Emergency Kit Calculator
How much water and food your household needs to get through a power cut, storm or other emergency at home, and a checklist of everything else to keep ready.
Last updated
Who’s in your household?
Food to keep in
| Food group | Amount | Good choices that keep |
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Your checklist
0 of 0 ready
Tick things off as you get them; your ticks are kept in this browser. Items marked Grab bag go in a bag you can take if you have to leave home.
How to plan your emergency supplies
- Enter how many adults, children, babies and pets live with you.
- Choose how long to be ready for: 72 hours is the minimum most governments ask for; a week or more is better if you can store it.
- Read how much water and food to keep, then work through the checklist, ticking things off as you get them.
- Print it or copy it, keep the supplies somewhere cool and easy to reach, and use Remind me in 6 months to put a check in your calendar.
Where the numbers come from
How long. The European Union’s Preparedness Union Strategy (March 2025) aims for every household to be able to manage on its own for at least 72 hours, and the UK and US governments ask for the same three days as a minimum. Some countries go further: Sweden asks households to cope for a week, Germany suggests ten days, and the American Red Cross suggests two weeks of supplies at home.
Water. Everyone needs about 3 litres a day just to drink (the UK’s figure, from the World Health Organization’s 2.5–3 litres; Sweden also uses 3 litres). This calculator adds 1 litre for food and a quick wash, making 4 litres per person a day, about the same as the US guidance of one gallon (3.8 litres). Germany’s smaller 2 litres (1.5 to drink, 0.5 to cook) assumes much of the fluid comes from stored drinks and food. Ready.gov says that in very hot weather the need for water can double, so the hot-weather option doubles the drinking water. Washing, cooking and flushing take far more: the UK suggests about 10 litres a person a day for basic cooking and hygiene, which is the “with washing water” figure. Humanitarian standards (Sphere) treat 15 litres a day as the minimum for people in camps for longer.
Babies. Breast milk is the safest food for a baby in an emergency, so breastfed babies need no stored water of their own. Ready-to-feed formula needs no water or mixing, which is why the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommends it; for powdered formula the calculator adds a litre a day per baby of bottled water kept only for feeds. Nappies are counted at 8 a day.
Food. The amounts follow Germany’s federal food-preparedness list (from the Federal Office for Agriculture and Food, BLE, as recommended by the BBK), worked out for an adult needing 2,200 kcal a day for ten days, and scaled to your household and the days you choose. Children are counted at 1,800 kcal (5–12) and 1,100 kcal (1–4), typical of the UK’s estimated needs for those ages (SACN). Choose food you already eat that keeps without a fridge and can be eaten cold.
Pets. Dogs are counted at 60 ml of water per kg of body weight a day, the top of the range vets usually give, and cats at 250 ml a day each, both up by half in hot weather. Ready.gov recommends a week of food and water for pets.
Beyond food and water. The checklist also covers cooking (a hot drink or meal matters a lot, for children most of all), with gas worked out at about 15 g a litre boiled, which is what stove makers and independent tests find, and a litre a person a day for hot drinks and one hot meal; a 220 g cartridge boils about 14 litres. It adds an emergency toilet and rubbish, fire safety, money and insurance, staying in touch, skills to practise, the car if you have one, and the risks where you live: heatwaves, flooding, storms, cold, wildfires and earthquakes are set from your country as a starting point. The safety advice comes from the US Centers for Disease Control (carbon monoxide), Ready.gov (floods, family plans, earthquakes), the World Health Organization (heatwaves) and fire and rescue services (alarms). Plans for longer than two weeks add a rotating pantry, long-keeping staples and ways to treat water rather than store it all.
Where you live. Choosing a country shows its government’s advice, with a link, sets how long to be ready for to what it asks, and puts its emergency number on the checklist; in the United States, water is shown in gallons too. The amounts stay the same everywhere, so you can compare. The first guess comes from your device’s time zone.
Everything is worked out in your browser; what you enter and tick is kept only on this device (see Your data).
Sources
Checked on 18 October 2026.
- European Commission: Preparedness Union Strategy, JOIN(2025) 130 (26 March 2025): the 72-hour self-sufficiency goal for households.
