Skip to content
?How many days
The global register of what governments tell households to keep at homeChecked 2 Nov 2026 · 67 entries · 574 sources

Most governments that give a number say three days. A few say a week or more. This is who says what, what changed and when, and what it means for your home.

The UK's Be Ready website, launched on 22 October 2026, asks households to be ready for 3 days. It is the first official text we could read that gives a number: the earlier Prepare website spoke of 'a few days' and gave no set figure.

Work out your reserve

3

days

41
of 58 published figures have 3 days as their minimum. It is the most common answer by far.
30
days is the longest period a national body names, at the top of South Korea's 3–30 day range. Only 2 whole-home figures go past a week.
4
national increases we can document, most recently Taiwan on 16 Sep 2025. Austria and Germany went down.
53
entries have dated activity in 2026. None raised a national figure, though Belgium, Luxembourg and the UK added a number where they had none.
§1The board

Everyone's answer, on one board

Each name stands where its government's figure puts it. Press play to watch the answers arrive and move since 2013. Select a name to read the source.

Nov2026

+ Oct 2026Luxembourgadds a number: 3

58 on the board at this date

1
2
3
5
7
10
14
15

Grouped by number of days. Not to scale. National figure National, with limits (a bag, one supply, one hazard, a goal) Non-government Your country

Local figures only

2

A state, province or city publishes a number. The country doesn't, as far as we could find.

No number

7

The government advises households, but gives no count of days that we could find.

A name appears on the first date we can document its figure, and earlier advice may exist. Some dates are page dates rather than announcements, and 4 figures have no date at all, so they only join at the end. Figures aren't always like for like: the outlined ones cover a bag, one supply, one hazard or a goal rather than a whole household.

Read the board as a table
Figures on the board at Nov 2026
DaysCountries at Nov 2026
1Argentina, Peru
2Chile, Hungary, Kuwait, Mexico, Portugal
3Australia, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Ecuador, European Union, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Moldova, Netherlands, New Zealand, Pakistan, Philippines, Poland, Romania, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom
4None
5Colombia
7Estonia, Norway, Sweden, Taiwan
10Austria
14Singapore, Slovakia, United Arab Emirates
15Albania
30None
Local onlyBrazil, South Africa
No numberCosta Rica, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Qatar, Serbia, United States
§2The globe

A map with gaps

Colour shows the minimum, and brighter means more days. Hatched means only a state or city publishes a number. Grey doesn't mean no advice exists: much of the world wasn't in the sources we could read.

Drag to spin. Select a country to read its figure.

Minimum days

  • 1–27
  • 341
  • 4–61
  • 7–94
  • 10+5
  • Local figures only
  • No number
  • Not in register
Loading map
§3The change log

Who moved, and when

53 entries have dated activity in 2026: new booklets, campaigns and restatements. Most repeat an existing figure, so a new date doesn't mean a new number.

All told: 4 national raises, 3 at state level, 2 lowered, 1 softened.

  1. 2 Nov 2026

    Restated
    Japan

    3–7

    The new Disaster Management Agency's urgent request repeats the same figures on the day the agency is set up. Not an increase. Disaster Management Agency (防災庁) ↗ Official

  2. 31 Oct 2026

    Restated
    Australia
    No number

    A National Emergency Management Agency spokesperson tells SBS the message to households is to prepare, including with a kit. No number of days is given. SBS ↗ Press

  3. 31 Oct 2026

    Restated
    Mexico
    No number

    A CENAPRED article for older people mentions the emergency backpack without a number of days, and cites its own 2017 article. CENAPRED ↗ Official

  4. 30 Oct 2026

    Restated
    Greece
    No number

    Nea Kriti, reviewing official guidance, reports that Greece has advice for each hazard but no single general government recommendation that households keep 72 hours of food and water. Nea Kriti ↗ Press

  5. 30 Oct 2026

    Restated
    Malaysia
    No number

    The disaster agency's director general says to buy only what is needed and to prepare an emergency bag in advance. No number of days is given. The Star ↗ Press

  6. 27 Oct 2026

    Restated
    Seine-Maritime prefecture

    3

    A message from the Seine-Maritime prefecture promotes the 72-hour kit. France 3 reports that the kit is not new and that the message follows on from the national resilience day. France 3 Normandie ↗ PressSeine-Maritime prefecture, not national

  7. 26 Oct 2026

    Restated
    Norway

    7

    On the first day of Egenberedskapsuka 2026, DSB said the authorities recommend every household can manage at home for a week if power, mobile and internet are lost. DSB and Nkom ↗ Official

  8. 22 Oct 2026

    Restated
    Argentina

    1

    Press reports the national emergency agency circulating the list amid floods, with water and food for one day. Diario Panorama ↗ Press

  9. 22 Oct 2026

    Number added
    United Kingdom

    3

    Be Ready replaces Prepare as the first stage of a three-year campaign and says 3 days. A copy of the Prepare page from 11 October 2026 still gave no number. Cabinet Office ↗ Official

  10. 21 Oct 2026

    Restated
    Santa Catarina
    No number

    Press notes that Santa Catarina's civil defence kit list gives no amount of water and no number of days. Revista Sociedade Militar ↗ PressSanta Catarina, not national

  11. 21 Oct 2026

    Restated
    Colombia
    No number

    National drill for sectors, families and the public. The circular and web page we read restate no number of days. UNGRD ↗ Official

  12. 21 Oct 2026

    Restated
    Ecuador
    No number

    The secretariat adds an online family plan page with a 2026 guide to its El Niño site. It gives no number of days itself. Secretaría Nacional de Gestión de Riesgos ↗ Official

§4Read this before comparing numbers

A shelf and a bag aren't the same answer

The home reserve

You stay put, with no mains, no shops and no outside help. It's bulky, it can't be carried, and it's what most headline figures mean. It covers water, food, medicines and hygiene for everyone at home.

The grab bag

You have to leave quickly, so it holds what one person can carry: usually a few bottles of water, snacks, documents and a torch. A “2-day” bag and a “7-day” reserve are different plans, and you may want both.

§5Your household

What that means at your house

Set the basics here. The full planner adds babies, pets, medicines and climate, then turns it into a list you can build up over several normal shops.

Adults
2
Children 4–8
0
Days
Water
70 L
Food
30,800 kcal

Water covers drinking, cooking and basic hygiene, not flushing. Treat these as stocking estimates.

Open the full planner
§6Checking a number

Seen a number online?

A bare number travels further than its small print. These five questions settle most of them, and every entry here answers them with a link to the source.

Look up a countryHow we check

  1. Who said it?

    A national agency, a city and a charity are different things. Iceland's figure comes from its Red Cross, and South Africa's from the city of Cape Town.

  2. How old is it?

    A leaflet still online isn't recent advice. Greece's three days comes from a 2022 leaflet, and Portugal's two to three days from 2018.

  3. A whole home, or one bag?

    A 72-hour bag for leaving home isn't a 72-hour reserve at home. Spain, Indonesia and Turkey are talking about the bag.

  4. Every emergency, or just one?

    Slovakia's 14 days is for a long blackout, Albania's 15 for being cut off by snow, and Colombia's 5 comes from an earthquake guide.

  5. Did it really change?

    A new campaign usually repeats an old figure. Japan's request of 2 November 2026 repeats what its national plan has said since 2015. It isn't an increase.