This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Imagine it's the dead of night. Your phone pings with a text—it's a government emergency alert: "Leave your home immediately!
Only take with you enough supplies for the next three days." What would you want in your go-bag? Our new survey of UK adults (results not yet published) found a surprising number of people prioritized sentimental belongings such as a childhood teddy bear. In the face of climate change and growing geopolitical instability, governments have started advising citizens to prepare now for disaster.
In 2024, the UK government launched its Prepare initiative. This was followed by preparEU, a flagship EU project that argued: "Today's threats are fast, complex and interconnected; our response must be more proactive." These initiatives typically recommend that people have enough food, water and medicine to last 72 hours. In addition, they need ready access to documents, cash, batteries or power banks and a wind-up radio, plus a working knowledge of emergency support in their local area.
But when that message pings in the night, will you already be packed, with documents, food and medicine in a go-bag? Or will you be scrambling to find things, hoping you have enough essentials to keep you going? In April 2026, as part of the After the End project—a research project exploring how people experience and recover from crises—we surveyed 1,000 UK adults to understand how prepared they were for a sudden crisis or disaster.
We found that most people have less than half of what is recommended by the UK government and the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency. Only 4 out of 1,000 people reported being fully prepared.
Our findings echo the 2025 UK Public Survey of Risk Perception, Resilience and Preparedness, which found that of 10,536 adults, only 13% felt largely or totally prepared. However, the focus on practical items and supplies may not capture what people need to withstand the emotional toll of crises and disasters. When asked what other items they would take with them during a crisis, many participants felt that personal items would be critical to their post-disaster well-being.
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