Crisis What Crisis? The One You Start To Wish You'd Stockpiled Like Your Crazy Friend? Continuation thread (3)

[RedToothBrush]

Previous threads
https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/5576816-aibu-to-think-my-friend-is-overdoing-emergency-stockpiling?page=1
https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/_chat/5585259-crisis-what-crisis-is-my-friend-over-doing-the-stockpiling-and-am-i-too-continuation-thread-2?page=1

Continuation of the AIBU to think my friend is overdoing emergency stockpiling thread for discussion about the government advice to stockpile for an imminent emergency and what the heck that emergency might actually be.

Spoiler: it's more of a perfect storm of lots of factors coming together to potentially form one great clusterfuck from economic woes, global energy shortages (mainly diesel), potential food shortages, war and madmen to crazy weather patterns rather than a clear identifiable singular thread.
This is a practical thread and a bit of a handhold thread to make sense of events and how they may affect you. This is not an end of the world thread.

Remember an emergency can range from a temporary unexpected event to a much longer crisis but the underlying principles generally stay the same.

This is the official government information and advice, if you want further details on what the actual recommendations are:
https://prepare.campaign.gov.uk/get-prepared-for-emergencies/

ROUGH STATUS REPORT (as of 9am 22nd Oct - please note this isn't fully comprehensive, and is moving FAST)
Civil Unrest reported in:
France, Italy, Greece, Belgium, Albania, Indonesia - multi reasons, but largely due to economic pressures and the cost of living
Spain has had problems but these have temporarily stopped, probably due to significant weather related issues due to the Dana effect
More protests planned for this coming weekend
High Alert in the Middle East:
Netanyahu now committed to regime change in Iran, as he believes they are developing a nuke.
The US has pulled all Embassy Staff from Saudi Arabia and is hoping no one notices that they've ordered personal and families across the Gulf home and then seem to have lied that they have.
The Emir of Qatar has stated at their equivalent of the annual King's Speech at the Opening of Parliament that war was coming and to prepare for the worst scenarios. US pulling planes out of Qatar.
The Egyptian PM has warned the country of severe crisis ahead - given the nature of the country this is related to their alliance with Saudi Arabia and their reliance on the Suez Canal which the Yemeni rebels now control access to and their exposure to famine
Iran is saying if there is another attack, the gloves are off and they'll try and wipe out the middle east oil industry as they go down, as well as hitting critical civilian infrastructure.
Much movement / noise is similar to run up to the first US attacks this year. Debate over whether the attack will come before the Israeli Election or the US Midterms - possibly within 72hours - latest mood music suggests potentially this weekend. Seems to be shifting to a when not if.
Israel election: 27th Oct
Prices and Shortages:
Diesel needs no real reminder - we need it for haulage, mass transportation and farming, we are screwed without it. Fuel Emergency declarations in West Virgina, Kentucky, Michigan, Maryland, Arizona, Nebraska and Texas - typically allowing limited dyed diesel use for ag or commercial vehicles. Illinois and Missouri have also allowed by not under emergency orders. Less reported is the fertiliser shortage and knock on effect, poor yields this year and the effect of El Nino on next years, sulphur export bans and the blockade on Ukrainian and Russian wheat exports which are particularly crucial in feeding North Africa and the Middle East. This is liable to have significant impact on the UK with 6% rises in food already expected next year (and there's every reason to believe this will be higher especially with civil unrest all over the place). Reports of aviation fuel running low in some parts of Europe with emergency supplies (which can't last forever) being used.
El Nino:
See above about farming and also think of disasters - like the ones Spain is facing with flooding. Storm Austin is incoming and there is a weather warning for the South of England with power outages and flooding possible today/tomorrow.
The Internet:
PHP is 70% of the internet. Its got compromised so it can pretty much all be hacked. This is VERY BAD (in capital letters). Many websites offline whilst this is sorted including multiple government ones around the world.
Just AI generally - everything from putting everyone out of work to just hacking and killing us all. No Biggie.
Trump and the Mid Terms:
Trump is firmly losing his marbles. He's defected to Russia, can't stop rambling about men's arses, is waving at non-existent people, his team are known to be considering ways to impose martial law, he's getting heckled at Trump rallies by his own supporters, 83% of all voters think the biggest problem in the US now isn't the cost of living crisis but government corruption. He's being called a traitor by some of his fellow Reds. Mid Terms look a disaster and Trump probably won't accept them. He's reversing bills that Congress passed weeks ago by executive order.
Mid-Terms: 3rd Nov
Ukraine and Russia:
Ukraine facing massive problems still cos Elon has got the ump. Starlink isn't working at face enough speeds. They've bombed a shedload of Data Centres in Russia. This has killed off the Russian Internet and many Trump/Musk supporters in the process (one way or another) which screws up Twitter (and its value) for them. Ukraine is getting blamed for diesel shortages cos they refuse to stop hitting Russian refineries even though it has no choice now its been cut off by the US. Zelenskyy now says Trump isn't an ally. Trump wants Zelensky gone and thinks Putin is being reasonable and Ukraine doesn't want peace. Germany states it would have activated Art5 if the confirmed Russian sabotage attack on Liepzig had been successful.
Russia is apparently planning to step up its sabotage campaign in Europe after having successfully sunk a few boats in EU waters (Romania / Bulgaria - these sinkings have been in both international waters off the coast AND within their official territorial waters).
Economy:
Lots of debt. Much concern over the implications of this particularly with regards to AI and state debt in the US, UK, France and Japan (but not restricted to). Much money put into gold by China. Background of this bad given the approach of potentially multiple crisis.
France Moody's credit review: Due tomorrow 23rd Oct - expected to be not good especially in the current political climate in France
UK Budget: 28th October

They are all interconnected and one or many could tip us into abject chaos. Or not. The risks here are sky high. Of what? Take your pick.

