Denmark emergency kit list: the Forberedt på kriser checklist

Denmark's official advice is a short booklet called Forberedt på kriser, "prepared for crises". Its message is simple: you and your household should be able to manage for three days if a crisis hits, so that the authorities can focus on those who need help most. Here is its checklist, the amounts it gives, and how it compares with the other 23 national guides we compiled.

The official guide

We opened and read the booklet. The advice was drawn up together with a range of Danish authorities, and the booklet says it is a guide you can adapt to your household.

The checklist

Drinking water

• 3 litres per person per day, for drinking and some cooking. For three days, that is 9 litres per person.
• Water for pets, if you have them.

Food

• Food for three days that keeps outside the fridge and is easy to prepare, such as tins and crispbread. Choose food you already eat and like.

Medicine and first aid

• Necessary medicine for at least three days
• A first-aid kit: plasters, dressings, and products to clean and disinfect wounds
• Iodine tablets, if relevant, for people under 40 and for pregnant and breastfeeding women

Hygiene

• Toilet paper, hand sanitiser, wet wipes
• Nappies, pads or tampons, or whatever else your household needs

Heat

• Blankets, duvets and warm clothes. If it stays cold, keep the household mostly in one room.

Other supplies

• A power bank or battery pack, for your phone
• A torch and batteries
• Physical payment cards (and remember your PIN), plus some coins and small notes
• Candles and matches, if you want them

Communication

• An FM radio that runs on batteries, a crank or solar power, or your car radio. If other systems fail, DR broadcasts emergency messages from the authorities on the radio.

Cooking and safety

If your food needs cooking, the booklet says you need a way to boil water without electricity or mains gas, for example a barbecue or a camping stove. It is firm on one point: never use a barbecue or similar indoors, or in a fully or partly enclosed space, because of the risk of smoke and carbon monoxide poisoning. Candles and other heat sources should stand on a firm base, well away from curtains and other things that burn.

How it compares with the other guides

Denmark's list covers 20 of the 51 items we track across 24 official guides, and includes all six that every guide agrees on: water, a torch, a radio, medication, first aid and cash.

What it adds

Denmark is one of only four guides, with Finland, Belgium and Austria, to mention iodine tablets. Its advice is specific about who they are for. In a nuclear accident, it says the most important thing is to stay indoors and follow the authorities. It is also one of five guides to name period products.

Its cash advice is also distinctive: it leads with physical payment cards for when phone payments fail, and then suggests a small amount in coins and small notes as well.

What it leaves out

The checklist doesn't mention copies of your ID or important documents, which 19 of the 24 guides list. It also has no grab bag for leaving home. If you might have to evacuate, see our grab bag checklist.

Think about your own situation

The booklet asks you to consider small children, older or ill people and pets; whether you live near the coast or in a low-lying area that could flood; how you'd travel if your usual transport stopped; and whether you can help, or get help from, neighbours. It suggests writing important phone numbers on a note, for example on the fridge.

Building your kit

Denmark's list is a clear 72-hour baseline. Add document copies and a grab bag, and you have a full kit. Our checklist combines Denmark's advice with the 23 other guides and works out the amounts for your household.