HOW TO BUILD A 72-HOUR EMERGENCY KIT IN GERMANY
A complete guide based on BBK's official recommendations for German households. What to store, how much, and why 72 hours matters.
Germany's Federal Office for Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance — the BBK (Bundesamt für Bevölkerungsschutz und Katastrophenhilfe) — recommends that every household be able to sustain itself for at least 72 hours without outside assistance. This is not a worst-case scenario target. It is the baseline. Infrastructure failures, winter storms, and extended power outages regularly leave households cut off for two to three days. Emergency services and supply chains take time to respond. Your household should not be in the queue.
Water is the most critical supply, and the most commonly underestimated. The BBK recommends 2 litres per person per day for drinking alone. For 72 hours, that means 6 litres per person at minimum — more if you account for cooking, hygiene, and any household members with elevated needs. A family of four needs at least 24 litres on hand, stored in food-grade containers, rotated every six to twelve months. Tap water stored in sealed bottles typically keeps well, but commercially sealed water is the most reliable option for long-term storage.
Food should be non-perishable, require no refrigeration, and be edible without cooking. The BBK's guidance prioritises canned goods (vegetables, legumes, fish, meat), dried pasta and rice, crackers, nut butters, honey, and long-life milk. The goal is not comfort — it is caloric and nutritional adequacy. Aim for roughly 2,200 kilocalories per person per day. Factor in any dietary restrictions, infant formula requirements, and pet food. A manual can opener is not optional.
First aid supplies, essential medications (at least a seven-day supply), and copies of critical documents complete the core kit. The documents list matters more than most people expect: health insurance cards, passports, prescriptions, bank account details, and emergency contacts. Originals are ideal; high-quality photocopies stored in a waterproof bag are acceptable. A battery-powered or hand-crank radio lets you receive official emergency broadcasts when mobile networks are overloaded or offline.
Shelter helps you track all of this automatically. The app maps your kit against BBK's official checklist, shows you exactly what is missing and what is nearing its expiry date, and calculates your household's readiness score in real time — offline, private, no account required. Download Shelter — free