We filled a big barrel from the beer making kit.

Maybe should just fill with beer...

Sorry if this has been discussed upthread already, but how do we keep warm in winter if there is no electricity/gas? I can happily live on canned food & cereal and UHT milk for a few days but no heating will be a struggle.

And why do we need copies of passport etc?

@AnonUser75
i guess it is in case of fire/flooding, natural disasters

Layers, oodie, blankets. You can get rechargeable handwarmers and other usb run ones. A stock of the single use handwarmers, and heat patches.

@AnonUser75if you have a way of boiling water then hot water bottles.
I also have a few survival blankets, and don't forget hats really help.

How do you boil water if there is no electricity or gas?

I’m looking at Amazon but quite frankly have no idea what I’m looking for.

You could get another dog, under the guise of prepping 🤣

@celeriacismisunderstood Search for 'gas camping stove' and there are loads.

If I wanted to boil water very quickly and efficiently I would get one of these. They take about 3 minutes. I have one and absolutely love it. https://alpkit.com/products/brukit?variant=31073013563497

If I wanted a cooking stove and needed something inexpensive I would go for something like this. There are lots of variation on it but this one has a wide surface for placing pans. The main thing is that the gas is well out of the way of the cooking area, connected by a hose..
https://www.blacks.co.uk/products/oex-savo-stove-silver-636246?variant=53568505151818

Both take the same screwable gas which is around £7-9 for a 500g cannister. The canister would last about a week of moderate use.

I feel both options are safer than the type of stove where the gas clicks in to the unit. If you have one of those, you must be careful not to use a pan that is too big as there have been incredibly rare accidents where this has caused to gas canister to ignite. There are demonstration of this on YouTube. I've used one safely for years and only recently become aware of the issue, main thing is to use a suitably sized pan of you have one. A small kettle would be ok. I would get a camping stove kettle - £5-10 as they'll be more efficient. Camping frying pan also more efficient and safer than your typical big stainless steel pans that you would have in the kitchen.

That's really helpful thanks for sharing, I was looking at cooking stoves last night. I settled in the Halfords one but saw about the gas risk.

If I could only buy one would it be the Savo one? Could also heat water on that one?

Thankyou 🙂

As suggested by others, a camping stove. Or you can buy small stoves that use kindling/twigs. A bbq. Camp fire. Firepit.
If you know anyone who can boil water using these methods close to you, and you don't have any way of doing so yourself, get a large flask so you can ask for help.
If not possible, then non water methods as suggested by pp.

Yes, absolutely. Again, I would get a little camping kettle but a pan can be used. A nice light one so you're not wasting heat warming up the pan rather than what's inside

Agree. First rule of prepping is don’t talk about prepping! (Except on here of course!).

Everyone at work yesterday was talking about the news. I made all the right noises, suggesting colleagues get a few extra bits and reminded them about dog food, but managed to bite my tongue. No way was I you going to tell them I had 4 weeks supply of water, three months supply of food, many electric backup systems, heating sources etc. That would have just led to comments like “oh, that’s all right, we’ll know where to come in an emergency then”!

Thank you, hand warmers are a great idea, and I’m now looking at stove options for hot water bottles. I already use blankets / layers a lot with my heating (I’m in a cold part of UK) so I probably also need to toughen up a bit!

i am not telling my colleagues where i live

Can't recommend Alpkit enough.

Why would anyone slay you for using your common sense?

I suspect it was the choice of store not the purchases they anticipated the potential for being slayed 😏 but you buy where the stuff is available.

A colleague who grew up in Croatia during conflict always warned me to have a small bag ready with passports, a solar phone charger, and cash in case you ever had to make a run for any reason.

Ok fair enough.

Exactly, you buy where it’s available and what you can afford. I’m not from the UK but I spend more time in M&S Food Hall than I want to admit whenever I’m there. It’s great!
Plus it was the only place that was cool enough this summer, so a bonus!

An interesting BBC article shared on one of the other threads about the government seeking new powers because of the threat to undersea cables.
Sorry, I don't know how to link.

This one?

www.bbc.com/news/articles/cwe8lz45d820o

That's it!
Thank you @HeckYeah!

I'm quite glad at the moment to be sick to death of the sight of tomatoes. My client asked me to plant loads of them and then disappeared for months, so there are thousands of them needing to be processed. Fortunately, processing tomatoes into passata is a long habit and it does get old, but it's good to have the passata. Same with fruit and saving dry beans, it's just become an annual job to process and store them for winter.

According to this article, the UK has got some catching up to do.

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2026/oct/23/tinned-mackerel-hand-crank-radios-and-bags-for-poo-crisis-prepping-guides-around-the-world