Do you have three days' worth of food and water in your home? That is what the government has told all of us to have on hand to get through a national emergency, as well as some other basic items. Its "Be Ready" campaign warns that severe weather and cyber attacks could disrupt essential services, and British households need to make sure they have what they need to get through a rocky few days.
On Friday, Prime Minister Andy Burnham said unexpected events "seem to becoming more common" and everyone should have "those supplies in the house to get you through those moments". As one expert warns the UK is "light years" behind our neighbours when it comes to preparing for major disruption, we've drilled down into what you need and why. The government recommends having enough supplies in the kitchen to last three days, including bottled water and non-perishable foods.
Wet wipes, a torch and cash are also recommended - you can scroll through below to see the full list. Disaster planning expert Professor Lucy Easthope said the goal of asking household to prepare is to make it easier for emergency service to cope in the event of a national emergency. For example, the government says people who need medication should have an extra supply just in case.
Prof Easthope says: "If people have got their heart pills for an extra for an extra 48 hours, it stops [response crews] from having to immediately find an emergency pharmacist." While the latest government campaign only launched on Thursday, some people are well ahead of the game. Speaking to Radio 5 Live, Bridgette Clamp, who lives in near Penzance in Cornwall, said she has stocked up on "lots of tinned goods" as well as "flour, yeast and everything to bake bread". One woman, who spoke to 5 Live anonymously, said she bought "loads and loads" of emergency food - but ended up eating it before it was strictly necessary.
Like others, she wondered if the government was "scaremongering", adding: "I don't know but I've certainly bought into it." Rob, who lives off-grid in north Wales, told the programme he has stocked up on so many supplies he "wouldn't even notice" if a disaster struck. But he said he still felt there was "a bit of scaremongering" going on and wondered if he would ever need it all. Defence Secretary Wes Streeting said the advice - which is similar to guidance issued by the previous government - was not triggered by any "particular piece of intelligence", but rather about improving "national resilience" more generally.
The government's announcement focused on extreme weather events, which are becoming more frequent because of man-made climate change - but Streeting also referred to the threat of "increasingly sophisticated cyber-attacks" on businesses, and supply chain disruption caused by "hostile state actors or terrorists". Prof Easthope said she has been lobbying the government to launch this sort of campaign for "about 16 years". She said successive governments have been hesitant of "putting out information that might cause tension" - and speculated that this advice may have been "rushed" out ahead of Storm Austen hitting the UK.
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