Europeans have been urged to prepare a 72-hour emergency kit. Do Australians need to?

Jazzy piano music, lopsided grins and a cacophony of chuckles in a recent European Union public service announcement betrayed none of the geopolitical tensions, conflicts and natural disasters that have forced the European commissioner for preparedness and crisis management to urge member states to be “ready for anything”.

Hadja Lahbib this week rolled out the collective’s first preparedness strategy. A key call to action for member states was to waste no time in preparing an emergency kit that would allow households to be self-sufficient for 72 hours in a crisis.

As well as speaking in Brussels to present her 18-page European Preparedness Union Strategy, Lahbib posted to social media a What’s in My Bag: Survival Edition video, which has racked up more than 2.3 million views on Instagram and X.

“We must prepare for large-scale, cross-sectoral incidents and crises, including the possibility of armed aggression, affecting one or more member states,” the European Commission’s new strategy document says, encouraging citizens to take “proactive measures to prepare for crises, such as developing household emergency plans and stockpiling essential supplies”.

While Australia is far away from active war zones compared with EU nations, natural disasters such as the Black Summer bushfires, northern NSW floods or ex-tropical cyclone Alfred have caused Australians great upheaval and upset. NSW SES Deputy Commissioner Debbie Platz says every home should have an emergency kit in case there is a need to evacuate quickly, or there’s no electricity or running water.

Hadja Lahbib (right) pictured with former European commissioner for crisis management Janez Lenarcic, is urging member states to be “ready for anything”. Credit: AP

“At a minimum, your emergency kit should include a portable radio and torch, spare batteries, a first aid kit, identification documents and emergency contact numbers, a copy of your emergency plan and a waterproof bag for valuables,” Platz says.

“If you are required to evacuate your property, that’s when you should place medications, clothing and footwear, food and drinking water in your emergency kit … Everyone in the household should know where to find the kit if they are home alone.”

What’s in the European commissioner for preparedness and crisis management’s 72-hour emergency survival backpack?

• Prescription eyeglasses
• Important documents, including a photocopy of her licence, in a waterproof pouch
• Torch, matches and a lighter
• A bottle of water
• Swiss Army Knife, which Hadja Lahbib calls her best friend
• Medication
• Muesli bars and canned tuna 
• Cash
• Phone charger and power bank
• Playing cards because “a bit of distraction never hurt anyone”
• A portable radio

Dr Karleen Gribble, an associate professor at Western Sydney University’s School of Nursing and Midwifery, agrees. She says parents of babies in particular should always have an emergency kit packed with “basic items like nappies, nappy wipes and change of clothes”.

Parents who are breastfeeding should ensure they pack additional water and food for themselves. Formula-fed infants will need more than the formula itself. Considering access to running water may be limited, extra water will be needed for making up formula and washing hands, plus detergent, and enough feeding bottles or disposable cups for each feed.

“As it can be particularly difficult to formula feed in an emergency. Breastfeeding should be considered an emergency preparedness activity, and health professionals and others should support women to breastfeed,” Gribble says.

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