I hesitate to get too deeply into this or it will turn into a dedicated preppers thread with all the connotations that label sometimes implies and this isn't a preppers forum.

But there are all sorts of dedicated 'preppers' websites and forums available. Since the Discovery Channel started their TV series on disaster prepping the info sites have really proliferated in numbers and Google will link you to hundreds of them. Keep in mind that one doesn't need to buy into all the reasons some use for their prepping, the goals are the same regardless of the cause of the disaster. It is just the degree and type of prepping that changes.

So some links from my collection:

American Red Cross website provides an extensive Check List for disaster prep.

Best Food items list

FEMA Disater Prep

Food & Water for an Emergency

Good places to start.

Dave

We're in a situation where we could wind up "without" for a while, too. I guess you could call me a prepper, although I do not prep for the extreme like the ones on TV and a friend of mine who lives in Idaho. We have been stranded in our home in winter before so I always keep a good supply of food and other items in case we can't get out and power outages. We live in a corridor where tornadoes are drawn to. We do have a generator which is a blessing. Both DH and I are Hams and of course we have the required ham radio. We also have battery powered Coleman lanterns in two sizes and one propane one plus LED flashlights. We have battery packs for our C-PAP machines. I bought DH a very small solar charger to clip onto his backpack that will charge his cell phone or camera batteries whenever needed. It didn't cost much and is ridiculously small and lightweight. Got that for his canoeing drip down the Mississippi. I keep on hand camping items to help like a propane stove and extra cans of propane for cooking. Any foods that don't have to be cooked are great, like tuna and salmon in the packages. They take up little room. Canned goods work, but take up more room. Stock what you like. Of course any easy to prepare foods like soups for winter and one pot meals. You could even make up your own just add boiling water food packages. I did this for my DH when he was going to hike the Appalachian Trail. Four servings packaged mashed potatoes by Idahoan that you just add boiling water to are really, really good and come in several varieties. I carry these in our motorhome for convenience along with several other long lasting, quick to fix foods. I also keep some Nido powdered milk handy and Bisquick in a large Zip-Lock bag. You need some pots to cook in and something to eat off of. I use to have a kit from our early camping days (nearly 40 years ago) that had a dutch oven sized pot with a couple of other pots, plates, cups a small coffee pot utensils that all nested inside the big pot and a frying pan that doubled as a lid. It took up very little room and worked well. Don't forget a small dishpan and dish soap to wash up in.

You could keep a couple of inflatable beds handy or camping cots with sleeping bags. I've always had some of those silver survival blankets in each vehicle in case of breakdowns in the winter and they would be good if you didn't have heat in your basement. They come folded, about the size of a deck of cards and when I first bought them at Wally World they were around $2 each. One for each person. Keep a separate stash of hygiene items there as well. And don't forget some extra clothes and a pair of sturdy shoes for each person. You don't want to have a tornado go through and you only have slippers or are barefoot.

Make sure you have extra food for any animals you have.When we had a blizzard in the seventies, I had two humongous dogs and about enough dog food for one day and half a roll of TP. We lived in the city then, but walking four blocks to a grocery then back with dog food and TP in deep snow was not fun. I have always kept a good stash of each since then.

As for first aid supplies, make sure you check out what are in really good commercial kits and make your own. Then make sure you have any special items you normally use like antacids, cough syrup, eye drops, etc. Try to build up a little extra of your prescription drugs in case any would expire while you're isolated and couldn't get anywhere to refill them.

Books, coloring books plus crayons, sticker books, board games, card games and a few craft supplies will keep kids occupied. Some of these will also work for adults and I'm sure you can think of things you'd enjoy. Knitting, crocheting, needlework, crossword puzzles?

That's just some of the things I do and keep on hand. Keep all these things together if you can in your walk out basement and make sure you rotate items before expiration dates. I'm sure I left out a lot, but by going through the links Dave posted for you, I'm sure you'll find others to cover what you need.

In addition:
Water... Both for drinking and washing. You will need to change this out every so often because it can get old/or contaminated.

A lot of small bills cash - ones, fives. If you only have 20s then you will pay $20 for a gallon of water, etc. because the store won't have change.

