One week at home: build an emergency plan your household understands

The power goes out on a cold evening. One person finds a torch. Someone else asks whether there are batteries. The children want to know how long it will last, and nobody remembers how much drinking water is actually in the cupboard.

Most disruptions end long before a week has passed. A household plan is still useful because it replaces several uncertain questions with a few decisions you have already made together.

Norwegian authorities recommend that as many people as possible should be ready to manage for one week without services such as electricity, tap water, mobile networks or normal payment systems. The advice covers supplies, but also warmth, information, health needs and help from people around you. DSB: How to contribute to Norway's emergency preparedness.

Here is how to turn that broad advice into a plan your household can see, share and maintain.

Norway is better prepared, but many households still have gaps

Preparedness has improved. In a DSB survey published in February 2026, 62 percent said they had considered what to do during a prolonged power cut, and 54 percent had stored drinking water. Both figures had risen from the previous year. The survey used Norstat's web panel and included 1,016 interviews with a representative sample of Norwegian adults. It measures what people report, rather than testing what each home could manage in practice. DSB, 2026.

The power system itself is highly reliable. NVE reports delivery reliability of 99.982 percent in 2025. At the same time, the average customer experienced 3.7 interruptions and a total of 3 hours and 33 minutes without electricity that year. Major events such as extreme weather Amy are visible in the annual figures. NVE interruption statistics.

These numbers describe different things. National delivery reliability does not tell you when a local line, mobile network or water supply might fail. The household question is therefore practical: if several everyday systems stopped at once, what would you need first?

Begin with people, not products

A ready-made box cannot account for your home. Start by listing who the plan must work for:

• adults and children who live there
• anyone who regularly stays overnight
• pets
• mobility, communication or sensory needs
• food allergies and other dietary needs
• medicines or medical equipment used regularly

DSB advises keeping at least seven days' extra supply of medicines and medical equipment used regularly, and speaking to a doctor if more is needed. Individual circumstances differ, so plan this part with the relevant healthcare professional or pharmacy. DSB's self-preparedness questions.

Keep sensitive health information somewhere appropriate rather than in a general household list. What the shared plan needs is a clear responsibility: who checks that an agreed supply is available, and who needs help if routines change?

Water is the first calculation

DSB recommends storing around 20 litres of drinking water per person. That covers the minimum need for drinking, cooking and basic hygiene for one week. For a household of four, the calculation is 80 litres. Add the needs of pets and anyone whose situation requires more. DSB: Emergency water.

The official guidance explains how to clean containers, fill them with cold tap water and store them somewhere cool and dark. Follow those instructions rather than improvising a treatment method. Clean water in clean containers can remain safe for years, although taste may change over time.

For comparison, Sweden's civil contingencies authority recommends three to five litres per adult per day for drinking, cooking and basic hygiene. It also reminds households to include water for pets. MSB: Access to water during a crisis.

If 20 litres per person feels impossible in a small flat, begin with what you can store safely. DSB explicitly says that some preparation is better than none, and suggests several smaller containers when space is tight.

Store food you will actually eat

DSB recommends enough food for everyone at home for one week. Its advice is deliberately ordinary: keep a little extra of food you normally eat, include products that can be stored at room temperature, and consider how you would prepare them without electricity or tap water. Dietary needs must be part of the plan. DSB: Food to keep at home.

A useful emergency cupboard is part of the household's normal food flow:

1. Choose several meals made from familiar, shelf-stable ingredients.
2. Check how much water and heat they require.
3. Keep an extra quantity of foods you already use.
4. Eat the oldest items in normal meals and replace them.

This approach makes dates easier to manage and reduces the chance of discovering an untouched box of food years later. During a power cut, DSB advises using food with the shortest shelf life first, including refrigerated and frozen food.

Any alternative cooking or heating equipment must be suitable for the intended location and used according to official fire-safety guidance and the manufacturer's instructions. Buying equipment is only useful when the household knows how to use it safely.

Make separate plans for warmth, light and information

Many Norwegian homes depend on electricity for heating. DSB advises having warm clothes, blankets or sleeping bags, lights that work without mains power, and an arrangement for accommodation if you do not have an alternative source of heat. Equipment using gas, paraffin or combustion brings fire and ventilation risks, so use only approved equipment as directed.

Ask a concrete question: Which room would we keep warm, and where would we go if the home became too cold? Agreeing on a nearby family member, friend or neighbour before the outage is more useful than trying to make that decision in the dark.

Information also needs a backup. DSB includes a battery, wind-up or solar-powered DAB radio, charged power banks and a paper list of important phone numbers in its checklist. Norway uses NRK P1 as an emergency broadcast channel. DSB's one-week checklist.

