How prepared are you for an emergency? Do you have a few extra tins of beans in the cupboard, or a full-on preppers’ kit in the cellar? While no one likes to think about worst-case scenarios, you can’t have failed to notice the growing noise around being sensibly, practically ready for floods, power cuts, cyber-attacks and other events.

The government launched its Be Ready campaign in October with guidance on how to prepare for emergencies, including a list of suggested items to have at home.

To help you understand what to buy, and where to buy it from, we asked survival, medical and nutritional experts for their advice. “There’s lots of panic about upcoming floods, El Niño and AI attacks, but this emergency preparedness is something we all should be doing anyway. It’s just a good idea to look after yourself and your family like this,” says Hannah Cloke, regius professor of meteorology and climate science at the University of Reading. And if you are in a position to do so, consider donating to a charity like Trussell to help support one of the almost one in 10 UK households already experiencing food insecurity.

From wind-up radios to water filters, here’s what the experts recommend adding to your list.

Are you stocking up on essential items at home? What products have you found useful for past events such as power cuts or being without water? Please let us know how you’re following government advice at [email protected].

What to keep at home in case of emergencies

First aid kit

“Top of my list is a good first aid kit with sterile dressings that you can cut to size, not just little plasters, and some kind of tape to secure it with,” says John Hudson, chief survival instructor to the UK military and author of How to Survive: Lessons for Everyday Life from the Extreme World. “Zinc oxide tape is good because it’s super sticky and can be used for blisters. Other basics include crepe or elastic roller bandages, sterile eye pads, blunt-ended scissors, tweezers, safety pins or clips, alcohol-free antiseptic wipes and gloves for if you’re helping someone else. Lifeventure makes good travel-sized first aid kits.”

Will Duffin, an NHS GP working in urgent care who runs the Extreme Medic Instagram account, also stresses the importance of a good first aid kit. “I recommend buying an off-the-shelf first aid kit, and then you can add bits into that,” he says. “One of the main things for families is a thermometer and some Calpol.” Duffin also suggests having supplies of basic, over-the-counter medication that might come in handy, such as paracetamol, ibuprofen, antihistamines, Imodium and rehydration sachets.

“The other day-to-day one is wound care – cuts, aches and sprains. So have some antiseptic, sterile gauze, basic dressings such as plasters and medical tape,” he says. As well as getting the gear, you need to have some idea of what to do with it, which is why Duffin recommends going on a basic first aid course. Organisations such as St John Ambulance and British Red Cross offer various options.

Traveller first aid kit

Braun ThermoScan 7 ear thermometer

Tommee Tippee 2-in-1 thermometer

Wind-up radios

In case channels of communication go down, the government has advised buying a battery or wind-up radio, some of which also have a torch and a USB slot to charge your phone. “It’s such a simple piece of kit. The wind-up versions are great because in an emergency, you can use the power of your own arm to power the battery,” says Cloke.

Immver wind-up radio with 10,000mAh battery and LED torch

A wool blanket and jumper

“If you haven’t already got some kind of woolly throw or blanket in the house, get one. It doesn’t have to be expensive merino wool or anything like that; it just needs to be wool,” says Hudson. The same goes for woolly jumpers, too. “People have probably got enough clothes in their house, but make sure you have something that’s got a lot of wool in it. A jumper is brilliant because if it’s chucking it down with rain and you get caught out, wool will keep you warm even when it’s wet,” he says. Both are helpful if you have no way to heat your home, and are one of the best ways to keep you warm even if it’s damp.

Recycled wool blanket

Supplies for your car

“[Many of us] are in our cars all the time, and what happens if you get stuck? Put some blankets and warm clothes into it, have a torch, some batteries, jump leads, a small shovel, a hi-vis jacket so you can safely ask for help at night, some basic water and long-life food, and a first aid kit. A mini version of what’s in your house,” says Cloke. It’s also a good idea to have a sleeping bag in the boot of your car, so that if you’re driving and you get stuck or your car breaks down, you can stay warm in the car, says Hudson. “The sleeping bag can help stop you from becoming hypothermic. You want a hollow-fibre one because it will still keep you warm if it gets damp. Snugpak does great stuff, and several of its products are used by the military. You can also get secondhand sleeping bags from military surplus stores,” he says.

