Bottled water, tinned food and a torch on a shelf at home

Hour zero

The UK government's emergency kit list

The UK government asks households to be ready for 3 days, and its Be Ready checklist puts drinking water at 3 litres per person per day. Below is every item on the official list, the amounts for your household, and the numbers to keep on paper.

Fallback72 research deskUpdated 11 Nov 20266 min read

Read6 min read

Updated11 Nov 2026

TopicHour zero

Official sources4

What the government asks for

The figure is three days. The government's Be Ready campaign (the old Prepare site and GOV.UK/BeReady both open it now) says: "Being ready for 3 days helps you manage while support reaches those most in need."

The checklist was read on 11 November 2026, on the Be ready for emergencies page and in the printable PDF.

Call 999 if you or someone else is in immediate danger. The site itself says it will not carry live information during an emergency.

The Be Ready checklist, item by item

Nine categories, as the government groups them.

Category	Item	What the checklist adds
Water	Bottled water for 3 days	3 litres per person per day for drinking. More for cooking and washing.
Food	Non-perishable food for 3 days	Long shelf life, no fridge or cooking: tinned meat, fish or vegetables, dried fruit, nuts. Buy food you usually eat.
Hygiene	Hand sanitiser, wet wipes, bathroom products
Light and warmth	Torch and spare batteries	Torches are safer than candles.
Light and warmth	Blankets, sleeping bags, warm clothing	Homes get cold quickly when the heating goes off.
Communication	FM radio, battery or wind-up	Write down the frequencies of the stations you use for news.
Communication	Charged power bank	For phones or compatible medical devices.
Money and documents	Cash (coins and notes) and cards	In case card payments or cash machines are down. The amount depends on your household.
Money and documents	Copies of IDs and documents	Printed passports, birth certificates, insurance details, instructions for medical equipment.
Money and documents	Important numbers and information	Who to call, who to check on, your regular medication and doses.
Medical and health	First aid kit	Waterproof plasters, bandages, thermometer, antiseptic, eyewash, sterile dressings, gloves, medical tape, tweezers.
Medical and health	Essential medication and supplies	Order repeat prescriptions up to 5 working days before you need them.
Baby products	Baby formula	Ready-to-feed is best: you may have no way to boil water for powdered formula.
Baby products	Nappies and wipes
Pet products	Pet food and bottled water

Source: UK Government, Be Ready checklist, read 11 Nov 2026.

Drinking water for your household

Three litres a head for three days comes to 9 litres per person.

People	Drinking water, 3 days	In 1.5-litre bottles
1	9 litres	6 bottles
2	18 litres	12 bottles
3	27 litres	18 bottles
4	36 litres	24 bottles
5	45 litres	30 bottles
6	54 litres	36 bottles

Drinking only, at the checklist's 3 litres per person per day. Cooking and washing come on top: the water calculator adds them, and pets, for your home.

How the government says to build it

Over time, from what you already have.

Check your cupboards first. Some of the list is probably at home already.
Write down what is missing, with what your household relies on: medical supplies, baby formula, pet food.
Add a thing or two on normal shopping trips so the cost is spread out.
Set a reminder every six months to check expiry dates and swap what needs replacing.
Swap contact details with neighbours and talk about what you could share during an outage.

Two smaller kits the guidance mentions

A grab bag

A spare bag with a few essentials, ready in case you are asked to leave home quickly.

Be Ready: source

The car boot, for winter

Torch and in-car phone charger
Warm clothes and blankets
High-visibility clothing
Jump leads and a snow shovel
Food and drink
A first aid kit

Be Ready: source

Numbers to write on paper

A phone with no charge can't show you a contact list.

The guidance asks for a written list kept somewhere you can find in a power cut: the people you would call, your regular medication, the radio frequencies you use, your insurance details.

Add the power cut line: 105 in England, Scotland and Wales, 03457 643643 in Northern Ireland. For danger to life, 999.

If someone at home needs extra help during a supply cut, the Priority Services Register tells your electricity, gas and water companies. Households with children under 5 are among those eligible. Northern Ireland calls these Customer Care Registers.

Questions people ask

How many days of supplies does the UK government recommend?

Three days. Be Ready says being ready for that long helps you manage while help goes to those most in need.

How much water per person?

3 litres a day for drinking, so 9 litres each for three days. Cooking and washing need extra.

Where is the official list?

At GOV.UK/BeReady, on the Be ready for emergencies page, with a printable PDF. The Prepare address leads to the same site.

Is there a separate list for Scotland or Northern Ireland?

Be Ready links to Ready Scotland (ready.scot) and to the NI Direct Be Ready page for each nation's own advice.

Torch or candles?

The checklist says torches are safer than candles. Pack spare batteries, or a wind-up torch.

Next step

Three days, ticked off

Our 72-hour checklist turns a list like this into boxes you tick at home. The Fallback72 book covers water, heat, light, food that keeps and first aid on paper that works in a power cut: join the list to hear the launch date first.

Open the 72-hour checklist Join the book list