THE FIRST 72 HOURS

THE FREE FIELD MANUAL

Your first 72 hours: the plan in full

The point of the first 72 hours is not to predict exactly what caused the disruption. It is to keep the household safe while you work out what is real, what still functions and what you can rely on. The same plan works whether the trigger is a major power cut, communications failure, cyber incident, water outage or a wider AI-linked disruption.

Do not begin by trying to solve every possible problem. Begin by stabilising people, information and essential supplies. Write down what you know, what you do not know and what would make you change your plan. A calm written baseline is far more useful than a hundred tabs of alarming information.

0–10 minutes: stop, check and establish control

Deal with any immediate danger first. If there is fire, flooding, a medical emergency or an official instruction to leave, follow the appropriate emergency response rather than trying to protect possessions. Account for everyone in the household and check whether anyone has a time-critical medical need, mobility issue or dependency on powered equipment.

Next, establish what has actually failed. Test mains power, mobile signal, internet access and water separately rather than assuming one failure means everything is down. Check a trusted official source if it is available. If messages are conflicting or unusually urgent, avoid making a major decision from one screenshot, one social post, one voice call or one AI-generated summary.

• Account for people and pets.
• Deal with immediate safety hazards first.
• Check power, water, mobile and internet separately.
• Write down the time the disruption began and what you observed.
• Preserve phone battery rather than repeatedly refreshing social media.
• Choose one household member to keep the written log.

Build a one-page household baseline

Write the names of everyone you are planning for, their location, medication or accessibility needs, and the best way to contact them. Add one meeting point close to home and one alternative outside the immediate area. Keep important numbers on paper as well as on a phone. The UK Government's Prepare guidance specifically recommends a written contact list and an agreed meeting point because phones and internet access may not be reliable during an emergency.

Make a quick inventory of the resources that determine how long you can stay comfortable: drinking water, ready-to-eat food, lighting, charged batteries, prescription medicine, hygiene supplies, cash, transport fuel and safe warmth. You are not trying to catalogue the whole house. You are finding the items that become limiting first.

Water: count what you have before you ration anything

Water is one of the first practical limits in a prolonged outage. Count sealed drinking water and note any safe stored water you already have. Government preparedness guidance suggests planning for a few days of disruption and notes that basic drinking needs vary by person and circumstance. Children, pets, hot weather and some medical needs can increase requirements.

If tap water is still running, do not assume it is unsafe unless your supplier or authorities say so. If a boil-water or do-not-use notice is issued, follow the exact official instruction. Avoid improvised chemical treatment advice from social media. Use the site's emergency water calculator to work out a household planning figure, then compare it with what is physically available.

Power and lighting: preserve the useful electricity

Switch off unnecessary devices and decide what genuinely needs power. Phones used for communication, essential medical equipment and a radio or lighting source usually matter more than entertainment devices. Keep one power bank in reserve if you have several. Reduce screen brightness and background activity on phones when charging options are uncertain.

If you use a generator, combustion heater or camping appliance, treat carbon monoxide as a serious risk. Never run fuel-burning equipment inside a home, garage or other enclosed space, and follow the manufacturer's safety instructions. Torches are preferable to open flames for routine lighting during an outage. If a medical device depends on electricity, use the written backup plan supplied by the provider or clinician and contact the appropriate service if the backup window is becoming short.

Food: use the fridge and freezer intelligently

Keep fridge and freezer doors closed as much as possible during a power cut. Eat food according to perishability rather than preference: items that will spoil first should be considered before shelf-stable food. Do not rely on smell alone to judge whether food is safe. If you are unsure about chilled or frozen food after an extended outage, use current Food Standards Agency guidance rather than guessing.

Build meals around food that requires little or no cooking when power is uncertain. Keep a manual can opener with tinned food. Record roughly how many simple meals the household can make without relying on a freezer, microwave or online delivery. That number is more useful than counting tins without knowing what can actually be eaten.

