How Countries Tell Their Citizens to Prepare: 72 Hours, a Week, or 10 Days?
Updated: 11 hours ago
Ask emergency agencies in different countries how long a household should be able to look after itself, and you won't get one answer. Some say three days, some say a week, and Germany suggests ten days if you can manage it. What surprises most people is how similar the shopping lists are once you get past the numbers.
This guide walks through the official home-preparedness advice from nine countries and the European Union, plus Luxembourg's new 72-hour guide, using each government's own public guidance. We link the official source for every figure, so you can read the original yourself. Where an agency doesn't publish a specific number, we say so instead of guessing.
The advice is calm and practical everywhere. Agencies talk about storms, power cuts, floods, earthquakes, water outages and supply disruptions, the everyday kinds of trouble that can leave a home without power, water or shops for a few days. The aim is the same everywhere: if your household can look after itself for a while, emergency services can help the people who need them most first.
The Short Version: Three Days to a Week
Before we go country by country, here's the pattern:
Three days (72 hours) is the most common baseline. Finland, Denmark, the United Kingdom and the EU's Preparedness Union Strategy all use it.
About a week is the standard in Sweden and Norway, and it's the food recommendation in Switzerland. Japan asks for at least three days and ideally a week.
Germany recommends ten days if possible, and says that even three days of supplies helps a lot.
The United States (Ready.gov) says "several days" and doesn't set a fixed number.
Water guidance clusters around 3 litres per person per day, or about one US gallon. The exact figure depends on whether the agency counts cooking and hygiene.
The table and chart below compare the guidance side by side. The sections after them explain each country's advice in more detail.
Country (agency) | Recommended days of supplies | Water guidance | Key items |
|---|---|---|---|
Sweden (MCF, formerly MSB) | At least 1 week | At least 3 L per person per day | Room-temperature food, warm clothes and blankets, battery/solar/crank radio, cash |
Finland (Suomi.fi) | At least 3 days (72 hours) | Bottled water plus clean lidded containers | Everyday food, battery radio, flashlight, charged power bank, medicines, cash, iodine tablets for named groups |
Norway (DSB) | 1 week | About 20 L per person for a week | Room-temperature food, camping stove and fuel, DAB radio, flashlights, cash and cards, first aid, paper phone list |
Germany (BBK) | Ideally 10 days; at least 3 days already helps | At least 1.5 L per adult per day, plus 0.5 L for cooking | Food that keeps without refrigeration, ready-to-eat or quick-cook foods, a rolling ("living") stock |
Denmark | 3 days | 3 L per person per day (9 L for 3 days) | Food for 3 days, 3 days of medicine, first aid kit, torch, FM radio, cards and some cash |
European Union (Preparedness Union Strategy) | At least 72 hours | No EU-wide figure | Essential supplies; national checklists fill in the details |
United Kingdom (Be Ready) | 3 days | About 3 L per person per day for drinking | Non-perishable food, torch, FM radio, power bank, cash and cards, first aid kit, medication |
Japan (MAFF) | At least 3 days, ideally 1 week (about 2 weeks depending on local hazards) | About 3 L per person per day including cooking | Everyday foods kept as rolling stock, canned food, rice, portable gas stove |
Switzerland (BWL) | Food for about 1 week | 9 L per person (drinking and cooking for 3 days) | Battery radio, flashlight, batteries, candles, gas cooker, medicines, cash, pet food |
United States (Ready.gov) | "Several days" (no fixed number) | At least 1 gallon per person per day | Non-perishable food, battery or crank radio, NOAA Weather Radio, flashlight, first aid kit, whistle |
Sweden: At Least a Week on Your Own
Sweden's civil defence agency, formerly MSB and now the Swedish Civil Defence and Resilience Agency (MCF), publishes the brochure In case of crisis or war. The 2024 edition was distributed to every household in Sweden, and the agency offers it to download in other languages too.
The 2024 English edition (PDF) is direct about the time frame: in a serious crisis, "most of us must be able to manage on our own for at least a week." Its home-preparedness section focuses on a few basics:
Water: at least three litres per person per day, mainly for drinking and cooking.
