United Kingdom: the government calls on households to provide three days of provisions in the event of a crisis

Bottles of water, flashlights, blankets in stock: the British must prepare for emergencies, urged Prime Minister Andy Burnham on Friday, who chaired a meeting to better fight against forest fires. The UK government has launched a national campaign called 'Be Ready' calling on people to equip themselves to deal with possible disruptions to essential services, amid growing concerns over extreme weather events, cyberattacks and other crisis situations.

Households are encouraged to build up a stock of products at home, in order to be able to cope with up to three days of power outages, water, telecommunications or Internet access, in line with the recommendations of other European countries for the general public.

A dedicated website provides a “check list” ranging from bottles of water to non-perishable food, flashlights with spare batteries, an FM radio and cash. “We live in a world where unexpected events seem to be becoming more and more frequent,” said Andy Burnham, citing the example of storms. “It’s just about having supplies at home to help you get through these times,” he added.

The Labor prime minister earlier announced at a meeting in Liverpool of fire chiefs, local officials and experts that Britain's military helicopters and planes would be equipped to fight wildfires. Fire services in England will also benefit from additional specialist teams for wildfires. The government has said it is spending up to 45 million pounds (53 million euros) to deal with the increase in fires.

The United Kingdom has experienced forest fires every summer in recent years resulting from episodes of drought and extreme heat, phenomena whose intensity and frequency are increased by climate change induced by human activity, according to scientific consensus. The government underlines in a press release that “the storms of last winter and the fires this summer have shown that extreme weather events can disrupt daily life and essential services”.