Minister of Defense Troels Lund Poulsen (V) has just presented new readiness guidelines from the Danish authorities, urging Danes to be able to take care of themselves for up to three days in case of a crisis situation. The recommendations include having a sufficient supply of water, food, medicine, and first aid equipment. Additionally, one should be able to stay warm when it is cold and be able to manage without electricity. “We need water and food to sustain ourselves for three days. We need to ensure we have the necessary medicine and first aid. That we can stay warm when it is cold. And make sure we can manage without electricity,” says Troels Lund Poulsen.
The inspiration for the new guidelines comes from neighboring countries Norway and Sweden, which already have established contingency plans. In 2018, the Swedish authorities released the brochure “If Crisis or War Comes,” which contains a wide range of recommendations for citizens. The brochure emphasizes the need to have food that can last a long time and provide lots of energy, as well as the ability to receive information from the authorities via Sweden’s Radio P4.
At the end of May, Norway also tightened their emergency preparedness recommendations. The Norwegian authorities now recommend that Norwegians be able to take care of themselves for up to seven days, compared to the previous three. The recommendations include warmth, food, water, and medicine. The Norwegian directorate in the area also suggests having bank accounts in multiple banks and storing a copy of insurance policies and bank information on paper.
According to Troels Lund Poulsen, it is crucial that citizens are able to take care of themselves and their loved ones so that the authorities can focus their efforts where the need is greatest.”