Snugpak the sleeping bag

AA winter car kit with folding snow shovel

A torch

“Most of us have got torches on our phones, but in an emergency you will want to save the battery for contacting people and other things. A basic torch and some spare batteries are a very useful thing during a power cut,” says Cloke. You can also buy wind-up torches, which save on batteries.

Energizer 1,000-lumen metal torch

Duracell Plus AA alkaline batteries (30 pack)

Space blanket

“Some of the cheap space blankets take up no space, but they’re like wrapping yourself in something thinner than a crisp packet, so they will rip if there are any sharp edges or wind. Reinforced ones are really robust. They’re a big sheet that’s silver on one side and brightly coloured on the other, with rivets in the corner, so you can do all sorts with them,” says Hudson. “Space blankets are lined with very thin, highly reflective aluminium so any radiated body heat is reflected back to you rather than being lost to your surroundings. Plus, the orange colour is a great way to get spotted by any potential rescuers if you’re outdoors.”

Redcamp heavy-duty emergency blanket

“Head torches are great because you’re still able to use both hands while being able to see in the dark,” says Hudson. “You can spend a fortune on them, but you don’t have to. I bought an Energizer one recently, and it’s all that you really need. That one needs batteries, but you can get rechargeable ones too – I have one from Everbeam.”

Energizer Vision 400-lumen head torch

Everbeam 650-lumen head torch

For more, read the Filter’s guide to the best head torches

Water

“Having water stored is really important for a whole range of emergencies. The [mains] water might go off or get contaminated in some way. The key thing is to make sure you’ve got enough for the number of people in your household. My advice is to have 10 litres per person per day for hygiene, cooking and drinking,” says Cloke. The government guidance suggests having enough bottled water for three days. It says you should have “three litres per person per day for drinking. More would be needed for other tasks such as cooking and washing”.

Water filter

Hudson recommends a water filter bottle such as Pure Hydration’s Aquapure Traveller, which has a clever purifier cap to reduce harmful substances and microorganisms in water. You put in any fresh water, screw the cap on, and drink the water you squeeze through the purifier. “They’re amazing,” Hudson says. “The filter takes out a lot of the things in water that can harm you, from large things such as pathogens – worms and snail eggs – through to bacteria and tiny viruses, so you can more safely drink from any fresh water source you can find, such as rivers or rainwater. We’ve used them for 20 years in all sorts of environments with the military.” It’s a good idea to buy extra filters, too, although Hudson says they’re “good for 350 litres, so enough water at least 10 days if you’re not somewhere super hot and/or humid”.

Aquapure Traveller

Power bank

“I think a power bank is more useful than batteries,” says Hudson. “You can buy big ones [he recommends the size below] that will also jump-start a car, which is quite handy, and also charge things such as head torches and phones. These days the bigger, the better if you don’t have to carry it; so many items need juice.”

Portable car battery jump-starter power pack

For more, read the Filter’s guide to the best power banks and battery packs in the UK for reliable charging on the go

Hand sanitiser

“Basic alcohol hand gel is important. If the water supply goes out, things like coughs and colds can spread within the family. Having a supply of hand sanitiser is good preparedness,” says Duffin. Cloke also recommends stocking up on “packets of wet wipes for basic hygiene, particularly if you’ve got babies”.

Cuticura antibacterial hand gel

Wet Ones Be Fresh Original antibacterial wipes

Candles

“Candles provide light without burning through your power supply. Go for stocky, fat ones because they’ll fall over less easily and last longer. Tea lights are also good – they don’t burn for ages, but you can buy sackfuls of them for not much money. You need matches too, like the big chunky boxes of Cook’s matches. Don’t leave unattended, and make sure you’ve got a fire extinguisher or a fire blanket,” says Hudson.

