Why we built it
European governments now ask households to be able to get through the first 72 hours of a crisis on their own: a long power cut, a flood, a water outage, a storm. The advice is good, but it is scattered. Each country publishes its own guide, in its own language, with its own list, on its own website.
We wanted to know what to keep at home ourselves, and found that answering that simple question meant reading two dozen documents. So we did, and we wrote down what they say: which items they recommend, how much, and where they agree or disagree. Seventy-Two is the result, shared with anyone who finds it useful.
Every item on the checklist points back to the official guides it comes from, listed under Sources. When our summary and an official guide differ, the official guide is right.
Who we are
Two private individuals who build things on the web, working on this in our spare time.
How the site pays for itself
Some product suggestions are Amazon affiliate links, marked Sponsored. If you buy through them we may earn a small commission, at no extra cost to you. That covers the domain and hosting. It does not decide what goes on the checklist: the items come from the official guides, and you can buy them anywhere, or use what you already have.
Disclaimer
Please read this before relying on anything on this site.
- We are not an authority. Seventy-Two is run by private individuals. It is not published, endorsed or funded by the European Union, the European Commission, any national government or any civil-protection, health or emergency service.
- General information only. Everything on this site, including the checklist, articles, readiness test and product suggestions, is general information compiled from public sources. It is not professional, medical, safety, legal or financial advice, and it is not tailored to your home, health, location or circumstances.
- Always follow official instructions. In an emergency, the instructions of your local and national authorities and emergency services come first, even when they contradict this site. Check your own country's official guide for the latest advice.
- No guarantee of accuracy. We do our best to summarise the official guides faithfully, but we may make mistakes, translate imperfectly or fall behind when a guide is updated. The site is provided "as is", without any warranty that it is complete, correct, current or fit for a particular purpose.
- Products and their use. We do not make, sell, test or certify any product. Prices, availability and specifications are set by the retailer and may change. Read and follow the manufacturer's instructions and safety warnings, especially for stoves, heaters, candles, fuel, batteries, medicines and water treatment. Never use fuel-burning equipment indoors without proper ventilation.
- Health and medicines. Ask a doctor or pharmacist before stockpiling or changing prescription medicines, or about the specific needs of babies, older people, pregnant people, people with medical conditions and pets.
- Your responsibility. You decide what to buy, store and do, and you do so at your own risk. To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, Roger Cooper and Guillaume Voisin accept no liability for any loss, damage, injury or cost arising from the use of, or reliance on, this site or any product linked from it. Nothing here limits liability that cannot be limited by law.
- Other websites. We link to official guides, retailers and other sites we do not control. We are not responsible for their content, products or privacy practices.
In a life-threatening emergency, call 112 (anywhere in the EU) or your local emergency number. Do not look for answers on this site.
Spotted a mistake?
If a guide has changed or we got something wrong, please tell us at hello@emergency72.eu. We read every message and fix errors as quickly as we can.