The government recommendation for emergency preparedness is 72 hours — three days. Have three days of water, three days of food, a flashlight, an emergency radio. FEMA has been pushing this message for decades. It is not wrong advice. But treating it as a finish line instead of a starting point is a mistake that has left a lot of families in real trouble. Three days is the floor. Here is why the jump to two weeks is smaller than you think — and why it changes everything. What Actually Happens Af