Free, practical guides to getting a UK household ready for power cuts, water outages, floods and other emergencies. Facts are checked against official UK sources such as the UK government's Be Ready campaign, the NHS and the Food Standards Agency, linked on each guide. All sources.
- How to build a 72-hour emergency kit
A practical UK checklist for a 72-hour (3-day) household emergency kit: water, food, light, power, first aid, documents and a grab bag, built up a little at a time. - Emergency water storage at home
How much drinking water to store for a UK household emergency, how to store tap water safely, how often to replace it, and what to do under a boil water notice. - A budget emergency food stock list
A cheap UK emergency food list built from everyday supermarket staples: no-cook food for the first 3 days, then low-cost store-cupboard basics for longer, with how to build it up a little each week. - Rotating your emergency food stock
How to keep an emergency food stock fresh and avoid waste: use-by vs best-before dates, first in first out, six-monthly checks, and which damaged tins and jars to throw away. - Preserving cabbage and winter vegetables without power
Power-free ways to keep cabbage, potatoes, onions and root vegetables for months: cool storage, simple sauerkraut and vinegar pickling, plus the bottling safety rules that prevent botulism. - No-yeast flatbread on a camping stove
A simple 4-ingredient flatbread you can cook in a pan on a camping stove during a power cut, with fuel-saving tips and carbon monoxide safety. - Emergency hygiene kit: staying clean when the water is off
What to keep for hygiene in a UK emergency: hand sanitiser, wipes, toilet roll, nappies and period products, plus how to wash hands properly and manage a toilet when the water is off. - Power cut kit: lights, heat, food and safety
What to do and what to have for a UK power cut: call 105, the Priority Services Register, keeping fridge and freezer food safe, torches and power banks, and carbon monoxide safety. - Water filters explained: what they do and don't remove
A plain-English guide to portable water filters for emergencies: pore sizes, what filters remove (parasites, bacteria) and what they miss (viruses, chemicals), and when to boil or use tablets. - Emergency prepping with pets
How to include dogs, cats and other pets in your UK emergency plan: spare food, how much water a pet needs, medicines, records and a pet grab bag. - First aid basics for a household emergency
Short, plain-English first aid reminders for UK households: when to call 999, the recovery position, CPR, heavy bleeding, choking, burns, cuts, hypothermia and carbon monoxide, with links to the NHS, St John Ambulance and British Red Cross. - Getting started with household emergency prep
A plain UK beginner's path to being ready for 3 days: water, no-cook food, light, a grab bag and a simple plan, built up a little each week without panic buying. - Budgeting for emergency prep
How a UK household can build a 72-hour kit and longer stores without a big outlay: weekly shopping add-ons, what to buy first, and how to avoid waste. - Keeping in touch in an emergency
Practical UK ways to get information and reach people when power, mobile data or broadband fail: charged phones, power banks, radio, written contacts and official alert channels. - Staying warm when the heating is off
How a UK household can stay warm and safe in a power cut or cold snap without central heating: layers, one warm room, hot food and drinks, and when to get help. - Medicines and prescriptions in an emergency
Practical UK steps for household medicines when services are disrupted: repeat prescriptions in good time, a small reserve, storage, and when to call NHS 111 or 999. - Writing a simple household emergency plan
How to write a short UK household emergency plan: contacts, meet points, medical notes, pets, utility shut-offs and what to practise once or twice a year. - Emergency prep with babies and children
UK practical prep for households with babies and children: formula and feeding without power, nappies, comfort items, school pick-ups and talking to kids about emergencies without frightening them. - Storing food for longer than 72 hours
How UK households can stretch beyond a 3-day kit with rice, pasta, pulses, tins and cool storage, while rotating stock and following Food Standards Agency safety advice. - Power banks, inverters and generators at home
Choosing and using phone power banks, small inverters and generators safely in a UK power cut — what they can run, ventilation and carbon monoxide, and quieter options for apartments. - Looking out for neighbours in an emergency
Simple UK ways to help neighbours in a power cut, flood or cold snap — and how to ask for help — without putting yourself at risk or replacing the emergency services. - Gas outages and gas safety at home
What to do if you smell gas or lose gas supply in the UK, how gas emergencies differ from power cuts, and safe cooking alternatives while you wait for engineers. - Documents, cash and admin for emergencies
Which documents and how much cash to keep ready in a UK household emergency kit, how to store copies safely, and admin tasks that make recovery after a flood or fire easier. - Toilets and sanitation when water is off
Practical UK options when the toilet will not flush or sewerage is disrupted: stored flush water, temporary toilets, hand hygiene and protecting health until services return. - Radios and official UK warning sources
How to receive trustworthy UK emergency information when data is down: battery radios, Met Office warnings, Environment Agency floods, power-cut channels and what to ignore. - Prepping for older and vulnerable people
How to help an older relative, a neighbour living alone or someone with a health condition get ready for power cuts, water outages and cold weather, including the free Priority Services Register.
Weather and hazard guides
What to do before, during and after the emergencies UK households are most likely to face. Check live warnings on our UK warnings page and, in England, with the flood warning check.
- Flooding: getting ready, staying safe and cleaning up
How to prepare a UK home for flooding, what the three flood warning levels mean, what to do when water is coming, and the first steps after a flood. - Storms and high winds: what to do before, during and after
Practical steps to get a UK home ready for a named storm or high winds, stay safe while it passes, and deal with fallen trees, power lines and power cuts afterwards. - Heatwaves: keeping your household cool and safe
How to keep a UK home cool in hot weather, who is most at risk, how to spot heat exhaustion and heatstroke, and what to do about children, pets, medicines and food. - Cold snaps, snow and ice: staying warm and safe
How to keep a UK household warm and well in a cold snap, protect pipes from freezing, spot hypothermia, drive safely in snow and ice, and find help with heating costs. - When the water goes off: coping with a water supply outage
What to do when your mains water supply stops or a boil water notice is issued in the UK: drinking water, toilets, hygiene, babies and pets, and what your water company should do. - Home fire safety and a fire escape plan
Smoke alarms on every level, the common causes of house fires, candles and heaters in a power cut, and how to plan and practise a fire escape route with your household. - Emergency alerts, staying put and evacuating
What a UK Emergency Alert on your phone means and what to do, when to "go in, stay in, tune in", and how to get ready to leave home quickly if you are told to evacuate.
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