To be really scared by this messaging from the government?

[sookiestjames77]

As someone who really struggled during the pandemic this has really scared me. I have done a big order of hygiene basics to arrive tomorrow (12 x packs of wet wipes etc) and will be heading out for a stock up shop tomorrow to fill up on tins etc.

I’m considering ordering 12 of those water refills for water coolers and a pump that fits in the top, but I don’t know if that’s overkill. I alone drink 4-5 litres of water a day, plus cooking water!

I am really scared. How is everyone else dealing with this?

Stop being such a fanny OP. It is clear what this is about, making sure you have a little personal resilience if something bad happens. You must have led a sheltered life if you can't imgine what scenarios might happen.

Off the top of my head, three such incidents that have happened to me-

In the 1987 storm we were living in rural Kent and had no electricity for 2 weeks and were cut of for three days as all the roads were blocked by fallen trees.

Fifteen years ago a half built block of flats behind us caught fire and we were evacuated by the fire brigade in an emergency.

Just last year my area of London had no water for 2 days due to a serious pipe burst.

It won't 'stop life' though, will it? Extreme weather/power or Internet disruptions/natural disasters would interrupt life and require extra resilience. Nuclear war, if that's what you're trying to feed into this thread, is something there is no point preparing for, anyway. I have my genuine doubts about this thread for several reasons.

the gas hob that I had, and the one before that, would light with a match if the power was off. The bit needed to keep the gas flowing was the heat from the lit burner (assuming bimetallic strip but it might not have been) its was the same using a match or piezo, you had to keep the gas control knob pressed in for a few seconds after the flame lit and then it would stay lit. take the pressure off the knob too soon and the gas would stop flowing.

Yeah it’s a good time to be a camper 😂

I understood it was to do with potential loss of power as a few fairly heavy storms have been forecast. Around my way we've had a few trees down, so there's potential for power lines to go too if high winds continue.

I do think that messaging should be clearer though. Evidently the way things have been worded are worrying people unnecessarily.

Scouts are preppers 😉

5 litres a day is dangerous. It most certainly isn't healthy. As a minimum it will be flushing out your electrolytes and at worst damaging your kidneys.

And there is nothing wrong with basic prepping which many people already do.

@sookiestjames77 I’m guessing that you’re very young because there was a lot of worry about nuclear attack in the 80s.

I do feel as if you’re a bit unaware, though there’s been lots of weather incidents across the UK in the last few years, there’s been posts on here from people who were without water for awhile.

I think the point of ID is more about proving who you are if you needed to collect medication in a place that can’t just check you on the system

Sleeping bag is probably more about if your heating goes out.

I don’t think they have handled this well because historically other countries do this as normal whereas to us it looks new

A lot of people do it anyway, though

I mean with ID, you would just grab your wallet for example.

I’m somewhere in the middle

I understand why you’re worried about a lot of what they’ve said is just common sense anyway.

Why have I not received this message?!

Can you share what it says?

eta: perhaps it is caused by that bad code/hacking news and not real.

You'll possibly have heard of the big council estate where I grew up then, it was quite notorious!

I've lived in Sussex for 35 years. I can only remember two occasions when snow has settled here in that time, and on one of those it had thawed by the next day.

We rarely get a frost, I think we only had two all last winter. And they probably didn't even get a frost down in the town centre, it's 250-300 feet higher up where I live.

So you've gone through your entire life expecting "them" to do everything for you? Mmm. Why am I thinking that this thread seems to be designed to store up discontent with "them" .....🤔

Yeah, they sent that emergency alert about fires, didn’t they? That wasn’t necessary. Maybe this particular lot are basing more concerns around the environment

So, it’s the storms that probably set this off

I don’t know maybe they feel like they can’t say that it should be standard Advice, but they should be able to say that because they weren’t in power for years and years.

It is scaremongering (IMO) to tell people they NEED to do it (as if something is about to happen.) All the Government message has done is make people freak out, (as the OP is doing!)

The shelves will be bloody empty again, just like they were during Covid.

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Some sort of disaster is not armageddon, the zombie apocalypse, or nuclear attacks. It is a short-term disruption caused by extreme weather events or petrol/oil issues that temporarily disrupt the food supply.

You will be fine.

We've been getting text messages telling us to prepare for events like this for years because we are on the priority register for water and power. We have so far avoided starvation despite mostly ignoring the warnings (the most we do is charge some power packs, download some movies, and if money allows, stock up on vodka and wine).

They told us to get prepared in May 2024.
A different they.
People don't like listening.
They did some surveys, they decided the message needed to be a bit better publicised.

The cynic in me feels the advice is designed to get people shopping, NOW!

COL, what COL crisis? Buy your baked beans, tins, gallons of water, wine, chocolate, toilet rolls, medicines, you name it, go and buy it.

I think everyone should have a power bank charged up, a torch, a wind up radio (in case t'internet disappears), water, crackers, cheese, tins, and gin. Sorted whether or not the apocalypse happens over 3 days. 😊

The fires didn't affect everyone but they did affect some people living in less urban areas than I do.
I do understand the need for caution (when coupled with, I'm sorry to say, the levels of ignorance that seem to be prevalent among a fair swathe of the population), but it's a pity that things aren't able to be better articulated or targeted rather than being a blanket approach. Then again, that's probably better than nothing.

The real concern here is how will people who are in poverty manage? I volunteer at a foodbank - we must easily provide to over 150 customers. I don't know how they would be able to stock up as they get the essentials for a week, but nothing that would be enough to put aside.

By having a grown up conversation about what might potentially happen and how to prepare for it, they're trying to make sure they can focus efforts in an emergency on those who really need the help, rather than spreading themselves thinly

You're quite right in principle, @JassyRadlett, but frankly I wouldn't want to rely on our governments helping anyone with any effectiveness

I was on Florida's gulf coast for the Cat5 hurricane Ian and the most impressive thing was the response, with the highway crammed with recovery/maintenance vehicles, most working 24/7 for days

Here, they'd still be having committee meetings about what to do

OP what do you do as a profession?

It is freely available on the government website. It has been reported by all mainstream media over last few days im sure if you try really hard you will find it.

They have. Repeatedly.

It's not their fault people are dingbats who panic over nothing.

I'm puzzled that we are advised to have sleeping bags and copies of important documents and ID. That sounds as though we won't be in our own homes. What on earth is expected?

If there was flooding or a fire, you’d need to leave your home quickly

Are they expecting this? Floods and fires?