Who are you preparing for?
The more people depend on you, the more a few hours without power matter.
Which country do you live in?
Official guidance differs by country. We’ll show you what yours says.
We only use this to show the official guidance for your country.
Which disruption worries you most?
All of these have hit Europe in the last three years.
How much drinking water do you have stored at home?
Official guides say about 2–3 litres per person, per day. Taps depend on pumps and power.
If the power is off for 3 days, what could you eat?
Think: no fridge, no electric hob, no delivery.
What do you have for light and information without mains power?
In a blackout, a radio is often how official updates reach you.
If mobile networks went down, how would your family find each other?
After the April 2025 Iberian blackout, mobile networks were disrupted for hours.
How much cash is at home right now?
When networks drop, card readers and ATMs drop with them.
What’s your household’s medical backup?
Pharmacies and clinics may be hard to reach in the first days.
Which sounds most like your plan today?
Tap each one to see what the record shows. Then pick yours.
Tap one to read the facts. The highlighted one is your answer.
Calculating your 72-hour exposure score…Your 72-hour exposure score
Comparing your answers with household checklists from European authorities.Higher means more exposed in the first three days of a major disruption.
- ✓Water: your answer vs. the 2–3 litres per person per day in official guides
- ✓Food: could you eat for 3 days with no power and no cooking?
- ✓Light, power and information without the grid
- ✓Communication if mobile networks are saturated
- ✓Cash and payments if cards and ATMs fail
- ✓Medical backup and who depends on you
You’re ahead of most households. Here’s what’s left to close.
A decent base, with gaps that matter in a real outage.
Your household would feel the first 72 hours.
Right now, the first 72 hours would hit your household hard.
You told us you’re most concerned about a major disruption. People who depend on you push your score up: children and elderly relatives need water, warmth and medicine on schedule.
Show me the 72-hour plan →28-minute briefing · sound recommended
Your biggest gaps
Water Gap
Store about 2–3 litres per person per day for at least 3 days. France’s guide counts 6 litres per person for 72 hours; Germany’s BBK counts 2 litres a day.
Food Gap
Build 3 days of food that needs no fridge and no cooking: pull-tab tins, crackers, nut butter, dried fruit, plus a manual opener. Rotate it once a year.
Light & power Gap
A torch or headlamp, a charged power bank and a battery or crank radio. The radio is how official updates reach you when networks are saturated.
Communication Gap
Write 5 key numbers on paper, pick a meeting point near home and an out-of-area contact everyone can reach. Mobile networks were disrupted for hours in the Iberian blackout.
Cash Gap
Keep some cash in small notes. Sweden’s authorities advise it for when debit cards stop working; on 28 April 2025 Spanish card payments fell by about 55%.
Medicine & first aid Gap
Keep a proper first-aid kit and ask your pharmacist how large a reserve of regular medicines is sensible. Plan for anything that needs refrigeration or power.
No major gaps in the basics
Your next level is a written plan the whole household has rehearsed, and a physical copy of it that works when screens don’t.
Next: the 72-hour protocol, step by step
Closing these gaps one by one takes an afternoon. The briefing walks you through how, and shows the guide built around it.
- What the “72-hour vacuum” is, and why it’s the part of a crisis nobody plans for
- The phase-by-phase protocol: the first 6 hours, hours 6–24, hours 24–72
- What’s inside the Europe Crisis Guide: a physical book plus digital copy, and two bonus guides (Crisis-Proof Power, Emergency Medical Response)
You’ll go to the Europe Crisis Guide presentation.
Sources used in this check
- European Commission – EU Preparedness Union Strategy (26 Mar 2025)
- Special Eurobarometer 547 – Disaster risk awareness and preparedness (2024)
- Banco de España – impact of the 28 April 2025 blackout on payment systems
- ENTSO-E – Final report on the 28 April 2025 Iberian blackout
- BBC News – Spain: at least three deaths linked to power outage (30 Apr 2025)
- BBK (Germany) – Planning ahead for crises and disasters
- Länsstyrelsen (Sweden) – Your individual responsibility
The score is a simple points model: household 10, water 20, food 15, light & power 10, communication 12, cash 8, medical 10, current plan 15 (total 100).