Food: filling, energy-rich food that keeps at room temperature and can be prepared quickly with very little water, or eaten straight away. The brochure suggests building up the stock by adding one or two extra items to your regular shopping.
Heat: blankets, warm clothes and a plan for keeping warm if the power goes out in winter.
Information: a radio that runs on batteries, solar power or a hand crank.
Money: some cash at home, because card payments may not work during an outage.
The brochure presents preparedness as a shared responsibility. It says that if you can manage on your own for at least a week, you add to the country's overall resilience.
Finland: The 72-Hour Standard
Finland's national public-services portal, Suomi.fi, hosts a government guide to preparing for incidents and crises. It recommends that every household keep home emergency supplies for at least 3 days. Finland's fire and rescue association SPEK reported that the guide launched in November 2024. The 72-hour idea itself comes from 72tuntia.fi, which describes the level of home preparedness recommended by Finnish authorities and NGOs.
Suomi.fi also offers a home emergency supplies checklist. It includes:
Bottled water, plus clean containers with lids for collecting water.
Food you normally eat that keeps without a fridge.
A battery-powered radio, a flashlight and a charged backup power source for your phone.
Your usual medicines and hygiene supplies.
A little cash, and practical items such as duct tape.
Iodine tablets for people in the groups the guide names (people aged 40 or under, and pregnant or breastfeeding people).
Supplies for pets.
The guide says home supplies aren't a separate store. They should be made up of products you normally use, which keeps them fresh and easy to maintain.
Norway: Manage on Your Own for a Week
Norway's Directorate for Civil Protection (DSB) runs the egenberedskap (self-preparedness) campaign. Its main guidance page says Norwegian authorities recommend that as many people as possible be prepared to manage on their own for a week.
DSB's water page recommends storing about 20 litres of drinking water per person, which it says covers the minimum need for a week. Its printable preparedness checklist (PDF) lists:
Stored water and food that keeps at room temperature.
A grill or camping stove, with fuel.
Warm clothing, blankets or sleeping bags, plus matches and candles.
Flashlights or headlamps, batteries and a charged power bank.
A DAB radio that runs on batteries, a crank or solar power.
Cash and more than one payment card.
A paper list of important phone numbers.
Medicines, first aid supplies and hygiene items.
Iodine tablets for the groups DSB recommends them for.
Food and water for pets.
The paper phone list is easy to overlook. If your phone dies, you'll still have the numbers you need.
Germany: Ten Days If You Can, Three Days Still Helps
Germany's Federal Office of Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance (BBK) has the longest recommendation of any country in this guide. Its stockpiling page suggests households be able to supply themselves for ten days if possible. It also says that even a stock for at least three days already helps a great deal.
The BBK's practical points:
Drinks: at least 1.5 litres of fluid per adult per day, plus about 0.5 litres for cooking.
Food: items that keep without refrigeration and are ready to eat or quick to cook, such as canned foods, dried fruit, nuts, rusks and cereal bars.
A "living" stock: buy what you normally eat, use the oldest items first and replace them as you go. That way nothing is wasted.
The rolling stock idea (Lebender Vorrat) is one of the most useful things in the German guidance. It turns preparedness into a normal part of grocery shopping.
Denmark: Be Ready for Three Days
Denmark's guidance was compiled by the Danish Emergency Management Agency with other authorities and launched in June 2024. The agency has since been renamed (Styrelsen for Samfundssikkerhed), and the guidance now lives on samsik.dk, with a downloadable Danish-language brochure (PDF). The English version, Prepared for crises, asks households to be able to manage for three days and recommends:
Water: 3 litres per person per day, or 9 litres per person for three days.
Food: enough for three days, choosing foods that last outside the fridge and don't need cooking.
Medicine: at least three days of your regular medications, plus a first aid kit.
Light: a torch, candles, matches and batteries.
Payment: physical payment cards and a little cash.
Information: an FM radio powered by batteries, a wind-up crank or solar power.
