Bulgaria's official emergency kit is a two-page checklist called Раница за бедствия, "disaster backpack", published by the Ministry of the Interior. It is short, practical and built to be printed and ticked off. Here is what it contains, what it leaves out, and how it compares with the other 23 national guides we compiled.
The official guide
| Title | Раница за бедствия (Disaster backpack) |
| Publisher | Ministry of the Interior (МВР) |
| Year | 2014 |
| Horizon | At least 3 days |
| Link | mvr.bg (PDF) |
It is one of the older guides in our set. We opened it and read the list directly. One nice detail: each line has two tick boxes, one for when the clocks go forward in summer and one for winter. The idea is that you check what you have, and whether it is still in date, twice a year.
What the list contains
The checklist is split into 15 basic items and 6 extras "at your discretion".
Basic items
- Bottled drinking water for the whole family for at least 3 days
- Tinned and dry food for the whole family for at least 3 days: tins, rusks, biscuits and other long-life dry foods
- A battery radio, with spare batteries
- A battery torch, with spare batteries
- A mobile phone and charger
- A whistle
- Tea lights, matches and a lighter
- Tools: a pocket knife, tin and bottle openers, pliers
- Plastic or paper cups and plates, plastic bags, tape, kitchen foil, cleaning and disinfecting products
- Wet wipes, a few packs of tissues, old newspapers
- A foil survival blanket for each family member
- A first-aid kit
- Hygiene and dust masks for each family member
- Your medicines, and those of family members with a chronic illness
- A family disaster plan and a map of your area
Extras
- A waterproof pack with important family documents
- Money
- Baby food and nappies, sanitary pads and similar
- Clothes for changing weather, warm and light
- Paper and something to write with
- Books, games and puzzles for adults and children
The plan section asks you to agree two meeting points, one close to home and one further away, and to choose a relative outside your area who can act as the family's contact person. The leaflet also reminds you that 112 is free, works around the clock and needs no area code.
Quantities
The guide gives a duration, at least 3 days, but no amounts. It does not say how many litres of water to store. Other European guides plan 2 to 3 litres per person per day, so a family of four needs 24 to 36 litres for three days. Our guide to how much water to store walks through the sum.
How it compares with the other guides
Bulgaria's list covers 26 of the 51 items we track across 24 official guides. It includes all six items that every guide agrees on: water, a torch, a radio, medication, a first-aid kit and cash.
What it adds
Bulgaria is one of only four guides, with Latvia, Czechia and Austria, to list your own cup, plate and cutlery. It is also one of the few to ask for a whistle, masks, duct tape and a paper map, and it is one of five guides to name period products.
What it leaves out
Two items that most guides list are missing:
- Blankets and warm clothes for the home. 18 of the 24 guides list them. The Bulgarian list has foil blankets and a change of clothes, but nothing for a winter outage at home without heating.
- A charged power bank. 19 guides list one. The 2014 list asks only for a phone and charger, which is no use when the power is off.
It also has no sleeping bags and no camping stove, so there is no way to heat food or water. That fits a grab-and-go backpack, which is what this list is. For staying at home through a longer outage, look at our power cut checklist.
Building your kit
The Bulgarian list is a good backpack. To turn it into a full household kit, add a power bank, blankets or sleeping bags, and a way to cook. Our checklist combines Bulgaria's list with the 23 other guides and scales the amounts to your household.