Emergency supplies: what and how much to store for seven days

Emergency supplies: what and how much to store for seven days

The Estonian Rescue Board (Päästeamet) recommends that every household should be able to cope in an emergency for at least seven days without outside help. This means a situation where electricity, water or heating is cut off, shops are closed and help only arrives after some time. The bigger the crisis, the longer it takes.

In the past, 72 hours was often mentioned, but the current recommendation is to be prepared for a disruption to normal life lasting at least a week. The good news is that putting together a week's supply is neither complicated nor expensive once you know where to start. Here is a practical list.

Water: three litres per person per day

No one can manage without water. The Rescue Board recommends allowing three litres per person per day: two litres for drinking and one for cooking. For a week, that makes 21 litres per person and 84 litres for a family of four.

Store water in sealed containers in a dark, cool place. Bottled water from the shop keeps until the date on the label. Tap water you have stored yourself should be replaced regularly.

Food: what to stock

Good emergency food meets four conditions:

• it doesn't need a fridge,
• it's quick to prepare or ready to eat,
• it keeps for a long time,
• it's something you also eat in normal times.

The last one matters more than it seems. If your supply consists of food nobody in the family eats, it will sit in the cellar and expire.

Suitable items include tinned food and soups, pasta, rice and grains, crackers and crispbread, nuts, dried fruit and chocolate, and long-life ready meals.

How much food you need

Allow three meals per person per day. For seven days, that makes 21 meals per person.

An adult needs roughly 2,000 to 2,500 calories a day, more with physical exertion. In a crisis you often burn more energy than usual, because keeping warm and handling everyday tasks takes effort.

How to cook without electricity

This is where many food supplies fall short. If food needs cooking but there is no electricity, the supply isn't much use.

The Rescue Board recommends getting a camping stove or gas grill with a fuel supply, so you can make hot meals from your stored food even without electricity. The other option is to stock food that is ready to eat or only needs hot water.

Dried ready meals are especially practical here: pour hot water into the pouch, wait 10 to 15 minutes and eat straight from the packaging. There are no dishes to wash, which matters when water is limited.

What to avoid

• Food that needs a fridge. It spoils first during a power cut.
• Food that needs long cooking. It uses up fuel and water.
• Only one type of food. A week on nothing but tinned food is hard on both body and mind.
• Food nobody eats. It will expire and go to waste.

How to store your supply

Keep food in a cool, dry and dark place. Check your supply once a year and look at the best-before dates.

The easiest way to keep your supply fresh is to use it day to day: eat the older products and replace them with new ones. That way nothing goes to waste and your supply is always usable. Long-life food makes this easier, because if a product keeps for years, you don't need to keep renewing your supply.

Checklist

• Water, 21 litres per person
• Food, 21 meals per person
• A way to make hot food without electricity
• Torch and spare batteries
• Battery-powered radio
• Charged power bank
• First aid supplies and necessary medicines
• Cash
• Hygiene products

How to get started

If you want to put your supply together in one go, the one-week food pack is designed for exactly that. It contains 21 ready meals, one person's needs for seven days, exactly as the Rescue Board recommends. The main meals in the pack keep for 5 years, need no fridge and are prepared with hot water.

See the one-week food pack or our full emergency supply range. For outdoor conditions and hiking, our MRE food packs are also a good fit.

Source: Estonian Rescue Board (Päästeamet), crisis preparedness recommendations. More information at olevalmis.ee.