Votive pillar candles, four pack

Pulses

“Tinned beans, chickpeas and lentils all have a long shelf life and are rich in fibre, nutrients and protein,” says Dr Federica Amati, head nutritionist at Zoe, nutrition lead at Imperial College London’s school of medicine and author of The Appetite Reset and Every Body Should Know This. “Getting a variety is good for flavour reasons, but also for micronutrient content. Dried lentils are easy to cook, but if there’s a power cut or a shortage, tinned and jarred lentils will serve you better.” Oh, and don’t forget a tin opener.

Oxo Good Grips soft-handled tin opener

Grain pouches

“Microwaveable pouches are fantastic. If you’ve got a few ready to go, then if for whatever reason you don’t have enough water or can’t use the hob but you have a microwave, you can have these. Some of them you don’t even need to microwave, and you can just eat them out of the packet,” says Amati.

Merchant Gourmet brown, red and wild rice, 250g x 6

Tinned fish

“Get a variety of tinned fish, like mackerel, sardines, anchovies and sprats. Tinned mackerel is one of the easiest to integrate, and you can get them tinned with tomatoes, which a lot of people prefer if they don’t like fish. Find something you like, and then buy a couple more of those in your next shop, so you can build up a supply,” says Amati.

Frozen fruit and vegetables

“Buy frozen fruit and vegetables, if you have the space. Frozen veg is picked ripe and blanched within hours. Have some frozen berries and veg – broccoli, cauliflower and peas. You can get jars and tins of vegetables too, like roasted peppers, sweetcorn, carrots or beetroot,” says Amati. It’s also worth noting that, in the case of a power outage, food should stay frozen for up to 48 hours in a full freezer, or 24 hours if it’s half full, provided you keep the door closed.

UHT milk, teabags and chocolate

“UHT milk is worth getting, and make sure you have enough teabags, because you might be able to have a cup of tea, and those things are still important. Dark chocolate is also awesome – it keeps for months, needs no cooking or power, and offers plenty of energy in a small square, mostly from cocoa butter fats that sustain you rather than causing a rapid rise and crash in energy,” says Amati. She suggests opting for 70% cocoa or above so that “you also get more fibre, magnesium, iron and cocoa flavanols, plant compounds that support healthy blood vessels”.

For more, read the Filter’s guide to the best supermarket dark chocolate

Oats

“Oats are fantastic,” says Amati. “You can just add hot water, mix them up, and then you’ve got something to eat. And you can eat them raw, mixed into yoghurt or milk.”

Vacuum-packed bread

“If you can’t buy fresh bread and you can’t freeze it, unopened vacuum-packed rye bread can last about six months, and it’s super nutritious,” says Amati.

Biona organic rye bread, 500g

Other tips

Have some cash

“If there’s been some kind of tech outage and things are slowly coming back up, you might not be able to use your cards or phone to pay for stuff, so it’s worth having a little bit of cash,” says Hudson.

Write down numbers

“Everyone’s got people’s numbers in their phones, but what if the phone’s broken? Have some numbers written on a piece of paper, like people that you care about that you want to check in with and a number for a local medical centre in case you need to get your prescription,” Hudson says.

Stock up on vital meds

“If you’ve got some extra regular medication, that’s great. Sometimes people struggle to get that prescribed for them. But if you can stay a few days ahead, that will really help in case of emergency. I like to suggest having enough for a week or a month if you can, or at least two days if you’re struggling,” says Cloke.

Duffin suggests having “at least seven to 14 days of your vital repeat medications in hand”, and that this is a useful thing to do anyway. “Request your script early, not just because of a severe weather event or a nuclear attack. If supply chains become more volatile, the medicine you need may not be in stock and might need to be ordered in.” The government guidance says that “it’s important to request prescriptions up to five working days before you need your medicine”. The NHS also has an online form you can use to request emergency supplies of prescription medicine if you have run out, but note that they advise against ordering more than needed.

For more, read the Filter’s guide to the best camping stoves and the best power banks

Isabelle Aron is a lifestyle and culture journalist who’s written features on everything from the secrets of superagers to chefs on their favourite kitchen gadgets