- UK Government: Get prepared for emergencies 3 litres of drinking water a person a day, about 10 litres for basic cooking and hygiene, and the kit list.
- Ready.gov (FEMA): Build a kit and Water one gallon a person a day; needs can double in very hot weather; replace stored tap water every six months.
- American Red Cross: Survival kit supplies three days for evacuation, two weeks at home, a 7-day supply of medicines.
- BBK (German Federal Office of Civil Protection): Essen und Trinken bevorraten (in German) supplies for up to ten days; 2 litres of water a person a day.
- BLE Ernährungsvorsorge: Vorratskalkulator (in German) food amounts at 2,200 kcal a person a day.
- Krisinformation.se (Sweden): Water supply in a crisis be ready for at least a week; at least 3 litres of water a person a day.
- The Sphere Handbook: water supply standards 2.5–3 litres a day to survive; 15 litres a person a day as the minimum.
- CDC: Infant feeding in emergencies checklist breastfeeding and ready-to-feed formula are safest; boil water for powdered formula if it isn’t bottled.
- Ready.gov: Prepare your pets for disasters food, water, medicines, records and a carrier for each pet.
- SACN: Dietary reference values for energy (2011) children’s energy needs by age.
- CDC: Avoiding carbon monoxide poisoning never use a generator, grill or camp stove inside, and keep a carbon monoxide alarm.
- Ready.gov: Floods 6 inches (15 cm) of moving water can knock you down; 1 foot (30 cm) can sweep a car away.
- Ready.gov: Make a plan an out-of-area contact, meeting places near home and outside the neighbourhood, and texting rather than calling.
- WHO: Heatwaves, how to stay cool shutters by day, night air, the coolest room, a few hours in a cool public building.
- US Fire Administration: Smoke alarms an alarm on every level, tested monthly.
National guidance used for “Where you live”
- Australia: Get Ready at least 3 days of supplies; at least 3 litres of water a person a day.
- Canada: Get Prepared 72 hours; 2 litres to drink plus 2 for cooking and cleaning, a person a day.
- Denmark: Forberedt på kriser (in Danish) 3 days; 3 litres of drinking water a person a day.
- Finland: home preparedness and 72 hours self-sufficiency (March 2026) at least 72 hours.
- Ireland: Be Emergency Ready (September 2026) 2–3 litres of drinking water a person a day.
- Malta: every household to receive an emergency manual (TVM News, 2026).
- Netherlands: Wat zit er in een noodpakket? (in Dutch) 72 hours; about 3 litres of water a person a day.
- New Zealand: WREMO, Store water and Health NZ 3 litres a person a day at least, for 7 days; 20 litres a day recommended.
- Norway: DSB, self-preparedness a week; 20 litres of water a person.
Questions about emergency supplies
How much water should I store for an emergency?
At least 3 litres a person a day to drink, and about 4 litres with water for food and a quick wash, which matches the US guidance of a gallon a day. For 72 hours that’s 12 litres each. With water for washing and flushing it’s nearer 13 litres a person a day.
How long should my emergency supplies last?
At least 72 hours: that’s the goal the EU set in 2025 and what the UK and US ask for. Sweden asks households to manage for a week, Germany suggests ten days and the American Red Cross two weeks at home, so store more if you have room.
What food should go in an emergency kit?
Food you already eat that keeps without a fridge and can be eaten cold: tinned fish, meat, beans, vegetables and fruit, crackers, crispbread, oats, nuts, dried fruit, peanut butter and UHT milk. Keep a manual tin opener with it, and eat and replace it before it goes out of date.
What goes in a grab bag?
What you’d need if you had to leave home quickly: medicines, copies of documents, some cash, a torch, a phone power bank and cable, a first aid kit, water and snacks, and things for babies or pets. The checklist marks these items.
Do I need a way to cook in an emergency?
It helps a lot: a hot drink or meal keeps everyone going, especially children. A camping stove with a few 220 g gas cartridges (each boils about 14 litres of water) is enough for most households for a week. Always use it outdoors or on a balcony, never indoors, because of carbon monoxide.
How often should I check my emergency kit?
Every six months: replace tap water you bottled yourself, use up food before it goes out of date, check batteries and medicines, and update the kit when your household changes.