Prime Minister Andy Burnham has urged British households to ensure they maintain a supply of items to ensure they have what’s needed to get through an emergency situation.
He explained that unexpected events "seem to becoming more common" and everyone should have "those supplies in the house to get you through those moments".
It’s part of the govenment’s new ‘Be Ready’ campaign, which recommends having food, water, and other items, to get through three days “while support reaches those in need”.
The campaign suggests a five-point plan to be prepared, namely:
- See what you already have: Check your cupboards first to see what essentials you already keep at home.
- Plan for your household: Note down what you still need, remembering items your family relies on, such as medical supplies, baby formula or pet food.
- Build it gradually: Pick up missing items when you can during your regular shopping trips to help spread the cost.
- Check it regularly: Set a reminder every six months to check expiry dates and swap out items that need replacing, or update your kit if your household’s needs have changed.
- Connect with your community: Talk to your neighbours about what extra support you might be able to share during an outage, and swap contact details.
And they have provided a handy checklist of items to pick up and store away in case of the worst, which you can access here.
Here are all 15 items you should store away in case of emergency.
Make sure you don't miss a moment of breaking news from across Scotland by signing up to our free newsletter here.
5. Sleeping bags and blankets
If there are extended power outages it could get cold quickly over the winter. Make sure you have plenty of warm blankets or, even better, a few sleeping bags. | Canva/Getty Images
6. Warm clothing
It's best to also have a stock of cozy clothes in case of winter emergencies - nice warm jumpers being a must. | Canva/Getty Images
7. Radio
We may mainly listen to digital radios now, but it's important to have an FM radio for news updates during outages. You can get a battery-powered one or, even better, a windup model just required you to rotate a handle to power it up. It's also an idea to write down the frequencies both national and local radio stations. | Amazon
8. Power banks
Feel lost without your phone? Making sure that you have a couple of power banks ill mean you can stay connected if the electricity goes down. Just make sure you keep them charged up. If you get the right model they can also power tablets and laptops. | Canva/Getty Images