How to Prepare for a Crisis or War at Home

Since 2024, several European governments have written to their citizens about something most had not been asked to think about in a generation. Sweden sent a new edition of its crisis and war brochure to every household. The European Commission asked every household in the EU to be able to manage on its own for at least 72 hours. The UK has run national tests of its mobile Emergency Alerts system.

None of this is a prediction that war is coming. It is a recognition that modern crises, whether armed conflict, sabotage of infrastructure, cyber attacks or extreme weather, tend to hit the same things first: electricity, payments, communications, water and supply chains. A household that can cope with those failing for a few days is prepared for most of what could happen, including the worst.

This guide sets out what official public guidance actually asks of households, and nothing beyond it.

What governments are asking

The EU's strategy, published on 26 March 2025, explicitly cites Russia's war against Ukraine, rising geopolitical tension, sabotage of critical infrastructure and electronic warfare as the reasons for asking.

What a serious crisis disrupts

The April 2025 blackout across Spain and Portugal, caused by a grid failure rather than any attack, is a useful picture of what the first hours of a large disruption look like: trains stopped, traffic lights out, mobile networks struggling and card payments failing, all at once and without warning. A deliberate attack on infrastructure would look similar, possibly for longer.

So the preparation is about replacing, for a while, the things you normally take for granted:

• Water. Sweden's guidance puts it bluntly: water shortages matter more than food. Store drinking water, and see our water calculator for how much.
• Food that keeps and needs little or no cooking. See the food calculator.
• Heat. A way to stay warm if heating fails in winter: warm clothing, blankets and sleeping bags. See our cold weather guide.
• Medicines. Sweden suggests having enough of your regular medicines at home to last about a month. Talk to your pharmacist or prescriber about what is possible for you.
• Cash in small denominations, because card and phone payments depend on power and networks.
• Information: a battery or wind-up radio, spare batteries and a charged power bank.
• Light: torches rather than candles.
• Documents: copies of ID, insurance and prescriptions in a waterproof bag, with scans stored securely online.
• Pets: food and medication for them too. See the pet emergency kit guide.

Start with the 72-hour kit checklist. If you want to go further, our guide on how long supplies should last compares the longer national targets.

Make a household plan

• Agree how you will contact each other if phones do not work, and where you will meet if you are separated.
• Write important numbers on paper.
• Know who near you may need help: elderly neighbours, people living alone, people who rely on powered medical equipment.
• Pack a grab bag in case you are asked to leave home.
• Talk to children in plain, calm terms about what the plan is. Knowing there is a plan is reassuring in itself.

How you would be warned

Find out now what your own country uses, and what each signal means. In an emergency is not the time to be working out whether a siren means "go indoors" or "all clear".

• United Kingdom: the government's Emergency Alerts system sends a message to mobile phones in an area where there is a danger to life. It comes with a loud siren-like sound and vibration for about ten seconds and plays even if your phone is on silent. Older phones and those not on 4G or 5G may not receive it.
• Elsewhere in Europe: many countries use a combination of outdoor sirens, phone alerts and broadcast messages. Your national civil protection agency publishes what they sound like and what to do.
• Everywhere: a battery or wind-up radio is the most reliable way to keep receiving official information if power and mobile networks fail.

Sheltering

If an alert tells you to take shelter, follow its instructions. Some countries maintain public shelters and publish where they are: Sweden's brochure, for example, covers air raid shelters. Find out whether your country does, and where the nearest one is.

A radiation emergency

The UK Government's advice for a radiation emergency, which is also its advice for many chemical incidents outdoors, is three words: go in, stay in, tune in.

• Go in: go indoors as soon as you can and stay there. Close doors and windows, and keep as far away from outside walls as possible.
• Stay in: staying indoors reduces your exposure to radiation outside. Turn off fans and air conditioning and close external vents. You may need to stay in for one to two days.
• Tune in: follow the news and official advice on GOV.UK, or your own country's official channels, for what to do next.

Information you can trust

In any crisis, rumours travel faster than facts, and false information can spread deliberately as well as by accident. Take your instructions from official channels: your national government and civil protection agency, public broadcasters, and the emergency services. Before sharing something alarming, check whether an official source has said it.

StayReady Kits includes War / Conflict and Nuclear Fallout plans alongside its everyday ones, but the most useful thing it does for this scenario is the unglamorous part: keeping a week's water, food and medicine actually in date, with a readiness score that shows what is still missing and reminders before anything expires.

Common questions

Why are governments asking people to prepare?

The European Commission cites Russia's war against Ukraine, sabotage of infrastructure and climate disasters. It is asking households to be resilient to disruption of any kind, not predicting war.

What supplies should I have?

Water, food that keeps, a way to stay warm, your regular medicines, cash, a radio, a torch, first aid and document copies. Sweden asks households to manage for at least a week.

What should I do in a radiation emergency?

Go in, stay in, tune in, as the UK Government advises. Only take potassium iodide if authorities tell you to.

How would I be warned?

In the UK, through Emergency Alerts on mobile phones. Elsewhere, often through sirens and phone alerts. Find out what your country uses.