AIBU to think my friend is overdoing emergency stockpiling?

[bagpuss90]

I get that we have been advised to stock up on essentials, though I think it will encourage panic buying. I will probably get a few days worth of stuff at some point . My friend however has, at least in my opinion gone ott about it. She’s stocking up a six month supply of food. She’s bought head torches, a camping gas stove and various other stuff. She thinks I’m being naive …Am I missing something here ?

Err what we stockpiling for, what have I missed?

Government advice. Possible crises include the following, not exhaustive, list.
El Niño; possible hard winter and flooding.
Food shortages following from widespread droughts this year all over the world. Crop failures.
Power outages.
Diesel shortages.
General fuel shortages.
Cyber attacks; specifically but not only from Russia.
The ever present possibility of the next pandemic which global health experts such as the World Health Organisation agree is a when scenario, not an if scenario.

Government advice, to reiterate, is that it's the responsibility of households to have plans/resources in place for a minimum of three days survival without outside help and assuming the possibility of infrastructures down. European countries have this in place also but Brits seem more reluctant. Rural communities in general much more clued up than urban ones. Often because recent storms have meant they have, indeed, had to bring survival plans into practice and frequently for longer than three days.

Now I've answered your question perhaps you could tell me how you've missed anything at all on this subject?
I'm asking because you're very much not the first person who seems totally unaware of the subject. And I'm not sure how that's possible unless very young or completely unaware of any news. You presumably knew, at a minimum, that we had a serious drought this summer? And how this has affected farming and crops, i.e. the food on your supermarket shelves? You presumably know about the blockade of the Hormuz Straight and how that is affecting world fuel supplies and Trump's recent actions? As a minimum?

Here are the Gov.UK pages.
https://prepare.campaign.gov.uk/get-prepared-for-emergencies/

Well you could start by reading a page or two of this thread as there are 35 of them, instead of expecting someone else to take their time to explain what has already been explained many times by now.

Further articles in the telegraph today about practice runs off the coast of Scotland. Does anyone know is this normal? I mean do they normally practice for 'imminent attacks by Russia' and this is just another drill or should we indeed be worried.

Old US warship blown up off Scottish coast

ttps://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/09/28/nato-prepares-for-russian-missile-attacks-at-sea/

Ooh someone's snippy today! I don't care that much to be honest, it was just an innocent question, sorry it upset you so much! 😉

It's pretty normal to have exercises, doesn't help the Telegraph have given them a scaremongering headline!

You don't care if infrastructures are down and you are unprepared and without food, water, power, medications and any means of providing for yourself whilst emergency services get on top of the situation?

Okey-doke.
Have fun!

There's uncertainty going on. Extreme weather events to cut off power, water. Supplies etc. The escalating events in the world that are affecting us in little ways that could turn into a massive deal. It's just bring in a little buffer thatll see you though the gap between an event and help.

I'm personally concerned that the predictions of world war 3 that would last 7 months and Europe would become mostly a desert as a result would come true. At the time it seemed like that would be impossible but then came along trump, his ego and his drive to stay where he is.

Then there's the Russian simulation of setting off a nuclear warhead just off NI to cause a tsunami of radioactive water to disable the UK.

There's a variety of weirdness going on, it's just something to do to have some supplies in just in case.

Many of us are fairly well equipped if something would happen and you suddenly were stuck at home. What if you suddenly found yourself stuck at your workplace though, and couldn’t leave..would there be enough water & food for a couple of days where you work (if you work)?

This is very useful from the Swedish Preparedness Week. If you go onto the website and enter your email, they’ll send you a checklist https://www.kapselsystem.com/blogs/news/preparedness-week-sweden-2026?srsltid=AU7gw4VwtjKcfrNaZHxsRJTV_X8mGF2CRgBFuV8ZoH97TaZ_XnIX2BR1

• Monday, water. Store drinking water (about 3 litres per person per day) and add a way to make more safe to drink. See how to purify water.
• Tuesday, food. A week of food that keeps without a fridge and needs little or no cooking, plus a manual tin opener and a camp stove.
• Wednesday, warmth. A sleeping bag or blankets per person, warm layers, and a safe heat source with ventilation in mind.
• Thursday, light and power. A head-torch per person, spare batteries, a charged power bank and candles with matches. See light and power in a crisis.
• Friday, information. A battery or hand-crank radio for public alerts (VMA) and a written list of important numbers. See VMA and staying informed.
• Saturday, first aid and medicines. A first-aid kit, a week of any prescription medicines, and basic hygiene supplies.
• Sunday, documents, cash and a plan. Copies of important documents, some cash in small notes, and a simple family plan for where to meet and how to reach each other.

I am not convinced the physics works for a warhead large enough to disable the UK with a radioactive ‘tsunami’…

An EMP airburst would conceivably knock out a lot of the grid, I would imagine, but that’s it.

It’s pretty good, isn’t it. The VMA alert is actually on the building where I work, so we certainly wouldn’t miss it. It’s loud. 😅

To be fair I've mentioned it to several people over the past week and out of maybe 12 people 10 of them had no idea what I was talking about.

Its utterly depressing how away with the fairies most people are.

I get this too when I mention it to work colleagues. Most don't know about the advice. I thought everyone kept basic supplies incase of power or water outage, but obviously not.

@RedToothBrush Thank you for all the info you've posted on this thread. Worrying, but really useful and informative.

Radioactive tsunami sounds like a good title for an apocalyptic movie. Hope it's not a possibility, to add to all the other potential disasters!

I think right now the most likely things that could happen are due to the effect of the ever-strengthening El Nino and whatever weather chaos that might bring. The other main threat is probably blackouts/power failures - maybe connected to El Nino, or perhaps not. Sometimes I look at my supplies and think, what nonsense is this you've bought into? Then I think if there's even a slight possibility that something could happen, I'll be very glad to have those supplies, or perhaps someone else will.

A lot of people are away with the fairies, on many matters, I hope more of them start putting a few things by. In Spain when there was a major blackout last year, law and order began breaking down within hours, not days. You don't want to have to go out of your house if you can possibly avoid it, having supplies is essential.

The Times reports that the suspected bomb attack on RAF Fairford was foiled by one of the suspects who called 999 himself

This story gets weirder by the day.

I think you are being prudent.

The raf story is making zero sense as the days go on.

Give it a few days and it will have been lads being lads trying to steal some diesel.

No one I know has ever once mentioned stockpiling. Where are people getting this information from?

It's been in the main news ever since late August. This Guardian article was one of the first

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

Then the environment secretary Angela Eagle warned of the El Nino and that Brits needed to stock up-

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cp931m8n3p5o

Wes Streeting then got involved earlier this month, there are quite a few articles about what he said (prepare for adverse weather, cyber attacks or enemy threats).

Just put a question about it in Google and you'll find a load of info.

I know, right? Why did they drive a couple of hundred miles from London to nick diesel fuel right next to a US air base? Makes no sense unless there's something shifty going on. I think it's connected to Iranian threats, makes the most sense. The IRGC recruit sympathetic criminal types in this country without getting involved themselves. All this made worse by Trump's exaggerated claims! What a time to be alive!

Manchester Evening News Graphic detailing who would get priority for diesel in a shortage.