Are You Prepared? The Ultimate 50-Step Household Emergency Checklist

UK government guidance on preparing for emergencies asks households to be ready to look after themselves, including having 3 days' worth of supplies¹. This checklist turns that into fifty specific checks: the water, food and kit to have ready, the plan to write down, the alarms to fit and test, the weather and security precautions to take, and the arrangements to make for the people and pets who depend on you.

It is written for an ordinary household with no prepping background. Work through it section by section rather than all at once: tick what you already have in place, and use the links to read the detail behind each check. Come back to it as you complete the rest, and review it once a year.

Getting Ready

These first checks build the household's basic readiness: the supplies, plan and equipment that see you through the first hours and days of any emergency, whatever its cause.

1. Store bottled water for 3 days, at 3 litres per person per day for drinking, with more for cooking and washing, so your household can drink and stay clean if the supply fails². Read more on how much drinking water to store per person.
2. Keep non-perishable tinned food that does not need cooking, such as ready-to-eat tinned meat, fruit or vegetables, with a tin opener, plus ready-made baby formula and pet food if needed, so you can eat without power or gas⁷. See what to keep in an emergency store cupboard.
3. Write a household emergency plan containing emergency contact details for your family or the people you live with, as well as details relating to your insurance and utility providers, so you are not hunting for information under pressure⁵. Follow our guide to how to make a household emergency plan.
4. Know where your water stopcock, gas shut-off valve and electrical master switch are, since their locations vary between properties; ask someone with practical experience or a plumber if you cannot find the stopcock⁸. Learn how to find your stopcock, gas valve and fuse box.
5. Keep torches and spare batteries where everyone in the home knows to find them, so the nearest person can retrieve them and safely help others in the dark⁹. Check where to keep torches so you can find them in the dark.
6. Keep a paper copy of important phone numbers, including family, neighbours, your doctor and utilities, in case your mobile loses power or you cannot access your contacts¹⁰. Make your list of emergency and non-emergency numbers to keep on paper.
7. Keep a battery or wind-up FM radio and a charged power bank, so you can receive broadcasts and stay in touch when the power is off². Choose between wind-up, solar and battery emergency radios.
8. Keep your mobile phone charged and hold a power bank ready so you can make calls in an emergency¹¹. Read about power banks for keeping phones charged.
9. Pack a grab bag of essential items that might be helpful if you have to leave your home at short notice, including medicines, phone and charger, cash, spare clothes and blankets, and things for children or pets⁵. See what to pack in a grab bag.
10. Keep a mix of coins and notes in cash, plus cards, copies of IDs and documents, and important information such as regular medication and doses, so you can pay and prove who you are if card systems fail². Decide how much cash to keep at home for an emergency.
11. Know that the UK Government's Emergency Alerts service will warn you of danger to life nearby, with alerts sent to your phone or tablet and attention signals by audio and vibration¹². Find out how the UK phone warning system works.

Emergencies

These checks cover the emergencies that begin inside the home: fire, carbon monoxide and medical situations, and the equipment and skills that make the difference in the first minutes.

1. Fit smoke alarms so there is at least one on each level of your home, giving early warning wherever a fire starts³. Check how many smoke alarms a house or flat needs.
2. Have a working carbon monoxide alarm and know the symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning, remembering that fitting an alarm should not replace regular checks of appliances¹³. Learn about carbon monoxide alarms and how to choose them.
3. Test your smoke and carbon monoxide alarms regularly: official advice says once a month, though some fire and rescue services say every week, so the documents differ³. Read how often to test smoke and CO alarms.
4. Make a home fire escape plan so everyone knows how to get out and can call 999¹⁴. Follow how to make a fire escape plan.
5. Have all boilers and fuel-burning appliances serviced annually by a qualified engineer, because all of them have the potential to produce carbon monoxide⁴. See boiler servicing: how often and what an engineer checks.
6. Learn lifesaving CPR in 15 minutes for free with RevivR, using your mobile phone and a cushion⁶. Start learning CPR free online.
7. Keep a first aid kit at home so you can treat minor injuries yourself¹⁵. Compare first aid kits for the home.
8. Keep any regularly prescribed medication in your emergency kit; one emergency power guide recommends a minimum seven-day supply, though this is maker advice rather than official guidance¹⁶. Plan keeping enough prescription medicine at home.

Weather

These checks prepare your household for the weather most likely to disrupt it in the UK: flood, storm, snow and ice, and heat.

1. Find out if your home is at risk of flooding by entering your postcode on the government website¹⁸. Start checking your home's flood risk by postcode.
2. Sign up for free flood warnings if your home is at risk, so you hear before water arrives¹⁹. Follow how to sign up for free flood warnings.
3. Sign up to Met Office weather warnings so you get advance notice of severe weather⁸. Read how to sign up for Met Office weather alerts.
4. Make sure your insurance provides cover against flood damage to property²⁰. Check home insurance in a flood risk area and Flood Re.
5. Complete the plumbing checks on the Met Office WeatherReady winter checklist before cold weather arrives²¹. Prepare with getting your home ready for cold weather and ice.
6. Before a storm, secure loose objects such as ladders, garden furniture, wheelie bins, trampolines, or anything else that could be blown around²². Follow preparing your home and garden for high winds.
7. Use the official keep cool at home checklist to identify whether your home may be at risk of overheating and how to reduce that risk²³. See how to stop the sun heating your rooms through the windows.
8. Make a household flood plan: keep a list of useful numbers including your insurance company and Floodline, check Floodline for local flood warnings, and make a flood kit with a torch, battery radio, emergency numbers, rubber gloves and your insurance policy²⁴. Start making a household flood plan.

