Austria has the longest horizon of the 24 national guides we compiled. Its civil protection association plans for a household that can cope for 14 days. Here is what the official advice lists, what makes it different, and where our information comes from.
The official sources
Austria's advice comes in two layers:
- The federal page Allgemeines zum Selbstschutz im Katastrophenfall on oesterreich.gv.at. The Federal Ministry of the Interior is responsible for its content; it was last updated on 16 February 2026. Read it here (German).
- The Zivilschutzverband brochure Der krisenfeste Haushalt ("the crisis-proof household"), which sets the 14-day horizon and gives the longer list.
A note on sourcing: the Zivilschutzverband's own website did not let us in when we compiled our data, so we used its 2019 brochure via a municipality, plus the ministry page. We checked the ministry page again for this article. Our checklist counts Austria as a 10-day guide, the longest option we offer, so its 14 days sit just beyond our top setting.
What the ministry page lists
For the home, kept ready in a safe place:
- A torch and spare batteries
- Candles and something to light them (lighter, matches)
- A crank lantern
- A dynamo or battery radio, with spare batteries
- Important medicines: painkillers, fever reducers, remedies for diarrhoea and indigestion
- Your own prescribed medicines
- Potassium iodide tablets (see below)
- First-aid supplies
- Important documents, gathered in one folder
- Personal care and hygiene items
- A way to cook
- Cash, ID, and a list of your most important contacts and addresses
On food and drink, the page asks for a stock in case you can't leave home for a long time. It suggests mineral water and fruit juice in cartons because they keep well, and reminds you that tap water can become contaminated or stop altogether. Food should keep for a long time, be nourishing, easy to digest and edible cold. Store it cool, dry and dark, and check the dates regularly. Think of special food for babies, people who are ill or elderly, and your pets.
The ministry page gives no quantities: no litres of water and no number of days.
The longer list in Der krisenfeste Haushalt
From the Zivilschutzverband brochure our data also counts: tinned food, ready-to-eat dry food and dry staples, a manual can opener, a cup, plate and cutlery, a camping stove, blankets and warm clothes, sleeping bags, a heater that works without power, toilet paper, soap and toothpaste, strong bin bags, a pocket knife, a grab bag, and rain gear with sturdy shoes. In all, our checklist counts 28 items for Austria.
Iodine tablets: only on instruction
Austria is one of only four guides, with Finland, Belgium and Denmark, that lists iodine tablets. The ministry page is precise about them: take potassium iodide only when the health authorities explicitly tell you to, and they are meant for people up to the age of 40, including children and teenagers. Get them from a pharmacy, not online.
How Austria compares
- Unusual: iodine tablets, and a cup, plate and cutlery for each person, which only four guides list (Latvia, Czechia, Austria and Bulgaria).
- Leaves out: a power bank. Nineteen of the 24 guides list one; Austria's sources do not. A torch, radio and spare batteries cover light and news, but a phone you can't charge is no use for calls or warnings. We would add one.
- Longest horizon: 14 days, against 10 for Germany, 7 for Sweden and Estonia, and 3 for the other 20 guides.
Scaling to 14 days
Our checklist works out quantities for 3, 7 or 10 days. For Austria's two weeks, start at 10 days and add the extra four days of food, water and medicines on top. Food that keeps and can be eaten cold does most of the work; see emergency food that needs no cooking. For water, Germany and France plan 2 litres per person per day, Sweden and the Netherlands 3: here is how to work out your stock.