Germans told to stockpile

[ThroughThickAndThin01]

Germans are being told to stockpile enough food and water for 10 days, in case of a national emergency.

Sensible or scaremongering.

Any thoughts?

On its website the German Federal Office of Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance (BBK) gives citizens a survival list for emergencies, enough to last two weeks. The list includes:
28 litres (6.2 gallons) of drinking water
4.9kg (10.8 pounds) of bread, noodles, rice, potatoes
5.6kg (12.3 pounds) of vegetables and pulses (preferably pre-cooked)
3.6kg (eight pounds) of fruit and nuts (in jars or tins)

What does it say about other issues - eg cooking, toileting, lighting, communication etc?

I can't imagine a scenario in which you would need 10 days supply in western Europe. It would only be 3 days or zombie apocalypse

Yes that's what a lot of people think, that's the problem with the spoon fed western society right there.

It says nothing about anything else. Me personally I would be looking for solar or wind up lights, candles, wind up radio and a usb charging device to keep in case for charging mobile phones etc

Has the announcement been made yet?

It sounds as if someone is ticking a box then. ('Yes, we updated that in 2016.') To be fair, there's very little that they could practically do for most of the population in the event of a crisis.

Problem is people can't see how their life would change. Disaster films are just that. Films. But you look at tsunamis. Earthquakes. Storms. All capable of knocking it power. All capable of contaminating the water supply.

Most of the 1st World have been living in a Smoooooth Bubble for the past 60 years or so. They have no idea just how hard and unrelenting a real crisis would be, it's true.

Not seen the news today as DD started school.... Will report back when I hear anything.

But yes wind up devices may well feature on our shopping list

Is this something everyone should do then? I have stored food in my larder but much of it is dried goods that therefore needs water to get cooked. This thread has made me feel strangely terrified! Is this normal advice for Germany?

Have you planned how you would cook them without power, SirVix ? ( Genuine question - maybe you have.)

not until now....I have a woodburing stove, so that wouldn't be a problem.

Where are people supposed to store all this stuff? The Americans all seem to have houses with inbuilt nuclear bunkers, so they can take full advantage of all those coupons for industrial quantities of toothpaste but Europeans are a bit more limited for space.

I have lanterns which are multi-source, dora. Eg you can plug them in to the mains (if available) or use solar or windup if not. They also have USB ports on them and car thingies.

Many people can't, Stop.

Nor can they afford the extras, either.

I don't have enough stored, to be sure. Need to work on that. Water storage is the biggest problem though - it just takes so much space. I have purification tablets, though they wouldn't much help with chemical contamination.

Its been a long time since we had a major disaster that meant the authorities could not help for days. So I can see why many people don't bother to prep. Or don't know how (low calorie snacks in your OFRS anyone?) :)

I could probably stockpile tins and water in the loft. My dad was stuck in New York in the big black out a few years ago. He had bought loads of pasta and chick peas and filled the bath with water, but ended up really hungry because he had no power to cook the pasta. He could also only leave the apartment he was staying in by walking down 6 flights of rickety, slippery fire escape stairs, which is also something to consider if you rely on a lift at work or at home.

They may be impacts for very rural people, or islanders. But see earthquake in Italy, Red Cross field kitchen has been set up in less than 24 hours. Even in floods, people have been moved and given food and shelter.

What is it you are prepping for? The only national disasters in this country in recent years have been floods. In which case supplies would have been ruined anyway.

carol and Over

You might want to watch

I believe there's also an American version on Youtube.

Just because something hasn't happened before, doesn't mean it can never happen. You have to look at vulnerabilities.

Yeah blackout gave me the heebies for sure. It's on 4od also.

Where are people supposed to store all this stuff?
in germany flats come with a storage room/compartment in the cellar and/or attic

Earthquakes and floods have happened before and therefore can be partly prepared for by the Red Cross.

Germany are probably thinking about the risk of nuclear or biological attack

or 'just' a computer hack of utilities...