarm.

The WaterBOB is a clever bridge between "no preparation" and "full storage system." If you have any warning before water service is disrupted — earthquake swarm activity, a nearby quake that hasn't affected your area yet, or even just a severe weather warning — you can fill the WaterBOB in about 20 minutes and have up to 100 gallons of clean water.

The limitation is obvious: you need advance warning and working water pressure. It's not a substitute for dedicated storage containers, but it's an excellent supplement that takes up zero space when not in use.

55-Gallon Water Storage Barrel

55-Gallon Water Storage Drum (various manufacturers including Augason Farms, Emergency Essentials) — Large BPA-free HDPE drums typically in blue with bung caps. About 460 lbs when full. $60–$90 for the barrel; pump sold separately ($8–$15). Best for: homeowners with garage or basement space.

A single 55-gallon drum covers a two-week supply for one person with gallons to spare. Two drums handle a family of two for two weeks. The cost per gallon of storage is unbeatable.

But there are real drawbacks: these drums are effectively immovable once filled (460 pounds), so they must be filled in their permanent location. You need a hand pump or siphon to get water out. And they need a flat, stable surface — in an earthquake, an unsecured barrel could topple and rupture, which is both dangerous and defeats the purpose. Secure barrels with strapping or place them against a wall on a non-slip mat.

You'll also need a water preserver concentrate (such as Water Preserver by Mayday) to treat the water at fill time, which extends the storage life to 5 years. Without treatment, you should rotate stored water every 6–12 months.

Your Water Heater: The Emergency Source You Already Have

Most homes have a 40 to 60-gallon water heater, and that tank is full of potable water right now. In an earthquake emergency, this is your first backup water source — but you need to know how to access it safely.

How to drain your water heater in an emergency:

1. Turn off the gas or electricity to the heater.
2. Turn off the cold water inlet valve at the top of the tank.
3. Open a hot water faucet somewhere in the house to break the vacuum.
4. Connect a hose to the drain valve at the bottom of the tank (or place a container below it).
5. Open the drain valve and collect the water.

Important notes: The first water out may contain sediment, especially if the heater hasn't been flushed recently. Let it run briefly, then collect the cleaner water. This water is safe to drink without purification as long as your home's plumbing wasn't damaged. If you suspect pipe damage, treat it like any other uncertain water source and purify before drinking.

earthquake emergency kits

Water Purification: Your Second Line of Defense

Even with stored water, you need purification capability. After a major earthquake, you may need to draw water from pools, water heaters, rainwater collection, or even streams and ponds. Having a reliable way to make that water safe is essential.

Sawyer Mini Water Filter

Sawyer Mini Water Filter — Compact hollow-fiber membrane filter rated to 0.1 microns. Removes 99.99999% of bacteria and 99.9999% of protozoa. Filters up to 100,000 gallons. Weighs 2 ounces. Comes with a 16-oz squeeze pouch, drinking straw, and cleaning syringe. $20–$25. Best for: portable filtration, go-bags, car kits.

The Sawyer Mini is probably the single best value in water purification for emergency preparedness. At $20, it's cheap enough to put one in every emergency kit you own. It doesn't remove viruses (few portable filters do), but in a post-earthquake scenario in the U.S., bacteria and protozoa are the primary concerns from contaminated municipal water and natural water sources.

The flow rate is slower than larger filters — you're squeezing water through a pouch — but for emergency use, that's an acceptable tradeoff for the size, weight, and cost.

LifeStraw Personal Water Filter

LifeStraw Personal Water Filter — A straw-style hollow-fiber membrane filter rated to 0.2 microns. Removes 99.9999% of bacteria and 99.9% of parasites. Filters up to 1,000 gallons (newer models up to 4,000 gallons). Weighs 2 ounces. $15–$20. Best for: individual emergency use, backpack kits.

The LifeStraw is iconic in the survival world, and for good reason — it's dead simple. Put one end in water, suck from the other end. No squeezing, no setup, no moving parts.