The European Union: A 72-Hour Baseline for Everyone
In March 2025 the European Commission presented its Preparedness Union Strategy. Among other measures, it encourages people to take practical steps such as maintaining essential supplies for a minimum of 72 hours in emergencies. It also proposes adding preparedness lessons to school curricula and creating an EU Preparedness Day.
The strategy doesn't publish its own detailed shopping list. It sets a shared baseline, and member states such as Finland and Denmark already publish national checklists that meet or exceed it.
United Kingdom: Be Ready for 3 Days
The UK's household preparedness advice started as the Prepare website in May 2024 and has since been refreshed. Today gov.uk/prepare redirects to the government's Be Ready campaign. On 22 October 2026 the government announced the campaign as the first stage of a three-year effort. It noted that France, Ireland and the Netherlands also use three-day advice.
The Be Ready emergency checklist recommends being ready for 3 days and lists:
Bottled water for 3 days, at about 3 litres per person per day for drinking.
Non-perishable food for 3 days.
A torch with spare batteries, plus blankets, sleeping bags and warm clothing.
An FM radio (battery or wind-up) and a charged power bank.
Cash in a mix of coins and notes, as well as cards.
A first aid kit and your essential medication.
Copies of important documents and a written list of key phone numbers.
Baby and pet supplies, if you need them.
The UK also suggests ordering repeat prescriptions in good time, and keeping the power-cut helpline number, 105, written down.
Japan: At Least Three Days, Ideally a Week
Japan has a long history of earthquakes and typhoons, and its food-stockpile guidance comes from the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF). MAFF's home food stockpile guide recommends stocking at least 3 days to 1 week of food for each person in the household. It suggests considering about 2 weeks depending on the risks shown on your local hazard map. MAFF explains that restoring utilities after a major disaster can take a week or more, and relief supplies may take three days or more to arrive. Another MAFF page repeats the advice: at least three days, and ideally about a week.
For water, MAFF's public information magazine suggests about 1 litre per person per day for drinking, or about 3 litres a day including cooking. It also recommends a portable cassette gas stove with spare canisters.
The idea Japan is best known for is rolling stock (rōringu sutokku). You keep a little extra of the foods you normally eat, eat the oldest first and restock as you go. MAFF explains the method in detail. Local governments such as the Tokyo Metropolitan Government publish their own disaster-preparedness portals as well.
Switzerland: The Classic Emergency Stock
Switzerland's Federal Office for National Economic Supply (BWL) promotes a household Notvorrat (emergency stock). Its emergency stock page recommends a stock of food for about one week. BWL's practical checklist adds:
Water: 9 litres per person, roughly one six-pack of 1.5-litre bottles, enough for drinking and cooking for three days, not counting water for washing. BWL notes that water suppliers are required to provide a minimum amount of drinking water again from the fourth day.
Food: a week's worth of long-life staples you would actually eat.
Household items: a battery-powered radio, a flashlight, spare batteries, candles, matches and a gas cooker.
Health and hygiene: medications, hygiene masks and disinfectant.
Other: some cash and pet food.
New in October 2026: Luxembourg's 72-Hour Guide
The list keeps growing. In October 2026 Luxembourg's government launched My Guide to 72 Hours of Self-Sufficiency and a national campaign called Bass du prett? ("Are you ready?"). From Oct. 14, about 300,000 printed copies began going out to households across the country. The guide aims to help each home cover its basic needs for the first 72 hours of a natural disaster, a long power cut, a cyberattack or another major disruption, and includes a list of essential equipment and a personal emergency plan.
United States: Ready.gov and "Several Days"
For contrast, the US federal guidance at Ready.gov doesn't set a single number of days. It recommends a basic disaster supplies kit with water, food and supplies "for several days." For water, Ready.gov's water guidance says to store at least one gallon per person per day for several days, for drinking and sanitation.
The Ready.gov basic kit list includes non-perishable food, a battery-powered or hand-crank radio, a NOAA Weather Radio, a flashlight, a first aid kit, extra batteries, a whistle to signal for help, a manual can opener, local maps, and a phone charger or backup battery. Many US states and counties publish their own guidance on top of this, so check your local emergency management office too.
