LONDON: The United Kingdom government launched its “Be Ready” campaign on 22 October 2026, asking every household to prepare for three days of disruption, but polling suggests many have not started.
In a national campaign, the government is urging British citizens to keep enough supplies for three days in case normal services fail.
The Be Ready campaign, run by the Cabinet Office, asks families to prepare for three days without electricity, water, telecommunications, and internet.
According to the ministers, the campaign is to prepare for storms, outages and cyber-attacks, but no particular country has been identified as the threat.
The campaign is only the first step in a three-year-long program supported by a website and a checklist with over 500 organisations agreed to use its materials.
There are nine categories in the checklist that demand three litres of drinking water per person per day, but an additional note about extra amounts needed for cooking and washing.
“The campaign will make the country comply with its European peers, and everyone who can follow the guidelines is supposed to do it,” Dan Jarvis, the UK Security Minister, said.
Government officials believe that a prepared public will allow emergency services to deal with those who are in dire need of help.
Which threats does the government name?
Coverage of the launch lists power cuts, severe weather and cyber attacks.
Flooding remains the likeliest cause, and the government’s risk register has long ranked localised flooding as the most common risk, with knock-on power and water outages.
The government’s national security strategy tells the country to prepare actively for the possibility of coming under direct threat, potentially in a wartime scenario.
Some unverified reports also suggest that Britain is warning its public because Russia might attack the UK in response to heavy British support for Ukraine.
Ministers have talked about weather, outages and cyber attacks, and the government has not blamed any single state.
