(Sky News) – Wind-up torches, tinned meat and bottles of water are just some of the items the British government are advising people to stock up on as it urges the public to prepare for emergencies.
Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden has revealed a new website to advise people on how to protect themselves from various risks, including biosecurity crises, flooding, power outages, solar flares or another pandemic.
Pic: British Govt. Prepare website
The “Prepare” website calls on households to stock up on bottled water, with a minimum supply of three litres of drinking water per person per day, but says 10 litres is recommended for more comfortable levels, for cooking and hygiene.
Residents needed bottled water during a recent water outage in southwest England.
People should, it suggests, also store non-perishable food that “doesn’t need cooking” such as tinned meat, vegetables and fruit, as well as baby supplies and pet food if needed.
The website adds that a tin opener should be in the package, as well as battery or wind-up torches and radios, wet wipes and a first aid kit.
Mr Dowden says the measures are “about sensible safeguards, not stockpiling” and the website is there to offer “practical information for households to make those preparations” for threats listed on the government’s national risk register.
In a speech to the London defence conference, Mr Dowden will say he is not being a “doomsday prepper”, but simply setting out “sensible safeguards – not stockpiling”.
“One thing that Covid made clear – and that remains clear – is that crises can hit us all in ways we might not be able to anticipate and that resilience requires us all to be ready,” he will say.
“Who can forget the empty supermarket shelves in the early days of the pandemic?
“And how many of us have since acted so we’d be better prepared if it happened again?
“If there was a national power outage, how many of us have torches and batteries?
“If the water went off, how many of us have a few bottles stored away?
“And if there was a cyber attack, how many of us have the means to listen to the radio without mains power or Wi-Fi?”
RELATED: US Power Grid May Become Unreliable This Summer, Watchdog Warns
Thousands to take part in pandemic exercise
The deputy prime minister was speaking at the London Defence Conference on Wednesday where he said “resilience begins at home”, with a poll by the conference showing only 15% of people have an emergency supply kit in their homes, and more than 40% do not have three days’ supplies of non-perishable items.
The new website is part of Mr Dowden’s push to ensure the UK is more resilient to growing threats, ranging from natural disasters and water outages to conflicts.
Last year, he introduced a new emergency alert system so mobile phones get sent a loud alert sound if there is a risk to life in the area.
A government source said the new website is part of the “largest overhaul of resilience in decades”, which will also involve new training for MPs and a new programme to model what would happen in another pandemic. Get prepared for any emergency scenario by visiting our store, Packing Heat Co.
![Donald Trump And Joe Biden Both Held Rallies In Wilkes-Barre Pennsylvania This Week. Here Is What They Looked Like Back To Back. [VIDEO]](https://blazingpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/maxresdefault-40-440x264.jpg?crop=1)
