AIBU to wonder whether the three day emergency advice is serious?

[Mich1986]

I know I might sound crazy, but is anyone else worrying about all the posts about stockpiling and prepping for 3 days that the government is telling us to do? Is anyone actually taking their advice and buying torches, extra water and wind up radios? I just don’t know whether to take it seriously?

What I have done is stock up on the below

water
tinned food
cereal
biscuits

we have a powerbank, camping stove & portable radio from camping.

I can envisage some shortages from diesel prices. If its a proper war situation then 3 days is going to be pointless so will cross that bridge when I come to it.

I could live for a week on what I have in my cupboards. I think many could. Boring but edible. I don’t think you need a wind up radio - if the internet/broadcasting system gets destroyed or broken for more than three days we have bigger problems.

I don’t this is far.

How can you actually prepare for every emergency?

Plus some of us didn’t really experience severe shortages during Covid, I couldn’t get yeast but I never buy that & eggs which is not a big deal.

The tins at the back of my food cupboard may finally be eaten!

I think a lot of people will already have enough food to last three days given you technically need very little to cover such a short period. If we’re looking at a crisis event causing a long term shortage, then frankly you probably don’t want to be a home with a well stocked larder!

If the power goes out in my house, I'd have no access to the internet or phone calls because my mobile doesn't get any signal where I live. Mobile coverage in this country is terrible. I've got a radio to get the news in that scenario.

My German grandparents were children who lived through the Second World War (both approx 7 when it ended so managed to avoid much of the hiltler youth thankfully)
they built their own house in their thirties complete with a hidden stockpiling room in the cellar.

when it was my grandfathers funeral my grandmother was selling the house so we ate up their stockpile…there were up to thirty people in their house for a week, I kid you not, we didn’t go shopping once. That’s the level of stockpiling they considered normal - one month of food minimum. One week of water minimum. Cash and some gold too, coffee and tea to trade with.

needless to say I haven’t stockpiled that much but I have always had approx a week’s worth plus a map, torch and matches, even at uni. I think people who don’t are bonkers. I always thought it was odd my British grandparents didn’t stockpile as they were the same age…

We camp so I could probably live off-grid for a week or more in terms of power, heat, and light.
Food wise, we probably have enough. Water, I have empty folding camping containers that I would hope I have enough time to fill.

I'll probably buy a few packs of wet wipes and loo roll. Thinking about it, I should get extra contact lenses and solution.

Two years ago when they were predicting disruption to our electricity, we obtained a generator and had the boiler wired up to run off it. My thinking was there was no way we were managing without showers with three teenagers. However there were no power cuts and there weren't the same news reports/scaremongering about potential disruption last winter. I did wonder why not.....
Maybe this will amount to nothing, just as that did.

The people being evacuated from their homes today presents an interesting scenario, as who would be able to grab the things they need in time?
Changes of clothes, medication etc....

So I'm not worried and I'm paying it very scant attention but am a prepper light anyway I suppose.

I wish I didn’t feel that way , but everything is controlled by computers and apps & I don’t think we are anywhere near as resilient as a nation as we used to be .

I have a laminated list of what to grab if we have to flee quickly and a different one for if we have to flee with a car vs on foot…

It is a media article based on government advice, featuring a government minister.

It is on the government website.

It has been reported by the BBC.

What more do you want?

@mindutopiado you have 3 months supply of your daily medication then? Ime the NHS doesn’t allow one to stockpile

I’ve always struggled with how large a water container to buy…do you go big but hard to carry unless you have a car/wheelbarrow or smaller but many containers? I read “Brother in the land” at an impressionable age which didn’t help!
I’ve settled for carryable containers, water purification tablets and a stockpile of bottled water in the garage. Covering all bases!

clearly sensible to have a few basics for a short period of disruption, but all the prepping and planning to flee stuff seems batshit. It’s sad that people are so anxious.

It’s the medication bit that I think will cause far more panic than anything else. Millions of people take insulin, thinners, blood pressure, heart meds etc

You routinely keep 3 days of drinking water for your family in the cupboards? Because I don't think most people do.

We've slightly altered our behaviour as a result of the information campaign. Our cupboard under the stairs has eight 5l jugs of water and we pick up prescriptions early rather than down to the wire so in the event of disruption we'll have drinking water and essential meds.

@BermudaRhombusI think it helps some people feel they are still in control

Where are you carrying it to?! What kind of event are you envisaging here?

@wafflesmgee what do you think you will be fleeing & have to carry water purification tablets?

People recently had to evacuate due to wildfires and due to flooding, didn’t they?

I’m intrigued

But did they take water purification tablets with them?!

Wildfires & flooding doesn’t cause all the shops to shut

No, water purification tablets are advised for stay at home emergencies if you don’t have bottled water.

We always have things in anyway, its just sensible planning. We've always got:

• large water bottles
• camping gas stove & plenty of gas
• matches & candles
• fire pit & fire wood
• torches
• camping solar charger
• rechargeable batteries & charger packs.
• tinned tomates, tuna, beans, chickpeas, fruit, sweetcorn, spam
• dried goods, plenty of pasta & rice, flours, oats, couscous etc
• cooking oil
• dried & longlife milk

We could probably a couple of weeks easily if we rationed the water.