Older people are often the most self-reliant in a crisis: many remember shortages and keep a full cupboard. But they can also be the hardest hit. A lift that stops, a hearing aid with a flat battery or a cold flat in a power cut matters far more at 80 than at 30. If you live alone, there's no one to notice when something goes wrong. This guide is for older people themselves and for the family and neighbours who look out for them.
Medication comes first
Personal medication appears in every one of the 24 guides we compiled. Some give a quantity:
| Guide | Advice |
|---|---|
| Germany | At least 10 days of regular medicines |
| Sweden | A month's supply of prescription medicines and disposable products, for example for diabetes |
| UK | Request repeat prescriptions up to 5 working days before you need them |
- Keep a written list of every medicine and its dose. The UK suggests writing medication doses down alongside important numbers.
- Keep copies of prescriptions with your documents.
- Ask your pharmacy how to store any medicine that needs a fridge if the power goes off.
- Slovakia's guide adds a sensible caution: don't stockpile unnecessary quantities, and watch expiry dates.
Aids and the batteries they need
Eight guides list spare glasses and hearing-aid batteries. Poland's guide asks carers to make sure older people have batteries for assistive devices, giving a hearing aid and a blood-sugar sensor as examples.
- A spare pair of glasses, even an old prescription
- Hearing-aid batteries, or a charged power bank for rechargeable aids
- Spare batteries for any other device you rely on
- A walking stick or frame kept where you can reach it in the dark
If you depend on electrically powered medical equipment, ask your supplier what to do in a power cut. In the UK, the Priority Services Register tells your electricity, gas and water providers that you need additional support.
Light, and avoiding falls
A fall in the dark is a real risk when the lights go out. The UK's checklist notes that torches are safer than candles. Keep a torch by the bed and another by the door. A head torch leaves both hands free for a stair rail. All 24 guides list a torch.
Keeping warm, and keeping cool
Cold is dangerous for older bodies. If the heating fails, the guides' advice is to stay in one room, close the doors, cover the windows, and dress in layers with a hat, gloves and thick socks. Finland reminds you that alcohol will not keep you warm. Eighteen guides list blankets and warm clothes. Our post on staying warm in a winter power cut has the details.
Heat is a risk too. Slovakia's advice for heatwaves: stay in the shade where you can, drink regularly, eat lighter meals, shade windows with blinds or shutters, and take a lukewarm (not cold) shower at least once a day.
Information you can hear
All 24 guides list a battery, solar or crank radio. Choose one with large, clear buttons. Write the frequency of your public broadcaster on a label stuck to it.
Sweden has specific advice for people with sensory impairments. If you are hearing impaired, use the Krisinformation app and switch on notifications to get public warnings. If you are visually impaired, use text-to-speech or screen-reader tools. Use your phone's accessibility features to receive the most important information.
People who check on you
This is the most important step if you live alone, and it costs nothing.
- Agree who will check on you. The UK suggests agreeing with neighbours that, if the power goes and someone can't phone, a trusted person will visit them in person.
- Swap numbers with neighbours, and write them on paper. Seventeen guides list important numbers on paper.
- Talk about what help you'd need. Sweden suggests talking to family, friends, neighbours, assistants or your care manager, and making a crisis plan that includes your medicines and aids.
- Plan transport. Sweden asks people who need assistance to prepare for getting to a shelter or other protected place. Poland says to tell the rescue services in an emergency that someone needs special help to evacuate.
Sweden notes that people who already receive help from their municipality will keep receiving it in a crisis or war, but should still prepare for their own needs. Guide dogs and assistance dogs are allowed in Swedish civil defence shelters.
Poland also suggests an identification tag for older people, with their name and a contact phone number. It helps if someone becomes confused or separated during an evacuation.
A first-aid kit you can use
Every guide lists one. Choose a kit with large, clearly labelled compartments, and check it when you check the rest of your supplies. Add your own items: blood-pressure monitor, glucose tablets, a spare inhaler.
Keep it light and close
A heavy box in the loft is no use if you can't lift it. Keep water in smaller bottles rather than large jerrycans, store the kit where you can reach it, and choose tins with ring-pull lids. If you are a family member helping an older relative, pack the kit with them, not for them, so they know where everything is.
Our checklist sizes everything for a one-person household. Our family emergency plan guide helps you write down who checks on whom.