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What do the other Nordic countries say about crisis preparedness?

Denmark has advised its population to have supplies ready in case a crisis occurs, but the same step has already been taken by both Sweden and Norway.

Published: 17 June 2024 16:57 CEST
What do the other Nordic countries say about crisis preparedness?
Denmark has released a checklist of emergency supplies. Do the other Nordic countries have similar guidelines? Photo: Mads Claus Rasmussen/Ritzau Scanpix

The Danish Emergency Management Service (Beredsskabstyrelsen, DEMA) has issued advicefor the general public to have certain supplies at home so that they are prepared in the event of a crisis.

“We are recommending this because if people can get by for three days, authorities can focus on doing what needs to be done and work on normalising the situation as quickly as possible,” the director of DEMA, Laila Reenberg, said at a briefing on the recommendations.

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Swedish authorities in 2018 issued a brochure to all Swedish households, titled Om krisen eller kriget kommer. There’s a version in English, If Crisis or War Comes, available here.

A new version of that booklet was ordered earlier this year by the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency (MSB), while the general advice from Swedish authorities is always to have enough supplies at home to see your household through one to two weeks if needed – longer than the three days stated in the new Danish guidance.

Swedes are meanwhile advised to keep paper printouts of information such as insurance policies, bank details and registration certificates and the Swedish checklist (which, unlike Denmark’s has been produced in English) goes into intricate detail about the types of food and other supplies that are advised.

No booklet has yet been issued in Denmark – the advice is so far only available in Danish on DEMA’s website. However, Defence Minister Troels Lund Poulsen has said that information will be sent to all residents in Denmark by secure email “after the summer”.

Folders will also be placed at libraires and other public institutions, he said.

The Norwegian Civil Defence also keeps guidelines of what residents should keep in their homes for emergencies.

The website sikkerhverdag.no – operated by the Norwegian Directorate for Civil Protection – recommends that households have enough supplies for seven days. 

This includes a small emergency reserve of essentials such as water, food that can be kept at room temperature, medicines, and heat sources like warm blankets and jackets (rather than an electric blanket).

Like Denmark, the Norwegian agency recommends three litres of water per person per day for cooking and drinking, as well as iodine tablets if you are under 40, pregnant, breastfeeding or have children living at home.

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MILITARY

One in four in Denmark stocked up with ‘crisis’ water and food

A significant proportion of the Danish population has followed official advice to ensure they have enough supplies at home to get by for three days in the event of a crisis.

Published: 25 June 2024 13:40 CEST
One in four in Denmark stocked up with ‘crisis’ water and food

Around a quarter of households have stocked three days’ supplies of water after advice was issued by authorities earlier this month to keep stores in case of a crisis.

A survey for newswire Ritzau by the Voxmeter institute found that around a quarter have already followed the guidelines. Over 1,000 people answered the survey, which was conducted between 6 and 9 days after the announcement.

The Danish Emergency Management Service (Beredsskabstyrelsen, DEMA) on June 15th issued advice for the general public to have certain supplies at home so that they are prepared in the event of a crisis. This can can mean natural events like extreme weather or human acts like cyber attacks or sabotage, DEMA said.

DEMA’s director Laila Reenberg, said at a briefing on the recommendations that there was no need to “rush out in panic” to purchase crisis supplies.

“But when you happen to be out grocery shopping, you can gradually fill out your supplies,” she said.

Some 26 percent said they have sufficient stocks of both food and water, while 72 percent said they did not in the survey conducted between June 21st-24th.

Those proportions are reasonable according to an expert, who said it was not expected that the entire country would rush to supermarkets to shop for the full checklist.

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But the numbers can also be used as a guideline for authorities, said Nina Blom Andersen, specialist in Disaster and Risk Management University College Copenhagen, speaking to news wire Ritzau.

“The authorities should use it as a signpost showing that they should always be aware that there is a group they need to look after,” she said.

The survey also asked respondents if they planned to buy things on the checklist that they do not already have.

Items on the list include power banks, first aid kits and wind-up radios.

“What could change these numbers to people being better prepared at home is continued focus on the task from the media, from authorities and that people keep talking about it in their social networks, private lives and relations,” Andersen said.

Focus on the issue from local as well as national authorities could also boost uptake, she added.

Defence Minister Troels Lund Poulsen has said that information will be sent to all residents in Denmark by secure email “after the summer”.

Folders will also be placed at libraires and other public institutions, he said.

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