The British government has advised households to maintain enough essential supplies to be self-sufficient for three days in the event of a national emergency, publishing new guidance on its website on 22 October.
The recommendations urge citizens to "take a few simple steps to stay prepared if everyday services are temporarily disrupted", says the Strait Times.
The guidance was published alongside a written parliamentary statement by Security Minister Dan Jarvis, without a high-profile launch, to avoid causing public anxiety or panic buying.
The government's online checklist recommends keeping a three-day supply of bottled water and non-perishable food, as well as a torch with batteries, a radio, hand sanitiser, blankets and warm clothing. Households are also advised to keep cash and copies of important personal documents.
The initiative responds to a range of security and environmental risks, including severe weather, cyberattacks and potential supply chain disruptions.
Recent winter storms, droughts and summer wildfires have demonstrated how extreme weather can disrupt essential services, including electricity, water supplies, telephone lines and internet access.
"The storms last winter and the wildfires this summer have shown how severe weather events can cause disruption to our everyday lives and impact the services we rely on, like phones, power, water and the internet," Jarvis said.
"They are a reminder that we can all play our part to keep ourselves, our loved ones, and our communities safe in times of emergency."
The guidance also addresses threats from AI-driven cyberwarfare, hybrid attacks by hostile nations such as Russia and Iran, and supply chain disruptions caused by "hostile state actors or terrorists".
Ministers are seeking to encourage preparedness without prompting panic buying, following widespread shortages and empty supermarket shelves during the initial weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020.
Defence Secretary Wes Streeting urged the public to remain "alert, but not alarmed".
James Murray, the Treasury's Paymaster General, said households and the government both had a role in strengthening national resilience.
"Individual households can play their role in making sure that they're more resilient, but government has a role in making sure we've got the right defences," Murray said.
Jim Bligh of the British Retail Consortium warned that specific purchasing instructions could trigger shortages.
"Panic-buying is quite easy to generate, particularly if you tell people to buy a particular type of product – they will go out to buy it. If the government were to say to you, 'Go and buy x litres of water,' would we run out of water? I do not know," Bligh said.
The resilience initiative was originally drafted under former Prime Minister Keir Starmer. His successor, Prime Minister Andy Burnham, delayed its publication for several months to avoid beginning his administration on a pessimistic note.
Jarvis said the guidance aligned Britain with other European countries that recommend maintaining three days of emergency supplies.
"brings the UK into line with many of our European peers who also have the three-day message at the heart of their campaign," he said.