Luxembourg's emergency kit fits on two pages. What makes it useful is its timing: it sorts every item by when you should deal with it, from what you can store today to what you grab on your way out. Here is the official list and how it compares with the other 23 guides we compiled.
The official guide
- Title: Kit en situation d'urgence
- Publisher: infocrise.lu, Luxembourg's government crisis information site
- Year: 2022
- Horizon: "a few days"; we count it with the 72-hour guides
- Link: infocrise.lu leaflet (PDF, French)
The leaflet asks you to keep the kit somewhere easy to reach, make sure everyone in the family knows where it is, and keep it easy to carry, so it serves both if you have to stay inside and if you have to leave. It calls its list a suggestion, "not exhaustive", to adapt to your family and health.
Store in advance
- Water: at least 6 litres per person, preferably in small bottles.
- Food that keeps and is easy to eat.
- Copies of identity papers, insurance papers and any other important documents, in a waterproof wrapping.
- Basic tools: a multi-purpose pocket knife, a can opener, a pair of scissors.
- Personal hygiene products.
- A stove, preferably a gas one.
- A torch with two sets of spare batteries, or a battery-free crank (dynamo) torch.
Six litres per person is the same as France's figure: 2 litres a day for three days. Small bottles are easier to carry if you have to leave, and an opened small bottle doesn't go to waste.
| Household | Minimum water |
|---|---|
| 1 person | 6 litres |
| 2 people | 12 litres |
| 4 people | 24 litres |
Add water for pets: our checklist counts them in the stock too. Treat 6 litres as a floor, not a target.
Also prepare in advance
- A change of clothes and shoes: one set per person, and more for children.
- Candles or candle holders, with matches or a lighter. The leaflet asks for responsible and safe use.
- A battery or crank radio. It notes the car radio can be an alternative in some cases.
- Sleeping bags and/or blankets.
- Board games.
At the last minute
- The medicines you are taking, and any prescriptions.
- A first-aid kit that also contains your prescribed medicines: plasters, compresses, disinfectant, paracetamol.
- Spare house and car keys.
- Cash.
- A list of useful phone numbers: family, friends, doctors, emergencies.
- Your mobile phone and laptop, with their chargers.
- Your wallet, with cash and cards.
These are things you use every day, so they can't sit in a box. Keep a note on top of the kit listing them, so nobody forgets them in a hurry.
The leaflet also asks you to know where and how to turn off water, gas and electricity, how you will stay in touch with your family, and which elderly or vulnerable neighbours might need your help. Check the kit regularly: is it complete, is it still in date, does anything need replacing?
How Luxembourg compares
Our data counts 20 of our items in Luxembourg's list. None of them is rare: each appears in at least five of the 24 guides. Two details are less common: a change of clothes, which only five guides list, and spare keys, which seven list.
The one widely listed item it leaves out is a power bank. Nineteen of the 24 guides list one. Luxembourg tells you to take your phone and its charger, but a charger is no use without mains power.
Build yours
Our checklist covers the whole Luxembourg list and works out water and food for your household. For the part you would carry, see our grab bag checklist.