The limitation is that you can only use it to drink directly from a source or container. You can't easily filter water into a clean bottle for later (without jury-rigging the setup). For household preparedness, the Sawyer Mini's squeeze-pouch system is more versatile. But for a grab-and-go emergency kit where simplicity matters, the LifeStraw is excellent.

Berkey Travel Water Purifier

Berkey Travel Water Purifier — Gravity-fed stainless steel system with two Black Berkey purification elements. Holds 1.5 gallons in the upper chamber. Removes 99.9999999% of pathogenic bacteria, 99.999% of viruses, and reduces heavy metals, chemicals, and pharmaceuticals. Flow rate of about 2.75 gallons per hour with two elements. $280–$330. Best for: household-level purification, long-duration emergencies.

The Berkey sits in a different category from portable filters. It's a gravity-fed system that can purify large volumes of water without electricity, pumping, or squeezing. Pour water into the top chamber, and gravity pulls it through the purification elements into the lower chamber. The Black Berkey elements are among the few portable purification options that remove viruses in addition to bacteria and protozoa.

For a family planning for a multi-week disruption, a Berkey system makes sense as the primary purification method. The upfront cost is high, but the elements last for approximately 6,000 gallons (3,000 gallons per element), which is years of emergency use.

The downside: it's not portable in the way a Sawyer Mini is. It weighs 7 pounds empty, and you're not putting it in a go-bag. It's a shelter-in-place solution.

Other Purification Methods

Water purification tablets (such as Potable Aqua or Katadyn Micropur) are lightweight and cheap, making them good additions to car kits and go-bags. Most use iodine or chlorine dioxide to kill pathogens. Downsides include taste, wait time (30 minutes to 4 hours depending on the product), and limited effectiveness against certain parasites like Cryptosporidium.

Boiling remains the most reliable method if you have fuel. A rolling boil for one minute (three minutes above 6,500 feet elevation) kills virtually all pathogens. The challenge after an earthquake is having a heat source — your stove may not work if gas lines are damaged or electricity is out. A camp stove with stored fuel is a worthy addition to your preparedness supplies.

Household bleach (unscented, 6–8.25% sodium hypochlorite) can disinfect water in a pinch: add 8 drops per gallon of clear water (16 drops for cloudy water), stir, and wait 30 minutes. The water should have a slight chlorine smell. This doesn't remove chemical contaminants or sediment, but it handles biological threats.

Red Cross Earthquake Preparedness

Water Storage Buying Guide

What to Look For

Material: All water storage containers should be BPA-free, food-grade HDPE (high-density polyethylene) or PETE/PET plastic. Look for the recycling symbol #2 (HDPE) or #1 (PET) on the bottom. Never store water in containers that previously held non-food substances.

Opacity: Blue or opaque containers block light, which inhibits algae growth. Clear containers work but should be stored in the dark.

Portability vs. capacity: This is the fundamental tradeoff. A 55-gallon drum is the most space-efficient storage per dollar, but it's immovable when full. Smaller containers (3.5 to 7 gallons) cost more per gallon of capacity but can actually be carried during an evacuation.

Spigots and dispensing: Containers with built-in spigots (like the Aqua-Tainer) are more convenient for daily dispensing. For containers without spigots, you'll need a hand pump or siphon.

Stackability: If space is limited, stackable containers like WaterBricks maximize vertical storage. Make sure containers are designed to bear weight when stacked — not all are.

What to Avoid

• Milk jugs and juice containers: The plastic is too thin and biodegrades quickly. Milk proteins are nearly impossible to fully remove, leading to bacterial growth.
• Glass containers: Earthquake. Shaking. Glass. Don't.
• Containers that held chemicals: Even thoroughly cleaned containers that once held bleach, solvents, or other non-food substances can leach residues into water.
• Direct sunlight storage: UV light degrades plastic and promotes algae growth, even in treated water.
• Forgetting to rotate: Commercially sealed water (bottled water) has a shelf life of about 2 years. Home-filled containers without preservative treatment should be rotated every 6–12 months.