Make sure the first aid kit has BIG surgical pads too that can be used as a base pressure pad for severe bleeding; you can add rags on top if needed, but it helps if the pad on the wound is at least clean if not sterile.
And some surgical gloves too. In first aid from a tornado you will need to think of severe injury more than just scratches.
This will sound strange, but a pkg of butterfly bandages to pull wounds together might be a blessing.

Good luck.... A a jar or two of canned peaches never hurts.

Sorry, I didn't intend this to be a complete "prepping" question, there are wonderful sites for the basics as digdirt nicely went to the trouble to list for us, but I intended the question to be more like what bcskye and westelle said. The little things you don't know you need until you do.

My eye doctor said to keep another set of eyeglasses down there, for each of us, a magnifying glass too. Never had thought of the prescriptions that all of us take daily. I won't have little children to deal with but I can envision boredom with adults. I thought my digital camera would be useful, if nothing else than to take nature photos. A pile of notebook paper and pencils for writing the next best selling novel, or sketching as a new hobby; an extra quartz watch and more than one lantern. I have a pile of paperbacks from the Goodwill store and spray paint in case we have to mark a trail through the woods or write on the roof - heaven forbid. The blow up mattresses are a good thought because there isn't much comfort in the basement, which brings to mind that extra chairs and a folding table would make it more homey, and I'll drag out that old rug that's been cleanly stored to put down.

Thanks for your suggestions - I hope we and all of you never have to use them.
Nancy

Food - canned or dehydrated:

jars or foil packs of dried beef (purchased)
jars of beef/chicken vegetable soup
dry pasta
rice
jars of canned beans
plastic silverware and plates
dish soap (dishes and washing)
candy bars, honey, jams and jellies for sugar energy
jars of tomato and grape juice
powdered or canned milk
iodized salt
cooking pot
cooking source of heat for cooking
lots and lots of water (if sourced outside then water treatment tabs)

For hurricanes - a few filled sand bags to limit flooding in safe area

Dave

These may be already listed...
A whistle...
Manual can opener.....

After walking two miles to the store in a blizzard, we now keep two weeks worth of pet food on hand all year round.

During Hurricane Irene (and TS Lee right on her heels), our walk-out basement was flooded for about 6 weeks but we did have electricity. The hot water heater was underwater, so we bought a portable propane shower unit. That first hot shower was totally worth the $100 for the shower. We now keep 6 propane bottles in stock for cooking on an outdoor stove, the grill, etc. and the shower unit is used all summer for instant hot water at the fish cleaning station and outdoor showers.

I didn't have enough bleach for clean up, so I stock gallons of it now, too. I discovered that bleach does lose its effectiveness, so I mark the date I bought it and try to use it within 6 to 8 months.

During Sandy, we didn't flood but we lost electricity for two weeks. The propane generator was a godsend. Our neighbors with gas generators were out of luck, because there wasn't any gasoline to purchase plus the three gas stations in town are right along the river and their tanks flooded, contaminating what little gas they did have.

We keep a chain saw and 10 gallons of gas handy for clearing trees. We found adding a product called Seafoam to the gas really keeps the 2 cycle engines clean and ready to go. It's about $14 a can from amazon, and works much better than Stabil.

Sounds nasty, but an #1 X-acto knife and tweezers are great for extracting splinters - I managed to get impaled on a tree limb as we were cutting up a fallen tree in the yard. Plenty of large gauze pads, antibiotic ointment and Ace bandages plus a box of latex gloves came in handy as all the roads were blocked so I couldn't have gotten to a doctor's office even if I wanted too! Sometimes you do what you have to do.

I think everyone else has covered the food and supplies. We're not "preppers", but we do try to be prepared - as you said - for the worst. Hope we never need it, but the disasters we've had in the last three years taught me a lot - especially never to take Mother Nature for granted.

supplies, water, food, are all good, but what happens financially/medically when the worst happens?

you need to have medical records, marriage records, tax records, mortgage records, bank account numbers, etc etc etc.
so if for some reason records are lost, due to wind or water you will have what you need. below is a great link for getting all your paperwork together in one place. it's a tough job though, there are lots of details that need to be located and documented. The EFFAK does a good job in getting you started. GL

Here is a link that might be useful: Emergency Financial First Aid Kit