Britain launched its campaign on October 22 and Japan will make its request on November 2. Most governments now give households a number: three days in most places, about a week in Sweden, Norway and Switzerland, ten days in Germany. The United States says several days. Here is each one, from the government's own guidance.
In the past week, Britain launched a three-year campaign called Be Ready asking every household to be ready for three days, and Japan's disaster minister said he will ask households on November 2 to keep at least three days of supplies, and a week's worth if possible. Issue 48 covered both.
They follow a run of similar campaigns. In March 2025 the European Commission said it would propose guidelines for member states to reach population self-sufficiency of at least 72 hours. Sweden mailed 5.2 million copies of its booklet, In Case of Crisis or War, in November 2024, and Norway sent a new preparedness brochure to every household that autumn. The Dutch government said more than 8.5 million households would receive its booklet at home between November 25, 2025, and January 10, 2026.
Everywhere it is advice, not law. But the numbers are not the same from one country to the next, and the United States does not give one.
Here is what each government's own guidance tells households, with its water figure where it gives one. Liters are as each government states them; one U.S. gallon is about 3.8 liters.
| Country | How long to be ready for | Drinking water | Official source |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | Several days (no number given) | 1 gallon (about 3.8 L) per person per day, for drinking and sanitation | Ready.gov (FEMA) |
| Canada | At least 72 hours | 2 L per person per day, for drinking, cooking and hygiene | Public Safety Canada |
| European Union | At least 72 hours (guidelines for member states to follow) | Not given | European Commission |
| United Kingdom | 3 days | 3 L per person per day, for drinking | GOV.UK Be Ready |
| France | 72 hours | 6 L per person in the kit (a total, not per day) | French government |
| Netherlands | The first 72 hours | 3 L per person per day | Dutch government |
| Denmark | 3 days | 3 L per person per day, for drinking and food preparation | Danish Emergency Management Agency |
| Finland | At least 72 hours | About 2 L of drinking water per person per day | Finnish government (Suomi.fi) |
| New Zealand | 3 days or more | At least 3 L of drinking water per person per day | NEMA Get Ready |
| Japan | At least 3 days, up to a week | About 3 L per day, for drinking and cooking | Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries |
| Switzerland | About a week | At least 9 L per person, for 3 days of drinking and cooking | Federal Office for National Economic Supply |
| Sweden | At least a week | At least 3 L a day, mainly for drinking and cooking | Swedish Civil Defence and Resilience Agency |
| Norway | One week (raised from at least 3 days in May 2024) | About 20 L of drinking water per person for the week | Norwegian Directorate for Civil Protection |
| Germany | 10 days if possible; at least 3 days is a big help | Ideally 2 L per person per day, 0.5 L of it for cooking | Federal Office of Civil Protection (BBK) |
Australia is not in the table because it has no single national figure: its national emergency agency points households to their state's guidance. Queensland, for one, says to plan for staying home for three days with at least 10 liters of drinking water per person.
Three days is the most common figure, and the governments that use it explain it the same way: it is the stretch before help reaches everyone. France says the first 72 hours are often the hardest, a period when emergency services may be overwhelmed. Britain says being ready for three days helps you manage while support reaches those most in need.
The longer figures come with their own reasons. Japan's agriculture ministry says relief supplies may not arrive for three days or more, and that restoring utilities after a disaster often takes more than a week. Sweden's booklet says most people must be able to manage on their own for at least a week. Norway raised its advice from at least three days to one week in May 2024. Germany's civil protection office says households should be able to provide for themselves for 10 days if possible, and adds that even supplies for at least three days are a big help.
Several of the three-day countries also call it a minimum. New Zealand says you may be stuck at home for three days or more, and the Dutch campaign talks about emergencies that last 72 hours or longer.
FEMA's Ready.gov does not give a number of days. It says you may need to survive on your own for several days, and asks for one gallon of water per person per day for several days, for drinking and sanitation, and at least a several-day supply of non-perishable food.
FEMA's gallon a day, about 3.8 liters, is the largest daily water figure in the table, partly because it covers sanitation as well as drinking. MyPlann's FEMA check measures every household against Ready.gov's kit, line by line.
What the U.S. guidance leaves to each household is the number itself. Three days, a week and ten days all appear above, and how long a particular household could last depends on who lives there and what is actually in the house.
Getting by on your own for days, without power or a trip to the store, is the Grid Down scenario. MyPlann counts how many days your household could last on what is actually in the house, and tells you what runs out first.
This issue reflects what was known on Wednesday, October 28, 2026. Each row of the table comes from the government page linked in it, checked on that date. The European Commission's 72-hour aim is from its press release of March 26, 2025; Sweden's 5.2 million copies from its agency's press release of November 14, 2024; Norway's brochure and its 2024 change from the Norwegian Directorate for Civil Protection; the Dutch booklet from the government's announcement of November 17, 2025; France's reasoning from its national guide; Japan's reasons from its agriculture ministry, and the November 2 request from the Seoul Economic Daily, reporting Fuji TV's FNN; Australia's advice from Queensland's Get Ready site. U.S. guidance is from Ready.gov.
MyPlann maps your real preparedness level against every scenario in this brief — and shows you exactly what to address first. Free during early access.
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