Write down the numbers and addresses your household would struggle to recall. Keep the paper where everyone knows to look. A digital plan is useful while preparing, but internet access, mobile service and charged devices may not be available during the disruption itself.

Plan more than one way to pay

Norges Bank recommends having several payment options: multiple cards, accounts in more than one bank, and some cash in smaller denominations. The aim is to cope when one part of the payment system is unavailable. It does not prescribe one cash amount that fits every household. Norges Bank: Self-preparedness for payments.

Decide what is reasonable for your household and store cash securely. Do not record PINs, passwords or other payment credentials in a shared checklist.

Find a preparedness buddy

Preparedness is also a network. DSB suggests that family, friends and neighbours can complement each other with transport, practical help, shared cooking, communication, care and a warm place to stay. It calls this person a preparedness buddy. DSB: Shared self-preparedness.

Make the agreement specific. Who can collect a child if mobile networks are unstable? Who has an alternative source of heat? Who might need help carrying water? Does someone in the building understand information that another neighbour finds difficult to access?

The answer need not be one person for every situation. The value lies in having the conversation before help is needed.

Use Famn to prepare the plan together

Famn can organise the work that happens before a disruption. It should support the household plan, rather than become its only copy.

If the review also includes documenting valuable equipment or home contents, Holdings in Famn can keep items, photos, receipts and serial numbers in the household's shared Space.

Keep a shared supply overview

Create a storage list called “Emergency supplies”. Famn's storage lists support quantities, units, descriptions and expiry dates, and everyone in the household's shared Space can see and update the same list.

Use it for suitable household supplies such as water, shelf-stable food and hygiene items. Record the actual quantity and where it is kept. An expiry date can help with items that need rotating, while water storage must follow DSB's specific guidance.

Keep hazardous equipment and fuels according to official storage rules. A list records what you have; it does not make an unsafe storage place safe.

Turn gaps into one shopping list

Compare what the household needs with what is already available. Put only the gaps on a shared shopping list. Add the essentials gradually if buying everything at once strains the budget.

DSB says preparedness need not be expensive and that people around you can share some solutions. A careful plan is more useful than a costly box filled with things your household has never used.

Give the review a clear owner

Create a recurring chore such as “Review household preparedness”. In the description, list the small checks: count water, rotate food, charge power banks, test lights, update the paper contact sheet and speak to your preparedness buddy.

Assign the review to the adults who will do it and choose a schedule that suits your household. A spring and autumn check is a practical suggestion, not an interval prescribed by DSB. Share the admin work so one person does not silently become responsible for the whole plan.

Famn connects shared storage lists, shopping lists and recurring chores in one household Space. The core plan still comes from official guidance and the needs of the people in your home.

A 45-minute household preparedness review

Set aside one short session. This is an editorial way to work through the official advice, not a government programme.

1. List the people and needs. Include pets, dietary requirements, medicines, equipment and anyone who may need help.
2. Calculate water. Multiply the number of people by DSB's 20-litre recommendation, then add other needs.
3. Check food. Build several familiar meals from what you already have and identify what is missing.
4. Agree on warmth and light. Decide which room, equipment and alternative place you would use.
5. Choose information and payment backups. Prepare the radio, paper contacts and reasonable payment alternatives.
6. Call a preparedness buddy. Make one concrete agreement about how you can help each other.
7. Assign the remaining jobs. Put purchases on the shared list and give each follow-up a person and date.

Finish by placing the paper information where everyone can find it. Then arrange the first review.

You do not need a perfect emergency store by tonight. You need the first useful layer: some water, food that fits your household, a plan for warmth, and people who know what they are responsible for.

Sources and further reading

Sources checked on 7 September 2026. Official recommendations can change; review DSB's current advice before publication and during later household reviews. The 45-minute review and the suggested Famn setup are editorial applications of the guidance. The authorities cited have not evaluated Famn.

1. DSB (2026). Flere er forberedt på en krise. Results from a representative Norstat survey of 1,016 Norwegian adults conducted in late 2025.
2. DSB (current guidance). How to contribute to Norway's emergency preparedness and its one-week checklist.
3. DSB (current guidance). Emergency water, food to keep at home, frequently asked questions and shared self-preparedness.
4. NVE/RME (updated 4 June 2026). Interruption statistics. Norwegian electricity interruption and delivery-reliability figures through 2025.
5. Norges Bank (current guidance). Self-preparedness for payments.
6. Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency, MSB (reviewed 12 November 2024). Access to water during a crisis.