For you
First aid kit, spare clothes and comfortable shoes, rain poncho, thermal blanket.
Hour zero
Romania's 72-hour emergency kit
Romania's Department for Emergency Situations (DSU) asks every household for an emergency backpack and supplies for at least three days at home, with 4 litres of water per person per day. The full list is on fiipregatit.ro. The emergency number is 112.
Read7 min read
Updated11 Nov 2026
TopicHour zero
Official sources4
What the DSU says
The DSU runs fiipregatit.ro (“Be prepared”). Its emergency backpack page says: „Ar trebui să fii pregătit și să ai un rucsac de urgență (în caz de evacuare) și provizii suplimentare de urgență pentru a supraviețui acasă timp de cel puțin trei zile, în cazul în care apa, gazul și electricitatea vor fi întrerupte.” In English: “You should be prepared and have an emergency backpack (in case of evacuation) and extra emergency supplies to survive at home for at least three days if water, gas and electricity are cut off.”
So there are two kits. The backpack goes with you if you have to leave fast. The home supplies keep you going if you stay put with the water, gas or power off.
We read the page on 11 November 2026. It also asks you to keep the backpack where you can grab it and to tell everyone at home where it is.
What goes in the backpack
The DSU list, grouped the way the page groups it.
| Category | What the DSU lists |
|---|---|
| Water | Preferably 4 litres per person per day, kept cool and dark and replaced every 6 months. Purification tablets and a bottle of water to treat. |
| Food | Compact and light, needing no fridge, boiling or baking: tins, dried food, energy bars, biscuits, jam, juice, coffee, tea. Baby food and pet food where needed. |
| Papers and money | ID card, health insurance card, property papers (paper or digital), cash in small notes, important phone numbers, spare house and car keys, a paper map of the area, a copy of the family emergency plan. |
| First aid | Personal medicines and prescriptions, with your family doctor's name on a note. Painkillers, antiseptics, parts for a hearing aid or wheelchair. |
| Hygiene | Disinfectant, wet wipes, tampons, toilet paper, tissues, soap, shampoo, toothpaste and brush, bin bags. |
| Clothes | A set of suitable clothes and shoes including underwear, plus a waterproof jacket or rain poncho. |
| Warmth | Sleeping bag or thermal blankets. |
| Tools | Wind-up, solar or battery radio (change the batteries yearly), spare batteries, a power bank and cables, torch and glow sticks, whistle, knife or multi-tool, a utility shut-off key, dust masks, work gloves. |
Source: DSU, Rucsacul de urgență, read 11 Nov 2026.
Water and blankets for your household
Multiply the DSU figures by the people at home and by three days.
| People | Water for 3 days (4 L a day) | Blankets or sleeping bags |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 12 litres | 2 blankets or 1 bag |
| 2 | 24 litres | 4 blankets or 2 bags |
| 3 | 36 litres | 6 blankets or 3 bags |
| 4 | 48 litres | 8 blankets or 4 bags |
| 5 | 60 litres | 10 blankets or 5 bags |
| 6 | 72 litres | 12 blankets or 6 bags |
Water: 4 litres per person per day. Blankets: the DSU asks for 2 warm blankets or one sleeping bag each in case the gas goes off. The water calculator works it out for your home.
Supplies that stay at home
For sheltering at home the DSU adds a few things you would never carry.
- Bottled water, up to 4 litres per person per day for drinking, cooking and washing. If the water is about to go off, clean and fill the bath and other containers.
- Food that needs no cooking, such as tins and other non-perishables, stored indoors and rotated.
- A month of medicines, plus the supplies and devices anyone at home relies on.
- Light without a flame: battery or wind-up torches and glow sticks.
- Fridge and freezer turned to their coldest setting, doors kept shut, so food lasts longer.
- Games and toys for children.
- Never use a camping gas stove or a barbecue indoors.
A second bag for work or the car
The DSU also asks for a smaller bag where you spend long hours away from home.
To get home
Paper map, solar power bank and cables, torch and glow sticks.
For winter roads
Tow rope, reflective triangles, ice scraper, shovel and brush, sand or salt, de-icer and demister.
Earthquake: the DSU steps
The DSU earthquake guide says a family should be ready to cope on its own for three days. Here are its steps in order.
01Before: the home and the plan
- Fix bookshelves, TVs, pictures, mirrors and the fridge, and move them away from beds.
- Learn where the water, gas and power shut off, and agree who turns them off after a quake.
- Make a family emergency plan: a meeting place, emergency contacts, who calls whom.
- PAD home insurance against natural disasters is compulsory in Romania. It leaves out contents and outbuildings, which need an optional policy.
- Practise twice a year, when the clocks change.
Source: DSU, Cutremur guide
02During the shaking
- Get down on your hands and knees.
- Cover your head and neck with your arms, under a sturdy table or desk, or by an inside wall away from windows.
- Hold on until it stops. Do not run outside or onto the stairs.
- In bed, lie face down and put the pillow over the back of your neck and head.
Source: DSU, Cutremur guide
03Right after
- Expect aftershocks.
- Check gas pipes only with soapy water. If you smell gas, open the window, close the valve and keep flames away.
- If the tap still runs, fill the bath and other containers.
- Skip the lift. Use the stairs only once you have checked them for cracks.
- If you leave, take the backpack and go to the family meeting place.
Source: DSU, Cutremur guide
04Hours 7 to 72
- Ration the water and food in the backpack for everyone, pets included.
- Listen to AM radio or the official DSU, IGSU and government channels.
- Use the car only in extreme cases, so the roads stay clear for rescue crews.
- Photograph the damage at home and call your insurer.
- Throw out food and water from torn packaging.
Source: Bucharest Community Foundation and DSU, 72 hours after an earthquake
What the 72-hour earthquake guide adds
A guide written by the Bucharest Community Foundation with the DSU sets a minimum backpack per person. On top of the list above, it has:
- At least 3 litres of water in the backpack.
- A tin opener and a multi-tool knife.
- Damp-proof matches or a lighter.
- Duct tape, a foil blanket, warm clothes, and hand and foot warmers.
- A USB stick with scanned papers, and a notebook with your blood group and other medical details.
- A portable analogue radio, a marker or pen, and a notebook.
Questions people ask
What does Romania's emergency kit contain?
Water, food that needs no cooking, papers and small cash, a first aid kit with your medicines, hygiene items, spare clothes, a sleeping bag or thermal blanket, a radio, torch, whistle and tools. The table above has the whole DSU list.
How much water does the DSU ask for?
Preferably 4 litres per person per day. A family of four needs 48 litres for three days.
How often do I refresh the kit?
Water every 6 months, radio batteries once a year. Once a year, go through the bag and replace anything past its date.
Is there a separate earthquake kit?
The backpack is the same. The earthquake guide adds securing your home, the drop, cover and hold on drill, and what to do in the first 72 hours.
Is fiipregatit.ro in English?
The site has an English version of the emergency backpack step. The longer guides, such as the earthquake guide and the 72-hour PDF, are in Romanian.
Next step
Tick off your own
The Fallback72 72-hour checklist runs on your phone and remembers what you already have. The Fallback72 book, on paper that works with the power out, is still being written: join the list to hear the launch date first.