Security

These checks make your home harder to break into and your online life harder to compromise, so an emergency does not include a burglary or a hacked account.

1. Have a member of the Master Locksmiths Association check whether your front door is secure, that locks and hinges are British Standard approved, and whether the frame needs reinforcing²⁵. Read what British Standard your door lock should meet.
2. Double lock uPVC and multi-point locking doors by lifting up the handle and then turning and removing the key, rather than leaving them on the latch²⁵. Learn how to double lock a uPVC door.
3. Fit at least one casement window lock in each opening frame, and two locks opposite each hinge if you live in a high-crime area or the opening casement is bigger than one metre, because locks slow an intruder and make entry much more difficult²⁶. Check how many locks a window needs.
4. Keep spare keys for your windows, car and house somewhere secure in your emergency kit, so you are not locked out or searching during an evacuation²⁷. Read keys: spares, hiding places and lost sets.
5. Turn on 2-step verification, which is recommended to help protect your online accounts²⁸. Work out which accounts to protect with 2-step verification.
6. Work through a home online security checklist covering your accounts and devices, so a cyber incident does not cut you off from your money and records²⁸. Follow the home online security checklist.
7. Back up your files and photos so that a device failure or cyber attack does not take your household's documents and memories with it²⁸. Start backing up files and photos at home.
8. Know how to handle bogus callers at the door, and that if life is at risk you should call 999²⁴. Learn how to spot and turn away doorstep crime.
9. Fit well positioned external lighting, which can help deter intruders and can be bought from reputable DIY stores²⁹. See outdoor lights that deter burglars.
10. If you have a burglar alarm, ensure it is set before you leave the house or go away³⁰. Compare burglar alarm types and how to choose one.

People

These checks arrange the extra help and the mutual support that matter most in an emergency: registers and plans for people who need them, and neighbours and pets who rely on you.

1. Check if you can join the free Priority Services Register at thepsr.co.uk; it gives extra advice and support from your energy or water supplier during an outage⁶. Follow signing up to Priority Services Registers for energy and water.
2. Add the items older, disabled and medically dependent households need to the emergency kit: regularly prescribed medication, a mobile phone, cash and cards, spare clothes and blankets, bottled water, ready-to-eat food, a bottle or tin opener, copies of important documents and photographic identification¹⁷. Read extra help in an emergency.
3. If you care for someone, write a carer's emergency plan with emergency contact details for your family or the people you live with, and details relating to your insurance and utility providers⁵. See what to include in a carer's emergency plan.
4. If you have a personal alarm, diabetes sensor or other connected telecare equipment monitoring your health, speak to your device provider or manufacturer to understand how it will work during a power cut⁷. Check whether a telecare or personal alarm will work in a power cut.
5. If you live alone, make a plan with a neighbour or someone else you trust to check on you in an emergency if they have not heard from you¹². Read staying safe when no one is nearby.
6. If someone in your household has dementia, download the Herbert Protocol form and fill in places of importance to them, often visited places, health issues and places they have been found in the past if reported missing³¹. Gather the information for the Herbert Protocol form.
7. Plan who will care for your pets if there is an emergency and you are unable to, including choosing who will look after them while you are away, because you are responsible for their care³². Arrange who will look after your pet if you go into hospital.
8. Know how to reach an emergency vet out of hours, so a pet needing urgent treatment is not left waiting for morning³². Read about emergency vets and out-of-hours care.
9. Find out if any elderly or vulnerable neighbours might need your help, and check in on them during an outage, particularly anyone who might live alone or need extra support³³. Start checking on vulnerable neighbours in an emergency.
10. Include pet food and treats and any pet care items required in your emergency kit, so your animals are provided for alongside the rest of the household¹⁵. Follow including your pets in a household emergency plan.

Going Further

This section is optional: it is for households that want to go further than the basics, building a little more self-sufficiency into everyday life.

1. Install generous water butts to collect rainwater, and when replacing appliances look at their water efficiency, so your household uses less mains water in the first place³⁴. Read about water butts: sizes, fittings and where to put one.
2. Start growing some of your own food in a small space, so your household has a small supply that does not depend on shops or deliveries³⁴. Begin with how to start growing food in a small space.
3. If you use plug-in solar panels, follow the safety advice: do not connect them to batteries to store energy for later use, ensure any outdoor socket is a minimum IP65-rated installation fitted by a competent person, and in a fire avoid touching the system, move to safety, call 999 and tell the operator and firefighters that solar panels are installed³⁵. Understand connecting plug-in solar panels to a battery.

Keeping the Checklist Current

Review this checklist once a year, and again after moving home or any change in the household, such as a new baby, a new pet, or someone moving in or out. Check occasionally that details such as emergency phone numbers for family and medical providers are still up to date, and replace anything in the kit that has expired or been used³⁶. A checklist that matches the household you have now, not the one you had when you wrote it, is the one that will work when you need it.