If you live in Spain, Italy, Hungary or Malta and search for your government's emergency kit list, you won't find one. None of the four publishes a national household checklist that we could use. That doesn't mean there is no advice at all, and it doesn't leave you guessing: 24 other European governments have published lists, and they agree on a lot.
What does exist
| Country | What we found |
|---|---|
| Spain | No national list. Only one region, Catalonia, publishes one. |
| Italy | No national list, only a short example of four items. |
| Hungary | Advice on an evacuation bag only, with no home-supply list. |
| Malta | A printed manual that is not available online. |
None of these gives a full household list we could compare item by item, so they are not among the 24 guides on our checklist. If your national or regional authority publishes a list, follow it first.
Regional and local advice
Emergencies are often handled regionally. In Spain, if you live in Catalonia, use the regional list alongside this page. Wherever you live, check your region's or town's civil protection website for local risks, such as floods, wildfires or earthquakes, and for how warnings are sent. Most EU countries also send cell broadcast alerts to phones.
What the EU asks
All four countries are covered by the EU's Preparedness Union Strategy of 26 March 2025 (JOIN(2025) 130), which asks households to hold supplies for at least 72 hours. The population-preparedness guidelines that followed (C(2026) 8250), presented on 3 November 2026, name the needs to cover: food, water, medicines, communication and cash. They still publish no item list. Our explainer on why 72 hours sets out the reasoning.
What 24 other governments agree on
In place of a national list, the 24 official guides we compiled, from France and Germany to Sweden, Poland and Portugal, are a good guide. Six items appear on every one of them:
| Item | Guides listing it |
|---|---|
| Drinking water | 24 of 24 |
| Torch or head torch | 24 of 24 |
| Battery, solar or crank radio | 24 of 24 |
| Personal medication | 24 of 24 |
| First-aid kit | 24 of 24 |
| Cash in small notes | 24 of 24 |
Close behind come:
| Item | Guides listing it |
|---|---|
| Spare batteries | 22 |
| Candles, matches and a lighter | 19 |
| A charged power bank | 19 |
| ID and document copies in a waterproof pouch | 19 |
| Blankets and warm clothes | 18 |
| Tinned food | 17 |
| Important numbers on paper | 17 |
| Ready-to-eat dry food | 16 |
| A grab-and-go bag | 16 |
| Hand sanitiser and disinfectant | 15 |
If you pack those 16 items, you have what most of Europe's governments consider a basic 72-hour kit.
How much water
The guides that give a figure plan 2 to 3 litres per person per day. Germany and France plan 2 litres; Sweden and the Netherlands 3. For 72 hours, a family of four needs 24 to 36 litres. In a hot southern summer, aim for the top of that range. Our guide to how much water to store explains how to store it and keep it fresh.
Plan for a power cut
The April 2025 blackout cut power to tens of millions of people in Spain and Portugal within seconds. When the power goes, so do card payments, mobile data once the masts' batteries run down, and in some buildings water pressure. That is why the radio, torch, batteries, power bank and cash sit so high on every list. Our power cut checklist covers the first hours.
Food you can eat cold
Plan food that needs no cooking: tins, crispbread, nuts, peanut butter, dried fruit, chocolate. If you store tins, keep a manual can opener with them. Our guide to emergency food that needs no cooking has more ideas.
Building your kit
Our checklist combines all 24 official guides and works out the amounts for your household, whichever country you live in. Start with the six items every guide agrees on, then work down the list.