"Stockpile 9 Liters of Water and Three Days' Worth of Food"... UK Tense Over Nationwide Emergency Preparedness Advice

UK Launches "Be Ready" Emergency Supplies Campaign
Preparing for Russian Cyberattacks and Large-Scale Power Outages

The UK government has advised the public to stockpile three days' worth of emergency supplies in preparation for potential Russian cyberattacks and major disasters.

According to the UK’s Guardian recently, the government said on October 22 (local time) that it would launch the “Be Ready” campaign, urging households to prepare emergency supplies to last at least 72 hours. The measure is intended to prepare for major emergencies resulting from the climate crisis, cyberattacks and threats from hostile countries.

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Dan Jarvis, the UK security minister, said, “Those who can follow the advice should do so,” describing it as “a simple measure to prepare for everyday emergencies.” He added that the effort would strengthen the country’s overall crisis response capability at the community level.

Wes Streeting, the UK defense secretary, also said the country must prepare for the threat of “state-sponsored terrorism,” in which hostile countries such as Russia attack critical infrastructure. Streeting said, “Terms such as hybrid warfare or gray-zone threats do not adequately convey the nature of the threat to the general public. I think it is more appropriate to call this state-sponsored terrorism.”

He added, “These threats are not hypothetical; they are real, and they are happening increasingly close to home, not just in other parts of the world,” emphasizing that “we need to strengthen not only our defenses but also the country’s crisis response capability.”

Advice: Stockpile 9 Liters of Water and Three Days' Worth of Food per Person

The emergency supplies recommended by the UK government include 9 liters of bottled water per person, based on 3 liters a day, three days' worth of food, cash, blankets, a first-aid kit, a flashlight with spare batteries, and a wind-up FM radio. It advised households to secure additional water for cooking and washing.

The UK government determined that stockpiling three days' worth of emergency supplies was a practical measure for ordinary households. The campaign was launched ahead of the winter storm season. In the UK, tens of thousands of households lost power last January when Storm Goretti hit.

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Another major concern is the possibility that Russian cyberattacks could paralyze corporate payment systems or disrupt supply chains. The Royal Navy has been tracking the activities of Russian spy ships monitoring undersea oil pipelines and communications cables connecting the UK to continental Europe.

The Guardian reported that the UK government had previously been reluctant to launch a large-scale emergency preparedness campaign, concerned about criticism that it would cause unnecessary fear. In 1980, the government ran the “Protect and Survive” campaign, which advised households to prepare shelters and stockpile 14 days' worth of food in preparation for nuclear war.

Wes Streeting, the UK's Defence Secretary. AFP-Yonhap News

UK Defense Secretary: “We Must Prepare for War by 2030”

In an opinion piece published on October 24 in the British daily The Telegraph, Streeting warned that countries hostile to the UK, including Russia, could acquire the military capability to launch an attack by 2030.

“Our adversaries are modernizing at an extraordinary pace, and we must stay ahead of them,” he said. “By 2030, the size of hostile forces and their wartime economies could reach a level that allows them to launch an attack.” He added, “We have just over 1,000 days to be ready to fight and win alongside our allies.”

Streeting said, “To prevent the worst from happening, we must prepare for it,” adding, “First, we need to strengthen our defense capabilities so that hostile forces are deterred from attacking; if deterrence fails, we must also be prepared for an actual war.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.