Households across the UK are being encouraged to stock up on essentials including bottled water by the government.
In the summer it was announced by the government that the UK must actively prepare for a ‘wartime scenario’ on British soil ‘for the first time in many years’.
In the national security strategy, ministers said the UK now finds itself in “an era in which we face confrontation with those who are threatening our security”.
More recently, a key ally of Vladimir Putin has called for the “eradication” of a major UK city with nuclear weapons in the latest chilling missive emerging from the heart of the Kremlin, while Dmitry Rogozin, a Russian senator, has also warned that more than 20 British sites could be targeted for attack.
Prominent TV propagandist Vladimir Solovyov, meanwhile – who also advocates nuclear strikes – smirked and laughed in a Russian state TV segment as he called on his nightly show for Oxford and Cambridge to be bombed to decimate the British elite and their universities.
Ministers are stepping up calls for the whole of society to become more resilient and plan to carry out a cross-government exercise of how to deal with crises – such as a future pandemic – later this year.
It’s not just to be prepared for widespread global conflicts, but about preparedness for any kind of large-scale disruption that could befall the country in future, including mass power cuts, water shortages or freak extreme weather events.
The government’s UK Prepare website has a list of advice for all households in the UK to follow, and aims to get everyone to make sure they have some safety net in case of unforeseen national emergencies, just in case.
The site says: “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.”
As well as advice on planning escape routes, gathering documents in a safe place and keeping smoke alarms functioning correctly, the government advice also urges people to stockpile some key essentials, including bottled water.
It says that the amount of water you’ll need is different for different people and circumstances, and also changes depending on if you want to focus purely on drinking water or would also like some leeway for washing and cooking.
It says: “Bottled water – there is no standard figure for this as emergencies can vary in duration and people use different amounts.
“A minimum of 2.5-3 litres of drinking water per person per day is recommended by the World Health Organisation for survival. 10 litres per person per day will make you more comfortable by also providing for basic cooking and hygiene needs.
“Additional water might be needed to make up baby formula, for medical devices and for pets.”
The website also urges people to stock up on ‘non perishable food’ including tinned meat, tinned fruit and vegetables and a tin opener, as well as food for pets.
It adds that you can build your reserves up when you go shopping, adding: “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.”