Households across Enniskillen and Fermanagh are being encouraged to think about how they would cope for several days without electricity, running water or easy access to shops as the UK Government prepares a new national resilience campaign.
The campaign, due to launch later this year, will provide new advice to households on preparing for disruption and emergencies, with the government saying simple preparations can help people become more resilient when essential services are affected.
While some of the national coverage has focused on the possibility of hostile-state action and cyber attacks, the advice is intended to cover a much wider range of emergencies — including severe weather, flooding, power cuts, water outages and infrastructure failures.
For people living in Fermanagh, where storms, flooding and disruption to electricity supplies are already familiar possibilities, much of the advice is relatively straightforward.
What should you keep at home?
Existing UK Government emergency guidance recommends considering what your household would need during an emergency lasting a few days.
Rather than rushing out and buying large quantities of supplies, the government says an emergency kit can be built up gradually over time.
Suggested items include:
- Bottled water
- Non-perishable food that doesn’t require cooking
- Battery-powered or wind-up torch
- Battery-powered or wind-up radio
- Portable phone power bank
- Spare batteries
- First-aid supplies
- Essential medication
- Hand sanitiser and wet wipes
- Baby supplies where required
- Food, water and medication for pets
Northern Ireland’s own emergency guidance also recommends keeping useful telephone numbers, spare keys, a phone charger, toiletries, blankets, copies of important documents and photographic identification somewhere accessible.
How much water should you keep?
There isn’t a single amount of water that will be suitable for every household or every emergency.
Current UK Government guidance points to a World Health Organisation survival recommendation of at least 2.5 to 3 litres of drinking water per person per day.
It says around 10 litres per person per day would provide greater comfort by allowing some water for basic cooking and hygiene as well.
Households may need additional supplies for babies, medical equipment and pets.
Why is the government doing this?
The UK Government’s 2026 Resilience Action Plan says households need to be better prepared for emergencies and periods of disruption.
A new multi-year public information campaign is being developed around the government’s existing Prepare service, with new household advice and resources for schools and colleges expected as part of the programme.
Recent reporting says the campaign will encourage people to prepare for circumstances where power or water supplies could be interrupted or local shops may be unable to operate, including disruption caused by extreme weather, cyber attacks or hostile-state activity.
However, the advice should not be interpreted as meaning the government is expecting a particular emergency or attack.
Official preparedness guidance covers everything from fires and floods to storms, accidents, infrastructure failures and deliberate actions.
What about Northern Ireland?
Northern Ireland already has its own official advice encouraging households to prepare an emergency kit.
NI Direct recommends thinking about the risks around where you live — including nearby rivers and waterways, whether you live in a remote area and the potential for flooding.
For Fermanagh households, preparations could prove useful during much more familiar situations such as a prolonged winter power cut or severe storm.
Recent NI Direct severe-weather guidance, for example, recommends keeping batteries available for torches and radios, keeping phones and other devices charged and having important telephone numbers to hand in case electricity supplies are interrupted.
Important numbers to keep somewhere safe
Another simple step is keeping important numbers written down somewhere accessible rather than relying entirely on a mobile phone.
For Northern Ireland, useful emergency contacts include:
Emergency services: 999
Police non-emergency: 101
NIE Networks: 03457 643 643
NI Water Waterline: 03457 440 088
Flooding Incident Line: 0300 2000 100
NI Gas Emergency Service: 0800 002 001
These numbers are included in NI Direct’s household emergency guidance.
No need to panic or start stockpiling
The message behind the campaign isn’t that households should panic-buy or fill cupboards with months of food.
Instead, the government is encouraging people to consider whether they could look after themselves and their household for a few days if normal services were suddenly disrupted.
That could be as simple as having some bottled water and ready-to-eat food in the cupboard, a working torch, a charged power bank and enough essential medication available.
For many households, it may simply be a case of checking what they already have and gradually putting together a small emergency kit before they ever need it.
Read the official UK Government emergency preparedness guidance