What This Means for You
You don't need to pick a "winning" country. The shared pattern makes a sensible plan for almost any household:
Start with three days. It's the most common official baseline, and it's achievable in a weekend.
Then build toward a week. That's the Nordic, Swiss and Japanese recommendation, and it covers most longer power or water outages.
Plan water first. Use about 3 litres or 1 gallon per person per day, and add more for hot weather, children, pets and cooking.
Store food you already eat, and rotate it the German and Japanese way: eat the oldest, then restock.
Have a way to cook without power, such as a camping stove with fuel, used only where its instructions allow.
Keep light and information working: a flashlight or headlamp, spare batteries, a power bank and a radio that runs without mains power.
Cover health: a first aid kit and enough of your regular medications.
Keep some cash and a paper list of phone numbers.
Remember family members and pets: baby supplies, special diets and pet food and water.
Check your local guidance, and review your stock once or twice a year.
If you're building or topping up a kit, you can browse our emergency food, water storage and purification, lights and radios, emergency communication, first aid and medical supplies and ready-made emergency kits. We ship to the lower 48 states + DC.
FAQ
Which countries are telling citizens to prepare?
This guide covers Sweden, Finland, Norway, Germany, Denmark, the UK, Japan, Switzerland, the US and the EU, plus Luxembourg's new guide. They're not alone: Newsweek has mapped many more countries that advise households to keep emergency supplies. The reasons given range from storms and power cuts to cyberattacks and war.
How many days of emergency supplies should I have?
Most official guidance asks for at least three days (72 hours). Finland, Denmark, the UK and the EU use that baseline. Sweden, Norway and Switzerland (for food) recommend about a week, Japan recommends at least three days and ideally a week, and Germany suggests ten days if possible. A sensible plan is to start with three days and build toward a week.
How much water should I store per person?
Most agencies land around 3 litres per person per day for drinking and cooking. Denmark and the UK use 3 litres, Sweden says at least 3 litres, Germany says at least 1.5 litres of fluid plus about 0.5 litres for cooking, and Ready.gov says one gallon (about 3.8 litres) per person per day. Norway recommends about 20 litres per person for a week. Add extra for hygiene, hot weather and pets.
Why do countries recommend different numbers of days?
Each country bases its advice on its own climate, geography, infrastructure and the kinds of disruption it expects. A long winter power cut, an earthquake or a flood all affect how long it may take to restore water, power and deliveries. The core advice is the same everywhere, though: water, food, light, information, medicine and cash.
What is the EU 72-hour recommendation?
The European Commission's Preparedness Union Strategy, presented in March 2025, encourages people to keep essential supplies for at least 72 hours in an emergency. Individual member states publish their own detailed checklists.
Do I need a special radio?
Most agencies recommend a radio that works without mains power. That means one that runs on batteries, a hand crank or solar power. Norway specifies DAB, Denmark and the UK specify FM, and Ready.gov also mentions a NOAA Weather Radio. Choose one that receives the broadcasts used where you live.
Is this official advice for my country?
No. This article summarizes and links official guidance from several governments as of October 2026. Always follow the instructions from your own national and local emergency authorities, and check their pages for updates.
Sources
Sweden: MCF brochure page and the 2024 English edition (PDF)
Finland: Suomi.fi preparedness guide, Suomi.fi checklist and 72tuntia.fi
Norway: DSB egenberedskap, DSB water guidance and the DSB checklist (PDF)
Germany: BBK stockpiling guidance
Denmark: Prepared for crises (English) and samsik.dk
European Union: Preparedness Union Strategy announcement
United Kingdom: Be Ready checklist and the GOV.UK announcement
Japan: MAFF home food stockpile guide, MAFF rolling stock, MAFF food security page and MAFF aff magazine
Switzerland: BWL emergency stock and the BWL checklist
United States: Ready.gov Build a Kit and Ready.gov Water
Official guidance changes over time. We checked each source in October 2026.
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