National emergency guides disagree on plenty: how long to plan for, whether to keep candles, whether you need iodine tablets. But when we mapped 24 European guides against the same 51-item checklist, a small core came out the same in every one. If you are starting from nothing, start here.
In all 24 guides
| Item | Guides | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Drinking water | 24 of 24 | You can't do without it for long, and bottled water sells out first |
| Torch or head torch | 24 of 24 | Safe light when the power goes |
| Battery, solar or crank radio | 24 of 24 | How the authorities reach you when phones fail |
| First-aid kit | 24 of 24 | Small injuries, while help is busy elsewhere |
| Personal medication | 24 of 24 | Pharmacies may be shut or out of stock |
| Cash in small notes | 24 of 24 | Card terminals stop with the power |
Drinking water
Germany and France plan 2 litres per person per day, Sweden and the Netherlands 3 litres. For two adults over 72 hours that means 12 to 18 litres, for drinking and cooking. Bottled water is fine; long-life emergency water keeps for years without rotating. Our guide to how much water to store has the full sums.
A torch
Every guide lists one, and one per person is ideal. A head torch leaves your hands free for cooking, first aid or carrying a child down the stairs. It is also far safer than a candle.
A radio that needs no mains power
When mobile networks fail, broadcast radio is how the authorities tell you what is happening and what to do. A battery, solar or crank radio keeps working through a long power cut. More in our emergency radio guide.
A first-aid kit
The guides converge on the basics: plasters, dressings, disinfectant, gloves, scissors, tweezers, a thermometer, painkillers, and remedies for fever and diarrhoea, plus electrolytes. See our home first-aid kit checklist.
Personal medication
The amounts vary. Germany asks for at least 10 days of your regular medicines, Sweden for a month of prescriptions. Keep copies of the prescriptions too, and ask your doctor or pharmacist how best to build up a small reserve.
Cash
Card terminals and cash machines stop when the power does. Keep cash at home in small notes, so you can pay for exactly what you need. Sweden suggests about 1,000 SEK (≈ €90) per adult.
In almost every guide
| Item | Guides | Not listed by |
|---|---|---|
| Spare batteries | 22 | Belgium, Portugal |
| Candles, matches and lighter | 19 | Romania, UK, Greece, Portugal, Cyprus |
| Charged power bank | 19 | Belgium, Austria, Slovenia, Luxembourg, Bulgaria |
| ID and document copies | 19 | Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Estonia, Cyprus |
| Blankets and warm clothes | 18 | Finland, Estonia, Greece, Bulgaria, Portugal, Cyprus |
| Tinned food | 17 | Germany, Finland, Belgium, Ireland, Luxembourg, Greece, Cyprus |
| Important numbers on paper | 17 | France, Finland, Estonia, Lithuania, Poland, Bulgaria, Cyprus |
A gap in this table rarely means a country thinks the item is unnecessary. Germany doesn't list tins, for example, but does list dry staples, and its food calculator covers vegetables, fish and meat. In our coding, 21 of the 24 guides name tinned, ready-to-eat or dry food.
Why these matter
- Batteries keep the torch and radio going. Buy them in the sizes your devices take. Lithium cells store for years and work in the cold. See batteries for an emergency kit.
- A power bank keeps your phone alive for calls and alerts. Keep it charged, with its cable next to it.
- Documents: copies of ID, insurance papers and prescriptions in a waterproof pouch, plus a digital copy.
- Blankets and warm clothes, because heating usually stops with the power, even gas boilers.
- Food that keeps and can be eaten cold. Our post on food you can eat without cooking covers what to buy.
- Numbers on paper: family, doctor, neighbours, insurer. A dead phone takes its contacts with it.
Start with the core
The six universal items and spare batteries cover most of what matters in the first 72 hours, and most households already own a few of them. Then work outwards. Our checklist shows what your own country's guide adds, and how much of each your household needs.