How to prep for a 72-hour blackout
Three days without power is the standard planning scenario. Here's the kit that actually matters.
Checklist — printable
- Water: 12 liters per person (3 days × 4L)
- Shelf-stable food you actually eat, for 3 days
- Battery or hand-crank radio
- Power bank, kept charged above 80%
- Cash in small bills — card terminals die with the grid
- 7-day buffer of essential medications
- Flashlights + spare batteries (skip candles)
- Paper list of key phone numbers
- A full tank of fuel or charged EV before forecast storms
- Know your building's water shut-off and stairwell exits
Grid operators plan around the 72-hour scenario: the window in which a regional blackout becomes a supply problem. Water pressure, card payments, fuel pumps and mobile networks all degrade within that window.
The good news: 72 hours of resilience fits in one box. The checklist below follows civil-protection guidance and skips the prepper fantasy gear.
Why it matters
In a real blackout, the first 24 hours are confusion; the next 48 are logistics. Being self-sufficient for 72 hours keeps you out of the emergency system's way.
What to watch next
Your national civil-protection agency's guidance — several countries updated theirs in the past two years.
Recommended protection
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