Emergency kits: what each country asks for and what to buy
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We've compared the official recommendations of 17 countries and the European Union. They all agree on the basics: water, food that doesn't need a fridge, light, a radio, a first aid kit with each person's medication, cash and copies of documents. What changes is the time frame (from 72 hours to 10 days) and a few details that say a lot about each country's risks.
What they all ask for
- Water: 2 to 4 liters per person per day; the most common figure is 3 liters (drinking and cooking).
- Food: Non-perishable, and edible without cooking or with little heating. Ideally what you already eat, rotated.
- Light: A flashlight (ideally a headlamp) and spare batteries. Candles only with care: several countries advise against them.
- Radio: Battery or hand-crank: in every country it's how warnings get through when the internet goes down.
- First aid and medication: A basic first aid kit and regular medication for the time frame; Canada and Sweden ask for more margin (weeks).
- Cash: In small bills: without power, card terminals and ATMs don't work.
- Documents: Copies of your documents and important phone numbers on paper, in a waterproof pouch.
- Power bank: Charged, with its cable, to keep your phone going.
Our kits
- 🏠 72-hour home kit: 2-person household · 72 hours · 190–330 €
- 🎒 Evacuation go bag: 1 person · leave in 10 minutes · 150–240 €
- ⚡ Blackout and power kit: Household · blackouts lasting hours to days · 430–620 €
- 💧 Safe water kit: Household · water outages and do-not-drink notices · 110–190 €
- 🚙 Car kit: Per vehicle · 110–180 €
- 🧯 Home safety: Every home · 90–160 €
- 🏕️ 1-week-plus kit: Household · what Sweden, Norway and Switzerland ask for · 780–1,150 €
- 👶 Babies and pets: An add-on to any kit · 70–130 €
What each country asks for
| Country | Time frame · water per person · what stands out |
|---|---|
| European Union | 72 hours · — · Preparedness Union Strategy (March 2025): at least 72 hours of self-sufficiency for every household. (European Commission) |
| Spain | 72 hours · — · There's no detailed national list: the European recommendation is followed. Civil Protection focuses its advice on each risk and on ES-Alert warnings. (Civil Protection) |
| Germany | Up to 10 days (3 at least) · 2 L/day (20 L over 10 days) · The most detailed list, for about 2,200 kcal a day: per person for 10 days, 3.3 kg of cereals, bread and potatoes, 4 kg of vegetables and legumes, 2.5 kg of fruit and nuts, 2.5 kg of dairy, 1.2 kg of fish, meat and eggs, and 330 g of oils. (BLE (official supply calculator) and BBK) |
| Switzerland | 1 week · 9 L per person · It asks for 50 face masks per person, a gas stove, a battery radio, disinfectant and some cash. (FONES (National Economic Supply)) |
| Sweden | 1 week · For a week · It organizes supplies into water, food, heat, communication and payments, and asks for a month's medication. (MCF (formerly MSB)) |
| Norway | 1 week · For a week · It separates food you can eat as it is (crispbread, oats, canned legumes, nuts, honey) from food that needs heating, and asks you to check your stove. (DSB) |
| Estonia | 1 week · 21 L per person · A tabletop stove, instant soups and cash for up to a week. (Government of Estonia (kriis.ee)) |
| Netherlands | 72 hours · 3 L/day · It includes a whistle, tools (hammer, saw, pliers), spare house and car keys and a waterproof backpack. (Government of the Netherlands (Denk vooruit)) |
| Denmark | 3 days · 3 L/day (9 L) · Food that needs no oven or stove, medication for at least 3 days, a first aid kit, blankets and warm clothes, and a battery, crank or solar FM radio. (Danish Agency for Societal Security ("Forberedt på kriser")) |
| Finland | 72 hours · 6 L per person (2 L/day) · It adds iodine tablets (only if the authorities say so), buckets with lids to fetch water, a stove, a fire extinguisher and a fire blanket. (Finnish Red Cross (72 tuntia campaign list)) |
| Poland | 3 days · At least 3 L/day · National guide "Poradnik bezpieczeństwa", sent to households, covering supplies at home and an evacuation bag. (Government of Poland (Poradnik bezpieczeństwa)) |
| United Kingdom | 3 days · — · "Be Ready" campaign with a 3-day list and phone alerts. (UK Government) |
| United States | Several days · 3.8 L/day (1 gallon) · It adds a face mask, plastic sheeting and tape to seal a room, a wrench to turn off utilities, and local maps. (Ready.gov (FEMA)) |
| Canada | 72 hours · 4 L/day · It asks for a corded landline phone (it works without power if the line stays up), medication for a couple of weeks and cash for weeks. (Government of Canada) |
| Japan | 3 days to 1 week · 3 L/day · For a family of 4: a portable toilet for 45 uses, 2 stoves with 8 canisters and a hand-crank radio. After a major earthquake it plans for 4 days without power and 21 without water. November 19 is the day to check your supplies. (Tokyo Metropolitan Government ("Let's Build Daily Stockpiles")) |
| Mexico | 72 hours · Bottled water · An emergency backpack for each family member: battery radio and flashlight, whistle, first aid kit, copies of documents and keys, cash and pet food. (CENAPRED (Government of Mexico)) |
| Chile | 72 hours · 2 L/day · A kit for earthquakes and tsunamis, with water in small bottles you can carry when evacuating. (SENAPRED (Plan Familia Preparada)) |
| Taiwan | 1 week · — · National guide "In Case of Crisis", distributed to every household in 2025. (All-out Defense Mobilization Agency) |
Every figure has been checked against each country's official source on November 15, 2026.
That's why our kits start from what they have in common (water, light, radio, first aid, power, documents) and add the best of each country: Switzerland's masks and stove, the Netherlands' whistle and tools, Japan's emergency toilet and Sweden's and Norway's one-week supply.