The government is urging the public to prepare for emergencies by stocking up on essential items such as wind-up torches, tinned meat and bottled water.
Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden has launched a new website, “Prepare”, which provides advice on safeguarding against various risks, including biosecurity crises, flooding, power outages and future pandemics.
The “Prepare” website recommends households maintain a supply of bottled water, suggesting a minimum of three litres per person per day, with 10 litres preferred for additional comfort in cooking and hygiene. The guidance also advises storing non-perishable foods that do not require cooking, such as tinned meat, vegetables and fruit. Additionally, households should ensure they have baby supplies, pet food, a tin opener, battery or wind-up torches and radios, wet wipes and a first aid kit.
Dowden emphasised that these measures are about “sensible safeguards, not stockpiling,” and the website aims to provide practical information to help households prepare for threats identified in the government’s national risk register.
The initiative is part of a broader effort to enhance the UK’s resilience to threats such as natural disasters, water outages and conflicts. Last year, Dowden introduced an emergency alert system that sends loud alerts to mobile phones if there is a life-threatening risk in the area.
A government source described the new website as part of the “largest overhaul of resilience in decades,” which includes new training for MPs and a program to simulate responses to another pandemic. Next summer, thousands of people will participate in a tier one pandemic exercise to further this initiative.
The government clarified that the advice is not in response to any immediate crisis but aims to ensure the public is prepared, allowing emergency services to prioritise those in urgent need.
[Image created via MidJourney]