All UK Be Ready guides

Independent household guide · not affiliated with the UK Government.

Find calm household guidance by topic. All guides are independent; follow live instructions from your local responders and suppliers.

72-hour and 7-day home emergency plan — How to go from a 72-hour emergency kit to a 7-day home plan: water, food, light, power and warmth quantities for UK households, plus a household plan.
About UK Be Ready — Learn who publishes UK Be Ready, how this independent household guide is funded, and how we source emergency advice, review pages and handle corrections.
What is a “Black Sky” event? Radio and the power-cut plan — Understand widespread power failures, why a battery FM radio helps, and what official sources confirm about BBC broadcasts during a major UK power outage.
Carbon monoxide and generator safety — Keep generators, barbecues and camping stoves outdoors. Carbon monoxide is invisible and has no smell; opening a window does not make indoor use safe.
When cards, banks or computer systems go down — Practical UK advice when cards, banking apps or payment systems fail: keep suitable cash, try another payment method and recognise scams after disruption.
Emergency checklists for UK households — Choose printable UK emergency checklists for power cuts, water outages, winter, pets and babies. Download PDFs, save guides offline and plan your supplies.
Corrections and changes — Report an error in UK Be Ready guidance, see the website change log and learn how corrections are recorded. Include the page and a supporting source link.
The universal basics: one emergency kit for almost anything — Build a practical UK emergency kit with water, food, light, warmth and written contacts. Start with what you own and follow the official three-day guidance.
UK emergency numbers by nation — Save UK emergency, power-cut and gas numbers for Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Find regional advice and download a printable household contact sheet.
Emergency advice explained — Understand UK emergency advice with clear explanations of power-cut radio, water outages, carbon monoxide and household kit basics, linked to original sources.
Extra care in an emergency — Plan extra help for pets, babies, pregnant parents and older people during UK emergencies. Find practical household guides, checklists and support contacts.
Empty shelves? Here's what's really going on — Empty supermarket shelves rarely mean the UK is running out of food. Why gaps happen, what recent shortages taught us, and a sensible 3-day cupboard.
How we check facts — Read how UK Be Ready selects sources, distinguishes estimates from official advice, records review dates and handles corrections as an independent guide.
If the taps stopped: emergency water advice explained — Understand stored drinking water, boil notices, toilets and the difference between a local water outage and national power-outage radio advice.
Calm, practical help when everyday services wobble — Independent UK emergency kit and power-cut guidance. Practical checklists, water and food plans, family support and tools to prepare calmly for disruption.
No gas, no heating: staying warm and safe — Why a gas outage can take a fortnight to fix, why you must never turn your own supply back on, and how to keep warm without overloading the electricity.
Older people and additional needs: a household emergency plan — Help older people prepare for power cuts and water outages: organise medicines, safe warmth, check-ins and backup support, with links to official guidance.
Pet emergency plan: food, water and a safe way out — A practical UK emergency plan for dogs, cats and other pets, including supplies, evacuation, veterinary contacts and power-dependent equipment.
Power cuts in the UK: preparation and overview — Call 105, keep the fridge shut, and know that a gas boiler usually stops too. A calm UK guide to power cuts, from a ten-minute blip to a week after a big storm.
Power cut checklist: what to have at home — Printable power cut checklist for UK homes: torches, wind-up radio, power bank, blankets, water, food, first aid and documents. Independent guide.
Pregnancy and babies: preparing for power and water cuts — Prepare for a power or water outage during pregnancy or with a baby: safe feeding, warmth, essential supplies and contact plans, with links to NHS advice.
Privacy notice — How UK Be Ready handles your details when you sign up for emails: what we collect, why, how long we keep it, your rights and what our pop-up stores.
Told to stay indoors or stay at home — What to do when told to stay indoors or at home in the UK. Follow official instructions, plan essential supplies and support your household during disruption.
How to stock up on food sensibly (without panic buying) — How to stock up on food in the UK without panic buying: what to buy, how much water to store, no-cook foods and how to rotate a food stockpile.
3-day emergency kit calculator — Calculate drinking water, meal portions and a printable emergency checklist for your household. Choose three, seven or fourteen days, with baby and pet plans.
How much cash should you keep at home? — Free UK planner for how much cash to keep at home if card payments go down: food, fuel, bus fares and medicines at real, sourced prices, with every step shown.
Free household preparedness tools — Free, independent planners for UK households, starting with a cash planner that works out how much cash to keep at home if card payments or banks go down.
No water, low pressure or a boil water notice — What to do during a UK water outage or boil-water notice: follow your supplier, plan drinking water, protect baby feeds and manage essential household tasks.
What to do in a power cut: a step-by-step guide — What to do in a power cut in the UK: check the fuse box, call 105, light safely, protect your fridge, stay warm and avoid carbon monoxide. Step-by-step guide.
When everyday services wobble — Understand how power, water, heating, food and payment disruptions affect your household, with clear routes to practical guides, checklists and planning tools.