New guidelines urge individuals to maintain a week-long emergency stockpile, but only 15% have complied so far

In May, the guidelines for personal preparedness were revised by the Directorate for Civil Protection and Emergency Planning (DSB). The most significant change is that individuals are now advised to maintain a preparedness stockpile sufficient to sustain them for seven days. A June survey by Norstat for NRK revealed that many were aware of the new preparedness guidelines. However, only 15 percent indicated that they had acquired the items on DSB’s recommended list.

Elizabeth Sørbøe Aarsæther, the director of the DSB, is pleased that many have become cognizant of the importance of personal preparedness. However, she feels the progress in convincing more people to establish a preparedness stockpile is slow. She acknowledges that more people now have preparedness stockpiles than before but believes there is still progress to be made. Aarsæther suggests that the need for personal preparedness might seem unreal to people. She emphasizes the importance of storing water and engaging younger people in personal preparedness.

In Denmark, the concept is relatively new. The Danes were given similar preparedness advice in June, with three days being the recommended duration for personal preparedness. They appear to have taken the advice seriously, with canned food sales increasing by 300 percent for grocery giant Salling Group. In June, Biltema reported a 318 percent increase in the sale of preparedness items compared to the previous year.

A list of recommended items for a home emergency stockpile includes 20 liters of clean drinking water per person, food that can be stored at room temperature, cooking equipment, warm clothing, first aid supplies, hygiene products, cash, and pet supplies.

Ole Andreas Engen, a professor of societal safety at the University of Stavanger, believes that the majority of Norwegians do not take personal preparedness seriously. He argues that this might be due to a high level of trust in the authorities and a lack of envisioning potential crisis scenarios. He calls for clearer communication from the authorities about personal preparedness and the threats and crises that could impact us.