There is no single official 72 hour kit checklist. The US list says "several days" and never mentions 72 hours. The EU asks for at least 72 hours and leaves the list to each country. The countries that do publish one disagree on how many days to cover and how much water to store. We put the lists next to each other, took every figure from the official page and checked them on 25 October 2026.
What the US and EU lists say
If you searched for a FEMA 72 hour kit checklist, you ended up on Ready.gov, the campaign FEMA runs. Its Build a Kit page says that after an emergency you may need to survive on your own for several days, and its water line asks for one gallon per person per day for several days, for drinking and sanitation. Cash, medicines and documents are on the list without amounts. The CDC is the federal source that gives numbers: 1 gallon per person per day for 3 days, and a 2-week supply if possible. A US gallon is 3.785 litres, according to NIST.
The EU works differently. Its Preparedness Union Strategy of 26 March 2025 says the Commission will propose guidelines for Member States to reach population self-sufficiency of at least 72 hours, and that the guidelines will cover the storage of essential supplies. The press release for the strategy puts it as encouraging the public to keep essential supplies for a minimum of 72 hours. When we looked, the Commission's preparedness pages held no kit list and no quantities. Its civil protection page says the EU supports national authorities with guidance on 72-hour household self-sufficiency, so the list you follow is the one your own government publishes.
Days and water, side by side
| How long | Water per person | |
|---|---|---|
| United States (Ready.gov, CDC) | Several days (Ready.gov); CDC says 3 days, and 2 weeks if possible | 1 gallon a day, which is 3.785 litres, for drinking and sanitation |
| EU (Commission) | At least 72 hours, no kit list | No figure |
| Netherlands (Denk vooruit) | The first 72 hours | 3 litres a day |
| Germany (BBK) | 10 days if possible, and 3 days already helps | 2 litres a day, 0.5 of it for cooking |
| France (Sécurité civile, info.gouv.fr) | 3 days, or 72 hours | 6 litres for the whole 72 hours |
| Sweden (MCF, Livsmedelsverket) | At least a week | 3 to 5 litres a day |
| United Kingdom (Be Ready) | 3 days | 3 litres a day for drinking |
The UK site also points readers in Scotland and Northern Ireland to Ready Scotland and NI Direct for local advice.
Water is where the lists split most. For 3 days, the French and German figures work out at 6 litres per person, the Dutch and UK ones at 9, and the US gallon rule at about 11.4. For a household of 4 that is 24, 36 and about 45 litres. The French number is easy to misread: its 6 litres cover the whole 72 hours, which is 2 litres a day, the same as the German figure. The UK's 3 litres is for drinking only, and the page adds that more is needed for cooking and washing. Sweden asks for more again. Livsmedelsverket, the Swedish food agency, gives 3 to 5 litres a day, which over a week comes to 21 to 35 litres.
The number of days has a reason you can read on the official pages. The German BBK says households should be able to look after themselves for 10 days if possible, and that a stock for at least 3 days already helps a lot. Sweden's civil defence agency, MCF, says 72 hours was used by authorities in the US and Canada and by many Swedish municipalities, that the Swedish government decided in 2020 to recommend a week of preparedness, and that 72 hours is still better than nothing.
Cash, radio, medicines and documents
| Cash | Radio | Medicines | Documents | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | Cash or traveler's checks, no amount | Battery or hand crank, plus a NOAA Weather Radio | Prescription and other medications, no length of time | Copies of insurance, ID and bank records, saved electronically or in a waterproof container |
| Netherlands | €70 per adult and €30 per child, for the first 72 hours | Radio on batteries | Named in the storage advice, no length of time | Copies of ID documents |
| Germany | Cash, no amount | Battery, solar or hand crank | Personal medicines, no length of time | A folder with important documents |
| France | Cash, because cash machines may not work | Battery radio with spare batteries | Basic medicines and current treatments | Photocopies in a waterproof pouch |
| Sweden | 1000 kronor per adult (Riksbank), meant to cover a week of necessities | Battery, solar or hand crank | Prescription medicine, often collectable for a month | Not on the checklist, which asks for a paper phone list |
| United Kingdom | Coins, notes and cards, amount depends on your needs | FM radio, battery or wind-up | Essential medication; order repeat prescriptions up to 5 working days ahead | Printed copies of IDs and documents |
The EU has no row here because it names none of these.
Only two governments put a number on cash. The Dutch advise €70 per adult and €30 per child for the first 72 hours, and add that you can build the stock up over the coming months. The Swedish central bank recommends 1000 kronor per adult at home. The French, German and US lists say cash and stop there, and the UK says the amount depends on your family's needs. The Dutch and Swedish figures cover different spans, 72 hours and a week, so they don't convert into each other.
Medicines split the same way. Sweden says that if you use prescription medicine you can often collect enough for a month. The UK tells you to request repeat prescriptions up to 5 working days before you need them. Every other list names medicines without saying for how long.
The radio line shows how national these lists are. The US asks for a radio that can receive NOAA Weather Radio alerts, which only helps in the US. The UK checklist says FM, and suggests writing down the frequencies of the stations you use for news. Germany and Sweden both accept a solar-powered radio.
Candles divide the lists too. The Dutch, German, French and Swedish lists include them. The UK checklist says torches are safer than candles.
What every list agrees on
Strip out the numbers and the lists look alike. All of them want water, food that keeps, a torch with spare batteries, a radio that works without mains power, a first aid kit, personal medicines, a way to charge a phone, cash, and warm clothes or blankets. Every list except the Swedish checklist also wants copies of your documents.
The odd ones out are small. Germany's checklist adds a carbon monoxide detector and a protective helmet. The US adds plastic sheeting and duct tape for sheltering in place, and a wrench or pliers to turn off utilities. The UK is the only list that says which baby formula to pick: ready-made is best, because you may not be able to boil water. If your own list is missing something that appears on another country's list, it is usually cheap and easy to add.
Using the lists
Start from your own country's list. It uses your emergency number, your alert system and your cash machines. Then look at the tables for what yours leaves out, such as an amount of cash or how long your medicines should last, and add a figure you can defend.
We have turned several of these lists into printable calculators in the local language: the Dutch calculator and checklist comparison, the German calculator, the French calculator, the Swedish list, the Spanish kit list and the Polish go-bag list. For water on its own, see our emergency water calculator, and for what to do with the fridge, the food timer.
Check the kit on a schedule. The UK site suggests a reminder every half year to check expiry dates, and the Dutch government says the same. We're building an offline assistant, Waystone, which is still in development and not on sale. It is designed to answer from official guides like these and show the page each answer came from. Until then, a printed list in the cupboard with the kit is hard to beat.