Water Treatment for Long-Term Storage

If you're filling containers from your tap, the existing chlorine in municipal water provides some protection, but it dissipates over time. For storage beyond 6 months, add a water preserver concentrate following the manufacturer's directions. Products like Water Preserver Concentrate by Mayday are specifically designed for this purpose.

Alternatively, you can add 1/8 teaspoon (about 8 drops) of plain, unscented household bleach per gallon of water at fill time. This extends safe storage to about 6 months, at which point you should dump, clean, and refill.

emergency food supply guide

Building Your Water Preparedness System

Rather than choosing a single solution, the most resilient approach combines multiple methods:

Layer 1 — Dedicated storage (covers days 1–7): WaterBricks, Aqua-Tainers, or 55-gallon drums filled and treated with clean water. This is your guaranteed supply that requires no additional processing.

Layer 2 — Emergency capture (extends supply): A WaterBOB bathtub bladder ready to fill if you have any warning. Know how to drain your water heater. Understand where other water sources exist near your home (pools, ponds, rainwater).

Layer 3 — Purification capability (indefinite): A gravity-fed system like a Berkey for shelter-in-place, plus portable filters (Sawyer Mini, LifeStraw) for go-bags and car kits. Water purification tablets as a lightweight backup.

This layered approach means that even if your stored water runs out or is compromised, you have the tools and knowledge to continue accessing clean water.

FAQ

How long does stored water actually last?

Commercially sealed bottled water can last indefinitely if stored properly, though manufacturers typically print a 2-year best-by date. Water you store yourself in clean containers with treatment (bleach or water preserver) is generally safe for 6 months to 5 years depending on the treatment method. Without any treatment, rotate home-stored water every 6 months.

Can I store water in my garage where it gets hot?

Yes, but with caveats. Heat accelerates the breakdown of chlorine treatment and can cause plastic to degrade faster, potentially leaching trace chemicals. Store containers off concrete floors (use a wooden pallet or shelf) and away from chemicals like gasoline, pesticides, or paint. Heat won't make properly treated water unsafe, but it may affect taste and reduce the shelf life of your treatment.

How do I know if my stored water is still safe to drink?

If the container is undamaged, properly sealed, and was stored away from heat and sunlight, your treated water is almost certainly fine. If it smells odd, looks cloudy, or the container has been compromised, run it through a purification system before drinking. When in doubt, purify.

Is a Berkey filter worth the high cost for earthquake preparedness?

For a household planning to shelter in place during a prolonged water outage, yes. The ability to process gallons of water per day without electricity, pumping, or consumable tablets is valuable. But if you're on a budget, a $20 Sawyer Mini provides excellent filtration at a fraction of the cost — you'll just need to work harder (literally, squeezing the pouches) to process the same volume.

Should I buy bottled water instead of storage containers?

Bottled water is a fine supplement, especially for go-bags and car kits. But for your primary home supply, dedicated containers are more economical and sustainable. A case of 24 water bottles holds about 3 gallons — you'd need nearly 19 cases for a two-week supply for a family of four. That's expensive and takes up more space than purpose-built containers.

What about water from my swimming pool?

Pool water contains chlorine and other treatment chemicals, so it's not ideal for drinking without filtration. However, in an emergency, pool water can be purified using a Berkey or similar system that removes chemicals. It's also useful for sanitation, cleaning, and flushing toilets. A typical residential pool holds 10,000–20,000 gallons — that's a significant emergency resource. Do not drink pool water directly without proper purification.

Sources

• Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). "Water." Ready.gov. https://www.ready.gov/water
• American Red Cross. "Earthquake Safety." https://www.redcross.org/get-help/how-to-prepare-for-emergencies/types-of-emergencies/earthquake.html
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "Making Water Safe in an Emergency." https://www.cdc.gov/healthywater/emergency/making-water-safe.html
• Environmental Protection Agency. "Emergency Disinfection of Drinking Water." https://www.epa.gov/ground-water-and-drinking-water/emergency-disinfection-drinking-water