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From 3 days to 2 weeks: how long each European country asks you to last

20 European guides stop at the EU's 72 hours. Sweden and Estonia ask for a week, Germany ten days, Austria two weeks. See it day by day, and what it means in bottles of water.

Updated 2 min read

The EU's Preparedness Union Strategy asks every household to cope alone for at least 72 hours. That is a floor, not a target, and four countries set the bar much higher. Here is what each national guide asks, one square per day.

Fig. 1 · Days of supplies

How many days of supplies each national guide asks for

Filled squares are the days a guide asks you to cover. Source: the 24 national guides in our sources table.

Why the gap?

The four outliers plan for long disruptions rather than short ones. Austria's civil-protection association (Zivilschutzverband) asks every household to be able to live self-sufficiently for at least two weeks, and the government portal says ten to fourteen days. Germany's federal office (BBK) asks for ten days of food and drink and says even three days helps. Sweden's In case of crisis or war and Estonia's rescue board plan for a week, as part of total-defence planning in which households carry themselves while the state is busy elsewhere.

Everyone else, from France and the Netherlands to Poland and the UK, uses 72 hours: long enough for rescue services to reach the most vulnerable first.

What two weeks means in water

Water is where duration hurts. Guides plan 2 litres per person per day (Germany, France) or 3 litres (the Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark). Set your household below and see how the pile grows.

Fig. 2 · Interactive

How much drinking water your household needs for each duration

Each block is one six-pack of 1.5 L bottles (9 L). Drinking and cooking only. Washing needs more, which is why some guides suggest filling extra containers when a cut is announced.

For a couple at 2 litres a day, the EU minimum is 12 litres, two six-packs. Austria's two weeks is 56 litres, seven six-packs. A family of four at 3 litres needs 168 litres, which is a cupboard, not a shelf. That is why the longer guides lean on tap water stored in clean containers. See how much water to store and water containers.

Which should you follow?

Your own country's, first. If you have none, start at 72 hours, then extend the parts that run out first: water, food and medicines. The longer guides add very few new items. They mostly ask for more of the same. Our checklist scales every quantity for 3, 7 or 10 days. For Austria's two weeks, start at 10 days and add four more days of food and water.

More from this series: Europe's emergency lists in charts.