The UK government is urging households to be prepared for any eventuality, likening emergency planning to a necessary insurance policy. They’ve released a comprehensive list of advice, which includes stockpiling essentials like batteries, to ensure families are ready for anything from extreme weather to power outages or even attacks.
Prepare.gov.uk, the government’s dedicated website, aims to make sure as many homes as possible are equipped to handle emergencies such as freak weather events, power cuts, major accidents, ‘infrastructure failure’, and deliberate attacks. The site’s top tips include stocking up on batteries for radios, spare mobile phone battery packs and ensuring there’s enough battery power for medical devices.
According to Prepare.gov.uk: “Get prepared for emergencies. Emergencies happen every day in the UK and across the world. They can be caused by severe weather or other natural hazards, by deliberate actions, or as a result of accidents or infrastructure failure.
“They can be events that happen quickly and are over in a few hours, or they can develop and continue over the course of several days, months, or sometimes even longer.
“Consider what supplies you and your household might need during an emergency lasting a few days, such as a power cut or water outage, or situations where you are advised to stay at home or to leave your home (evacuate) for safety reasons.”
The government has issued a stark reminder for households to be prepared for emergencies, advising: “It can be helpful to keep these items in one place in your home and ideally somewhere easy to find if the lights aren’t working – if you are escaping your house due to a fire you should not take anything with you at all.
“You could consider keeping items you might need to take with you if asked to leave your home quickly in a spare bag – you might hear some people call this a ‘grab bag’.”
In addition to recommending that people prepare important documents, test their smoke alarms, and communicate with neighbours, the government is also encouraging families to ensure they have a supply of batteries and essential battery-powered devices.
The guidance states: “Put together an emergency kit of items at home. This could include:
“Battery or wind-up torch – torches are safer than candles. Portable power bank for charging your mobile phone. 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.
“Spare batteries for torches and radio and a backup battery for any medical equipment you rely on.”
The advice extends to stocking up on non-perishable food items, bottled water, and baby necessities if needed, reports the Express.
The government also suggests a practical approach to building an emergency stockpile: “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.”
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