Hurricane Supply Kit in Palm Bay — Palm Bay, Florida

The City of Palm Bay basic kit holds water, non-perishable food, a battery or hand crank radio, a flashlight and batteries, a first aid kit, hygiene items, a can opener, maps, a phone with chargers, cash and family documents.

That list sits on page 3 of the Palm Bay Hurricane Preparedness Guide, published by the city with Palm Bay Fire Rescue contacts in its directory (City of Palm Bay guide, page 3). Brevard County Emergency Management, the county office at 1751 Huntington Lane in Rockledge, carries the same list on its Step 2 page, without the backup power bank on the phone line, and adds two items: gloves (latex and landscaping) and hand sanitizer (Brevard County Emergency Management). A Palm Bay kit built from the county page is therefore the city list plus those two lines, less the power bank.

The federal list on Ready.gov explains why the water line is so large: the gallon a day covers drinking and sanitation, and the whole kit should fit in one or two easy-to-carry containers such as plastic bins or a duffel bag (Ready.gov).

The City of Palm Bay and Brevard County plan for at least 3 days, while the Florida Division of Emergency Management asks for an individualized kit with items to last at least 7 days.

Page 2 of the Palm Bay guide asks for a hurricane supply kit with enough food, water and medications for at least 3 days (City of Palm Bay guide, page 2). The state goes further: its Plan and Prepare page says to build an individualized disaster supply kit with items to last at least 7 days (Florida Division of Emergency Management), and its printed checklist sets water at 1 gallon per person per day for 7 days and food for at least up to seven days (FDEM checklist). The three-day figure is the floor in the Palm Bay and Brevard County lists; the seven-day figure is the state target.

Each Palm Bay cell is the household size multiplied by one gallon and by the number of days, the rate both the city guide and the FDEM checklist use. Medications follow a longer clock on the state list, which asks for at least two weeks supply of medication and medical supplies used regularly, along with a list of allergies (FDEM checklist). The same FDEM checklist adds one item outside the house: keep motor vehicle tanks filled with gasoline.

The Palm Bay guide asks for copies of insurance policies, identification and medical information kept within easy reach for an evacuation, and the state checklist adds bank numbers, Social Security cards, birth or marriage certificates and spare keys in a waterproof container.

The City of Palm Bay places documents in two spots in its guide: the Build a Kit box on page 2, where insurance copies, identification and medical information sit in an easily accessible place, and the basic kit list on page 3, which names important family documents such as copies of insurance policies and identification (City of Palm Bay guide, page 3). The FDEM checklist is more detailed. It lists insurance cards, medical records, bank numbers, credit card numbers, a copy of the Social Security card, copies of birth and marriage certificates and a set of car, house and office keys, and says the items should be kept in a waterproof container (FDEM checklist).

Cash appears on the city, county and state lists for a practical reason the state spells out: banks and ATMs may not be available after a storm (FDEM checklist). None of the Palm Bay, Brevard County or state pages names a dollar amount, so no amount is given here. The state Plan and Prepare page also asks residents to make copies of IDs and important documents and store them in a safe place or in the kit itself (Florida Division of Emergency Management), and the FDEM checklist asks households to maintain a list of important phone numbers, including the county emergency management office, doctors and an out-of-town contact (FDEM checklist).

A short list of Palm Bay numbers belongs with the papers. The city's current contact directory gives the Citizen Information Hotline at (321) 726-5683 (City of Palm Bay contact directory), and the Utilities Customer Service page gives the after-hours water and sewer emergency line at (321) 952-3478 and City Hall at 120 Malabar Road, (321) 952-3400 (City of Palm Bay Utilities Customer Service). The city's hurricane page says Palm Bay uses AlertBrevard to send emergency notifications by phone, email, text and social media (City of Palm Bay hurricane page).

Once the basic Palm Bay kit is stocked, the city guide adds prescription medications and glasses, infant formula and diapers, bedding, a change of clothes, a whistle, a wrench for utilities and games for children, plus separate pet and disability lists.

