UK, survival kits and hand-crank radios: sales boom after government alert

Downing Street invites the citizens of the United Kingdom to equip themselves with essential supplies and equipment to deal with possible national emergencies, flash floods and, above all, large-scale cyber attacks capable of disrupting electricity and water networks. Among the suggested products is the hand crank radio with torch and integrated USB socket, produced in Italy

No American-style underground bunker but a 72-hour survival kit that costs between 75 and 100 pounds. Among the supplies there are water purification tablets, ten-litre jerrycans, isothermal blankets and windproof matches, but the real highlight remains the hand-crank radio with torch and integrated USB socket. A product made in Italy given that the European branch that manages these products is based in Reggio Emilia. All this is part of the initiative of the British authorities which suggests "three days' coverage" following the recent government campaign "Prepare", popularly renamed "Be Ready", with which Downing Street invites the citizens of the United Kingdom to equip themselves with essential supplies and equipment to face possible national emergencies, flash floods and, above all, large-scale cyber attacks capable of causing electricity and water networks to go haywire.

The basic kit

In fact, the 72 hours represent "the average time frame within which the majority of daily infrastructure failures are normally resolved. A basic kit for this time frame, which on the company portal costs approximately between 75 and 100 pounds excluding food, is a realistic, economical investment that fits comfortably in a cupboard. Asking families to accumulate reserves for an entire month would have had the opposite effect: people would have felt overwhelmed and in the end would have done absolutely nothing".

The hand crank radio: a product made in Italy

At the center of the rush for supplies are water purification tablets, ten-litre jerrycans, isothermal blankets and windproof matches, but the real highlight remains the hand-crank radio with torch and integrated USB socket. The most requested model of all is the Midland ER300, flanked by the ER100 version. Although the brand is historically American, the European branch that manages these products is based in Reggio Emilia where the models are remodeled from American to European standards. “In recent days we have practically emptied his warehouse and he confided to us that the parent company is unable to manufacture them quickly enough to keep up with the demand” Joshua John Pringle, co-founder of Sgt Prepper Shop Limited, a British company specializing in kits for survival and home self-sufficiency, explains to Adnkronos.