AIBU to think the stockpile advice suggests something to come??

[OhNoooooooooooooooo]

The government is low-key telling people to stock up with tinned food, bottled water etc

I have tinned food, gas camping stoves etc just need to think about water really..

Do you think that they know something is happening/going to happen?

Oh, I must have been oblivious to that message.

Don't make a drama. A weeks stockpiling won't change anything.

I saw a small article somewhere, but it certainly hasn’t been front page news.

They put out the same message three years ago. All countries do it. It’s sensible.

It's standard, sensible advice. It's to be prepared for storms, illness etc. It's really not about anticipating the apocalypse.

I think we're one of the few European countries that doesn't stockpile.

For example, there are many countries that suffer power cuts in bad Winter weather, so people are accustomed to having supplies of water and non perishable food in case it takes a few days to reconnect.

It's not a new thing for many, it's just we're not used to doing it, or being asked to.

My very sensible DH has been stockpiling in a drawer for months before this advice, he's the least likely person to be a doommongerer, he's just being sensible if there's a power cut.

I think it’s generally good advice anyway to keep a rolling stock of a couple of weeks spare food in the form of frozen batches, frozen veg, cans and dried rice/pasta IF you are fortunate enough have the space and money to do that.
Specifically though, the way things are going in Iran and Russia, it’s fairly likely that the transportation of some essentials is going to be disrupted.

Source?

In a drawer? How long would that last you?! 😆

I go from thinking it's just run of the mill sensible advice to wondering what fresh horror they have planned. I trust the government about as much as I trust a rabid raccoon, so who knows what's going on? That starmer character once gave a speech telling us our kids were going to have it worse than our grandparents. It doesn't help when you're bombarded with people on social media saying it's the end of the world this autumn and there's a new world order coming in by 2030 🙄 I think Russia is the usual threat, but they can't even take eastern Ukraine. Maybe cyber threats from Iran? Power cuts? Rain?

We do have stuff in as it happens, but that's because we're well organised. As long as the cats have enough food I'm happy.

That starmer character once gave a speech telling us our kids were going to have it worse than our grandparents.

does he not have a point in many respects @smallglassbottle ?

This seems to come up every now and then but I cannot see that we have received any concrete advice to stockpile.

Not sure why people are querying this. It's been all over the news. https://www.thetimes.com/uk/environment/article/water-risk-shortage-5xzr3spzk

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/aug/25/uk-to-warn-citizens-to-stock-up-on-food-amid-threat-from-climate-crisis-and-hostile-states

Risk of a catastrophic loss of water supply has been upgraded to 25% (for a town somewhere in the country- obviously the risk of being personally affected is much lower).

Having enough drinking water and tinned food that doesn't require cooking for at least a few days is common sense if you can. You can always just add a few bits each week if it's not practical to buy extra all at once.

Our kids are going to have it worse than our grandparents. Inflation, reducing public services, housing shortages, late stage capitalism, climate change, societal breakdown due to social media propaganda... it's not looking great, is it.

The current government aren't going to inflict anything on us other than possibly small tax rises, but god knows what will happen if Reform get in.

I know, we need more space - I'd love to have a full on prep basement.

Thinking of using space under one of the beds, problem is our house gets so hot in the Summer and you need to keep it all cool.

https://prepare.campaign.gov.uk/get-prepared-for-emergencies/

Yes, something is coming. We are heading into autumn/winter and this means more rainfall, flash floods, northern regions affected by snow, rural areas potentially being left without power and road access due to high winds. It's the same every year. Hardly unexpected.

I don't think theres anything sinister going on. I live in a rural area, it is not unusual to have power outages and road blocks for several days, up to a week, at a time, so we always have torches, candles, camping stove, blankets, power banks, non frozen food stocks etc. We are on a private water supply so there's no need for us to have water stocks but if your water is pumped in you would need water supplies.
I think it's mainly in case of power outages, our national grid is creaking and renewable power overloading combined with possible extreme weather power cuts and potential gas shortages makes a weeks stockpiling quite a sensible idea.

Edited: typo

Hopefully something doesn’t happen imminently then if his current stockpiling consists of one drawer

You don’t have to be overly rural to have that problem in the UK - power cuts are common outside urban areas. Most country dwellers will have a few days stock on hand and a decent UPS for the router/essential household controls

You already made that point.... why make another one?

It was more the context, which was about war and conscription.

Don’t start the panic buying!

The terror threat has been severe for 4 months so something is likely to happen but I don’t think it will be an apocalypse

We have a few days' worth of food between the cupboard and freezer and then another couple of days of tinned food in the pantry. Useful just in case. Was pretty useful back in 2018 (?) when the beast from the east weather shut a lot down!

I'm in Kent. Our water is under constant threat. It's very very hard to deal with. Even if you have a water butt full for the toilet and bottled water it only lasts a few days.