International

Emergency kit

Reviewed 2026-07-26

Use at your own risk. For education and research only. Not medical advice. Check the numbers and rules for the country you are in, because they change. Before you rely on these cards, ask a medical professional or a fire safety specialist to review them. Disclaimer

Do this first

Pack one bag per household today that keeps you going for 72 hours without shops, power or tap water.

After a flood, a blackout or an evacuation order, the first three days are on you. The kit is one bag by the door that turns a night of chaos into an inconvenience. Pack it once on a calm day and check it twice a year.

Step by step

Water first: three litres per person per day for drinking and basic hygiene, for a minimum of three days. Store it, and add a way to make more drinkable, such as tablets or a filter.
Food that needs no cooking: canned goods with a can opener, nuts, bars, dried fruit, baby food if needed, and a bowl for the pet.
Light and information: a torch per person, spare batteries, a power bank, and a battery or wind-up radio. The phone network goes down before FM does.
Medicines for a week for every regular medication in the house, plus a first aid kit, spare glasses and copies of prescriptions.
Papers and money: copies of IDs, insurance, deeds and key phone numbers in a waterproof pouch, and cash in small notes. Card terminals die with the power.
Warmth and hygiene: a change of clothes, a rain layer, foil blankets, soap, toothbrushes, toilet paper, wet wipes, bin bags and menstrual supplies.
Keep it where you can grab it in one minute, tell everyone in the household where it is, and check dates and batteries every spring and autumn.

Never do this

Never let the kit depend on electricity alone. Every powered item needs a battery or hand-crank alternative.
Never pack it and forget it. Expired water tastes bad, and expired medicines and dead batteries fail you at the worst hour.
Never plan around a car you might not reach, fuel you might not buy, or a lift that will not run.

Call emergency services if

The kit is preparation. The numbers stay the same: 112 for immediate danger to life.
Follow official channels for evacuation orders and shelter locations.
Check on vulnerable neighbours. Their kit is often the one that does not exist.

Common questions

Is this not paranoid?

The EU officially asks every household to be self-sufficient for 72 hours, and every flood and blackout shows why. Services deal with the worst cases first, and shops empty in hours. One bag is cheap insurance that you are likely to use.

What matters most if I only do three things?

Water, your daily medicines, and a charged power bank with a torch. These cover the failures that hurt most in the first night.