Emergency kit and household stockpile

Household stockpile (stay put)

Store it at home, in a cool dry place you can reach in the dark. Rotate it with your normal shopping (a “living stockpile”) and check expiry dates twice a year.

• Drinking water: 2 litres per person per day — 1.5 litres for drinking and 0.5 litres for cooking. For ten days that is 20 litres per person; start with three days and build up.
• Food that keeps without a fridge and can be eaten cold: tins, rice, pasta, dried fruit, nuts, crispbread; a manual can opener. A camping stove with gas cartridges lets you cook — outdoors or on the balcony only, never in closed rooms (carbon monoxide), and never a charcoal grill indoors.
• Battery or crank radio (FM/DAB+), torch or headlamp, spare batteries, a charged power bank, candles and matches or a lighter.
• First-aid kit, prescription medicines for several days, copies of important documents in a waterproof folder (the BBK’s Dokumentenmappe).
• Cash in small notes — card terminals and cash machines fail without power — hygiene items, rubbish bags, and a camping toilet or a bucket with bags in case the water supply fails.
• For babies, pets or medical devices: their specific supplies and spare power if needed.

Notgepäck (leave fast)

One backpack per person, ready by the door. The BBK sizes the Notgepäck for about 72 hours — pack light, you may have to walk, and put the heavy items at the bottom.

• Water bottle and snacks for the first day, phone charger and power bank, torch.
• ID card, health-insurance card, keys, some cash, prescription medicines for several days, the folder with copies of your documents.
• Warm layer, rain protection, a change of clothes, sturdy shoes (or keep them next to the bag).
• Small first-aid pouch, hygiene kit, a small FM radio, a paper list of contacts and meeting points.
• If you drive: keep a similar mini kit in the car — but never rely on the car alone, and never drive through flood water.

What not to overdo

You do not need exotic gear or a warehouse. Water and simple food matter more than gadgets. Buy a little extra of what you already eat and rotate it, so nothing sits unused for years. In an emergency call 112; the stockpile supports you — it does not replace official help.