The Palm Bay guide calls these additional supplies and lists them after the basic kit: prescription medications and glasses, infant formula and diapers, a sleeping bag or warm blanket for each person, a complete change of clothing, matches in a waterproof container, mess kits and paper goods, a whistle to signal for help, a wrench or pliers to turn off utilities, books, games and puzzles for children, and paper and pencil (City of Palm Bay guide, page 3). The wrench matters in Palm Bay because page 2 of the same guide asks anyone who evacuates to shut off the main house water valve first (City of Palm Bay guide, page 2).

For residents with disabilities, the Palm Bay guide asks households to inventory what they use every day to live independently and stock at least three days of custom essentials: durable medical equipment, assistive technology, a list of medications, contact information for doctors and a way to communicate needs (City of Palm Bay guide, page 3). The FDEM checklist adds the style, serial number and manufacturer of needed medical devices and service animal identification and veterinary records (FDEM checklist).

The Palm Bay pet kit has its own list: a current rabies vaccination certificate, shot records, a leash and collar, county animal license tags, medications, a crate or cage for each animal, pet food, cleaning supplies, newspaper or pet pads and comfort items. Brevard County Emergency Management explains the purpose on its Step 2 page: the items are needed in case of evacuation to a pet-friendly shelter, and its additional list asks for a carrier for each pet and extra water for pets (Brevard County Emergency Management).

Since August 1, 2025, batteries, portable generators up to 10,000 running watts, gas cans of 5 gallons or less, tarps up to 1,000 square feet, smoke and carbon monoxide alarms and fire extinguishers are always exempt from sales tax in Palm Bay and across Florida.

The Florida Department of Revenue announced the change in Tax Information Publication 25A01-05, issued July 1, 2025, which says items that had been temporarily exempted during past tax holidays are always exempt from August 1, 2025, citing Section 46, Chapter 2025-208, Laws of Florida (Florida Department of Revenue TIP 25A01-05). The exemptions now sit in section 212.08 of the Florida Statutes, which exempts portable generators of 10,000 running watts or less and waterproof tarpaulins of 1,000 square feet or less (s. 212.08, Florida Statutes). A Palm Bay purchase of these items carries no tax at any store and in any month, so there is no holiday window to wait for.

The permanent list is shorter than the old holiday list, and several Palm Bay kit staples did not carry over. TIP 24A01-04 covered flashlights, lanterns and candles at $40 or less, portable radios at $50 or less, coolers and portable power banks at $60 or less, and pet evacuation supplies during the June and August 2024 holidays (Florida Department of Revenue TIP 24A01-04). None of those items appears in TIP 25A01-05, so the permanent exemption does not cover the flashlight, weather radio and power bank on the Palm Bay basic list.

The normal rate on a taxable purchase in Palm Bay is the 6 percent state sales tax (s. 212.05, Florida Statutes) plus the 1% Brevard County discretionary surtax shown in the Department of Revenue rate table (Form DR-15DSS), or 7 percent combined. The form lists the Brevard surtax as two 0.5% levies, both with an end date of December 31, 2026. Section 212.054 applies the county surtax only to transactions subject to the state tax (s. 212.054, Florida Statutes), so on a $100 tarp bought in Palm Bay, the exemption works out to $7 (7 percent of $100).

The City of Palm Bay asks residents to review and change out kit supplies before and after each hurricane season, so that documents stay current and the food is something the whole household will eat.

That rotation note closes the supply pages of the Palm Bay guide (City of Palm Bay guide, page 3), and Brevard County Emergency Management repeats it on its Step 2 page (Brevard County Emergency Management).

Sandbags are a separate decision from the kit. The city's current hurricane page says Brevard County Emergency Management may announce sandbag distribution locations in preparation for a storm, that sandbags are not necessary for every home, that empty sandbags and fill materials can be found at local hardware stores, and that bags of potting soil, gravel or small pebbles, or even cat litter can stand in for sandbags (City of Palm Bay hurricane page). The same page says never to fill bags with sand from the beach, that location and availability of sandbags before a storm will be updated as the information becomes available, and that most local municipalities do not provide sandbags. Last verified: October 13, 2026, on the City of Palm Bay website.