UK households urged to prepare for emergencies and ‘attacks’. Here’s what to buy

The British public has been told to prepare for food shortages and widespread disruption from cyber attacks and emergencies under a new national initiative.

The 'Be Ready' campaign marks the beginning of a three-year drive to boost household emergency preparedness, with Defence Secretary Wes Streeting unveiling updated advice for threats such as flooding and wildfires.

UK households are advised to take simple steps in case everyday services are disrupted, like keeping a three-day supply of cash, bottled water and tinned food at home.

A new government website has also been launched with an emergency kit checklist that can be downloaded.

Mr Streeting told BBC Newsnight: "It's encouraging that people are taking practical steps to be ready.

“Having a few everyday essentials at home, from tinned food to torches, helps households prepare for disruption, whether that's flooding, power cuts or burst pipes. We can all play our part in making Britain more resilient."

The Defence Secretary previously called for a "whole society approach" to strengthen national resilience, though he insisted people should remain "alert not alarmed" regarding potential risks.

Here we look at the key items you should stock up on in case disaster strikes.

What is included in the ‘Be Ready’ checklist?

The government says people should put together an emergency kit that includes key provisions you and your household would need during a short-term incident lasting three days, such as a power failure or a disruption to your water supply.

The checklist includes:

• Bottled water - enough bottled water for three days. Each person needs about 3 litres for drinking a day in addition to water needed for cooking and washing.
• Non-perishable food that doesn’t need cooking, such as ready-to-eat tinned meat, fruit or vegetables (and a tin opener). As with water, how much you need will vary based on your own circumstances. Don’t forget food for pets.
• Hand sanitiser and wet wipes for hygiene purposes when the water is off.
• Light and warmth – pack a torch and spare batteries as well as blankets, sleeping bags and warm clothing
• A portable power bank for charging your mobile phone.
• A battery or wind-up radio to get updates during a power cut – a car radio can be used, however in severe weather it might be safer to stay inside.
• A first aid kit (or some first aid items) including items such as waterproof plasters, bandages, a thermometer, antiseptic, eyewash solution, sterile dressings and gloves, medical tape for dressings, and tweezers.
• Baby supplies such as nappies and baby formula – ready made or ‘ready-to-feed’ formula is best as you may not be able to boil water or sterilise bottles.
• Money and documents – Keep cash in a mix of notes, coins and cards. Copies of IDs and documents. Also write down any important phone numbers and information such as regular medication and doses.

Rather than buying all the items at once, you could just add to your emergency kit when you are able and build it up over time. You should try to store these items together in a single location in your home, ideally in a spot that remains simple to locate if the lights are off.

Maintaining a supply of prescription medication to cover several days is also essential. For those who depend on any medical devices or equipment, ensure that printed physical copies of all operating instructions are kept on hand. Furthermore, any available back-up batteries ought to be kept fully charged at all times.

How are shoppers responding to the ‘Be Ready’ campaign?

Shoppers began responding to the ‘Be Ready’ public awareness campaign from 22 October, with sales of tinned food, wind-up radios and torches all spiking since the updated government guidance was announced.

It comes as figures from Worldpanel by Numerator show supermarket prices are now 2.6 per cent higher than a year ago, an increase from 2.5 per cent in September.

Hand sanitiser sales climbed 83 per cent in the 10 days after the campaign’s launch compared with the same period last year, while bottled water sales rose 67 per cent over the same window, and tinned and jarred goods were up 37 per cent.

The number of people buying tinned meat each day after the launch rose by 43 per cent, equivalent to an extra 400,000 shoppers a day.

Meanwhile, tinned tuna maker Princes has reported a surge in demand for products such as tinned fish, meat and vegetables as a result of Britons stockpiling essentials.

The Independent can also reveal that average ATM withdrawals hit a record £106.20 on Friday 30 October, as Britons heed the government’s advice to prepare for emergencies.

What threats is the government worried about?

Andy Burnham’s government is focusing on national resilience in the wake of threats from Russia.

Mr Streeting previously announced that Britain must be ready for war in 1,000 days, as the nation’s adversaries could be ready to attack the UK in 2030.

Writing in The Telegraph, he said: “Our adversaries’ willingness to harm us is not new. What has changed is their capacity. By 2030 their force strength and war economy could put them in a position to attack.

“That gives us a little over 1,000 days to complete our mission: to be ready with our allies to fight and win.”

Referencing the potential of Russian aggression, he added: “To prevent the worst, we have to prepare for it”.

Explaining the ‘Be Ready’ campaign, he said: “In the face of those threats, which are not hypothetical but real, and not somewhere else but increasingly here, we have to step up and take seriously our national resilience as well as our national defence.

“It’s really important that we ask households and businesses are they prepared?”.

Vladimir Putin’s government warned that British facilities in Ukraine will be considered “legitimate targets” if they are used to support long-range strikes against Russia.

The Independent also reported that rogue drones are targeting Britain’s military bases almost daily, leaving the UK vulnerable to growing threats from Russia and Iran.

Some 340 security incidents involving drones were reported at or near Ministry of Defence sites in the year to August 2026, data obtained under freedom of information laws show. In 2025, there were a total of 250 incidents recorded – double the 126 recorded the year before.

Why are heatwaves a concern?

The government is also worried following the record-breaking heatwaves the UK experienced this summer, plunging the country into drought and causing numerous wildfires.

Analysts have warned extreme heat and ongoing droughts are putting Britain at risk of its “worst food security crisis in decades”.

Meanwhile, Shore Capital analysts previously said the knock-on impact of five back-to-back heatwaves and prolonged dry conditions could destroy farmers’ harvests, leading to food shortages later this year and increasing reliance on foreign imports.

The National Farmers Union (NFU) also warned the situation is “increasingly concerning” and that dairy farmers were already using winter feed because grass had stopped growing.