Emergency Preparedness Kits

We followed this list from Ready.gov

Water, one gallon of water per person per day for at least three days, for drinking and sanitation
Food, at least a three-day supply of non-perishable food
Battery-powered or hand crank radio and a NOAA Weather Radio with tone alert and extra batteries for both
Flashlight and extra batteries
First aid kit
Whistle to signal for help
Dust mask, to help filter contaminated air and plastic sheeting and duct tape to shelter-in-place
Moist towelettes, garbage bags and plastic ties for personal sanitation
Wrench or pliers to turn off utilities
Can opener for food (if kit contains canned food)
Local maps
Cell phone with chargers

Prescription medications and glasses
Infant formula and diapers
Pet food and extra water for your pet
Important family documents such as copies of insurance policies, identification and bank account records in a waterproof, portable container
Cash or traveler's checks and change
Sleeping bag or warm blanket for each person. Consider additional bedding if you live in a cold-weather climate.
Complete change of clothing including a long sleeved shirt, long pants and sturdy shoes. Consider additional clothing if you live in a cold-weather climate.
Fire Extinguisher
Matches in a waterproof container
Feminine supplies and personal hygiene items

We always keep a few gallons of water around for hurricane season. Have flash lights and check the batteries. Some cans of soup, crackers. We also have a little charcoal grill for when the electric is out. If you have someone handy a generator and a window shaker is a good thing. But seriously keep that thing out of the garage, the house and away from any window. First aide stuff bandaids anti bacterial lotion and sprays. 1 or 2 not such a big deal but its suppose to be a 3 when it hits. If they tell you to evacuate do so. Do so before everyone starts. If you are going to a red cross bring a blanket and some food cause usually they do not have much there. Your pets must not be left at the house and make sure you have a place set up for them. A hotel that accepts pets etc. Yeah I'm hoping it misses us all. And very important get a full tank of gas for your car. Sometimes you cannot get gas for a long while.

First and foremost, have a plan. My plan is that if it gets close enough that I might actually NEED plywood on my windows and enough bottled water for 3 days, that I will be long gone---evacuated to somewhere else inland... like family in Atlanta or whatever. So, my plan includes copies of prescriptions for medications (son's and the dog's), dog food, suitcases of clothes, valuable documents (in a watersafe box), and irreplaceable items (like baby scrapbooks), my harddrive backup (or maybe even my whole computer---it's a mac, so all one piece that fits right back in its box), and cash. The rest can be replaced with insurance if necessary.
Now, if you don't have anywhere to go, then your list is going to be much different. My car already has jumper cables, flashlights, etc in it... so if I have my car, I have that.
Bottled water, canned/dry goods, ziploc bags, charcoal in a water proof container to keep it dry, etc. I also make sure that I keep the gas tank in both vehicles pretty full (will get me to Atlanta easily if traffic isn't TOOOO bad). When it gets down to brass tacks, I top off the tanks and fill a spare gas tank as well. I also might get the dog crate down out of the attic, in case during evacuation we end up stuck on a highway somewhere (traffic overload) and end up at a shelter opened somewhere along the route for stranded travelers--in which case the dog would be required to be in a crate.

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Oh boy, this area is my specialty, and my hubs, he's an emergency manager who educates people on this sort of thing..

Keep important records (insurance/contact info written down on paper in case cell phones go out, a few copies of favorite pictures...) Have a plan, where would you go, where would you meet up if you got separated, have an out of state contact you both can call who can relay messages to you if needed.

Aside from food, water, extra clothing, blankets... also bring fun stuff. Like a game, deck of cards, magazines, crayons, stuffed animal, just in case you have to go to a shelter and be bored out of your mind for days on end.

Tons of info here:
http://www.fbcoem.org/go/doc/1528/258151/

http://www.ready.gov/america/index.html is a great source as well.

I grew up in Houston and we kept 1 gallon jugs of water in the freezers. They are 2 fold...in the event you lose power (very likely and for several days) it helps to keep things cold and you can thaw the jugs if needed for drinking/cooking. Water often becomes contaminated so it's best to stock up with a lot of it. We also filled all of the tubs with water for flushing toilets/washing, etc. Make sure to fill your cars up in advance with gas in case of an evacuation or shortage after landfall. You may also want a couple of full 5 gallon gas cans....if you have to evacuate you may sit in traffic for hours without access to a has station. For food, think "out of a can" because unless you have a gas range, you will most likely be without power for cooking on an electric range. We had a propane camp stove. Matches, candles, board games, deck of cards. We stored it in our pantry because it was under the staircase and away from windows. Taping windows is useless...to protect them, board them with plywood. We typically boarded up the roomd we intended to weather the storm in and not all of the windows. Plywood will be hard to find soon, as will canned goods and bottled water. Shop now if you can. Otherwise, Michelle has a very comprehensive list. Also, bring lawn furniture into the garage...anything that will blow away or become a potential projectile. It's the intense wind that makes hurricanes so dangerous. Good luck and be safe!