Medication, health and hygiene

List essential medicines, doses and the pharmacy or prescriber contact details on paper. Do not change doses or deliberately stretch prescription medicine without professional advice. If medicine has special temperature requirements, follow its storage instructions and seek clinical or pharmacy advice if those conditions cannot be maintained. Keep a basic first-aid kit accessible rather than buried in a cupboard behind other emergency supplies.

When water is limited, hygiene still matters. Prioritise hand hygiene, safe food handling and toilet arrangements. Keep wet wipes and hand sanitiser available, but remember that they are not substitutes for every situation. If someone becomes seriously unwell, use normal emergency and health services when they are available; a preparedness website is not a replacement for medical care.

Information defence: assume convincing fakes are possible

In an AI-linked crisis, information itself may be part of the problem. A realistic voice, video or message is not proof that the person shown actually sent it. Before transferring money, travelling somewhere dangerous or acting on an extraordinary instruction, confirm through another channel where possible. A family safe word can help with unexpected distress calls, but it should be only one layer of verification.

Separate three categories in your written log: confirmed facts, credible but unconfirmed reports, and rumours. Do not forward alarming claims merely because they fit the scenario you already fear. Official emergency alerts, local authorities, utility providers, broadcasters and emergency services should take priority over anonymous screenshots and viral posts.

Cash, documents and digital access

Keep copies of key identification, insurance details, prescriptions and emergency contacts in a place the household can find quickly. A modest amount of physical cash can be useful if card terminals or banking services are temporarily unavailable, but there is no need to empty bank accounts because of a rumour. Protect account recovery information and do not hand over one-time codes or passwords to callers claiming to be from a bank or authority.

If you suspect a cyber incident rather than a general outage, avoid logging into sensitive accounts from devices or networks you do not trust. Use a known clean device when possible, preserve evidence of suspicious messages, and follow the cyber-recovery guidance on this site rather than clicking links sent during the incident.

Stay or leave: decide from hazards, not atmosphere

Your home is often the easiest place to manage supplies, warmth, medication and information, but not when the building or immediate area is unsafe. Leave when there is a direct hazard, an official evacuation instruction or a household need that cannot be met safely where you are. If you may need to go, prepare one carryable bag with essential medicine, water, food, documents, phone power, warm clothing and any baby, disability or pet items that are actually needed.

Know where you are going before setting off if circumstances allow. A journey without a destination can expose the household to traffic, fuel shortages, weather and communications loss without solving the original problem. Keep a paper map or written route notes as a backup to navigation apps.

The 72-hour rhythm

Hour 0–1: stabilise people, check hazards, verify what is failing, preserve communications and start the written log. Hours 1–6: count water, food, medicine and power; contact separated household members; set a check-in time; prepare lighting and a safe overnight routine. Day 1: stop reacting to every update and move to scheduled information checks. Work out the household's water, food and battery runway. Day 2: review what has changed, resupply only if it can be done safely, check neighbours who may need help and update the stay-or-leave decision. Day 3: decide whether the disruption is resolving or becoming a longer-duration problem. If it is extending, move from emergency improvisation into a seven-day or thirty-day resilience plan using the free tools and guides on this site.

Quick checklist before you close this page

• Everyone accounted for and immediate hazards checked.
• Two meeting points agreed and written down.
• Emergency contacts and medication details available on paper.
• Water and simple meals counted in real quantities.
• Torches, radio and phone charging options located.
• Essential medication and powered medical-device backup checked.
• Documents, cash and keys easy to reach.
• One verification method agreed for suspicious calls or messages.
• One carryable evacuation bag identified.
• A time set for the next household review instead of constant doom-scrolling.

Use the free tools to turn this into your plan

This manual is deliberately part of the website now, not something hidden behind an email form. Use the emergency water calculator, backup power calculator, family emergency plan builder, go-bag builder and AI collapse readiness score to convert the guidance into numbers, names and actions for your household.