Quick facts
- Target: enough to cope for 3 days without mains power, water or shops
- Drinking water: 2.5โ3 litres per person per day (around 10 litres with cooking and washing)
- Alerts: Emergency Alerts reach every 4G and 5G mobile in an affected area
- Check the kit: twice a year, when the clocks change in March and October
A three-day kit is the government's own benchmark, and it fits in one crate
The government's Prepare campaign asks every household to be able to manage for three days without power, running water or a trip to the shops.
That is not a bunker. It is a plastic crate in the cupboard under the stairs.
A minister repeated the advice this week, and a watchdog report on Britain's exposure to food-supply shocks landed the same day.
The practical response is identical whether the trigger is a storm, a flood, a power cut or a snowed-in lane.
Stock a small kit, know where it is, and check it twice a year. Allow about an hour for the first pass.
Step 1: Sort out water before anything else
Water is the item most households forget, and the one you cannot improvise once the taps run dry.
The official guidance suggests 2.5 to 3 litres per person per day for drinking alone.
Add cooking and basic washing and the realistic figure is nearer 10 litres per person per day.
For a couple, three days of drinking water is around 18 litres: six large supermarket bottles.
Bottled water keeps for years unopened. Swap it when you next clear the loft.
Tap water in clean, sealed containers is fine for washing, but not for months of storage as drinking water.
Step 2: Choose food that needs no cooking
Tinned fish, beans, fruit and soup all work cold if they have to.
Add oatcakes, nuts, dried fruit and long-life milk, and do not forget a manual tin opener.
Pick things you already eat. The kit rotates painlessly if its contents are also a Tuesday supper.
Anyone on a restricted diet, or with a dog to feed, should stock accordingly. The shops are shut for the pets too.
The best emergency kit is the one you would be mildly embarrassed to show a neighbour, because it is so ordinary.
Step 3: Light, news and power without the mains
A wind-up or battery torch heads every official list, with spare batteries stored separately so they do not corrode in the handle.
A battery or wind-up radio matters more than it sounds. Local BBC radio carries council updates when the broadband is down.
A charged power bank keeps a mobile alive for the government's Emergency Alerts, which are pushed to every 4G and 5G handset in an affected area.
Keep a printed list of key phone numbers too. Most of us no longer know a single one by heart.
Step 4: Medication, documents and cash
Ask the pharmacist about a modest buffer of any repeat prescription, and note the dosages on paper.
A basic first aid kit, hand sanitiser and wet wipes cover most needs when there is no water for washing.
Put copies of insurance documents, prescriptions and a list of who to call in a sealed freezer bag.
Keep some cash in small notes. Card terminals are the first thing to fail in a power cut.
Finally, write the date you last checked the crate on the lid, in marker pen.
Bottom line: Batteries, tinned food and medication all expire quietly. Tie the six-monthly check to the clock changes, or the kit will be five years old when you need it.
The full Prepare checklist is free on gov.uk, and the Met Office's warning page tells you when to move the crate nearer the door.
Read the official Prepare checklistUK Government โ
Check current Met Office weather warningsOfficial UK weather service โ
