Experts share essential survival advice and emergency preparation tips as UK faces what PM Keir Starmer calls the ‘greatest military threat of a generation’
Horrifying scenes have unfolded across the Middle East over the past 24 hours, with Iran and the US unleashing bombs and suicide drones. Devastating shockwaves swept through the Middle East on Saturday (February 28) following the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader and key figures from his brutal regime during the combined US-Israeli Operation Epic Fury.
The military strike aimed to effectively “decapitate” Iran’s leadership structure and bring about regime change. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard, Iran’s military forces, released an ominous statement lamenting the death of the nation’s ruler who had maintained an iron-fisted control since 1989.
The statement warned that a “regret-inducing punishment” was imminent.
Iran unleashed multiple drones and missiles against neighbouring nations that either host American military bases or maintain cordial relations with Washington DC. British nationals were advised to remain indoors and seek shelter after Iran targeted Dubai with attacks.
Hundreds of thousands of Britons reside in the emirate, reports the Mirror. Amidst concurrent tensions with Russia and the West, NATO has recently advised Britons to prepare for warfare similar to what “our grandparents saw”.
Many will be questioning what global conflict might actually resemble in modern-day Britain. PM Keir Starmer has previously cautioned that we’re facing the “greatest military threat of a generation”.
However, he refrained from adopting the measures taken by other countries such as France, Norway and Finland, which have recently distributed handbooks on wartime survival – advising citizens to stockpile food and water provisions in preparation for a potential nuclear attack. The Mirror approached Doomsday preppers, international conflict experts and national security specialists to gain some insight, whilst also reviewing government guidance that other European countries have delivered to their citizens’ doorsteps.
Survival manuals
Whilst many other countries have been circulating conflict pamphlets, a leading authority has urged the UK government to follow suit. During the past year, nations including Sweden, Finland and Norway began issuing handbooks advising residents to hoard provisions in case of a possible nuclear strike.
An incredible five million copies of the 32-page Swedish manual, titled If Crisis or War Comes, were posted to households across the country. The document provided detailed instructions on accumulating necessities and identifying secure locations should conflict erupt.
Families have been urged to stockpile food and water supplies in preparation for potential conflict. In a similar vein, Finland has launched a dedicated government portal detailing how its citizens should prepare for various emergencies.
“An insecure world requires preparedness. The military threat to Sweden has increased and we must prepare for the worst – an armed attack,” the Swedish publication states in its introductory section.
Professor Anthony Glees, a security and defence expert and lecturer at the University of Buckingham, is a strong advocate for Westminster to follow suit by publishing “a short, decently written booklet” outlining potential scenarios to help Britons prepare for warfare. He told The Mirror: “It should stress at the outset, of course, that the whole of our national defence strategy is about deterrence, that our foreign policy is defensive not offensive and that if we become as strong as we now want to be, thanks to Starmer and his European colleagues and thanks (yes! ) to the goading from president Trump, then World War Three can surely be averted.”
72-hour survival kit
It’s not just individual countries offering advice on how to cope with conflict – the European Union has also issued its own guidelines. The bloc has encouraged all residents across its 27 member states to prepare for 72 hours of self-reliance, suggesting people gather essentials such as food supplies, bottled water, torches, matches, energy bars, and identification documents kept in a waterproof pouch.
This measure, part of a broader “preparedness strategy”, was officially introduced by EU crisis management commissioner Hadja Lahbib last year. “Today’s threats facing Europe are more complex than ever, and they are all interconnected,” Ms Lahbib warned.
She continued to note that “knowing what to do in case of danger, gaming out different scenarios, that’s also a way to prevent people from panicking”, referencing how supermarket shelves were cleared of toilet roll during the initial stages of the pandemic. Ms Lahbib further stressed the need for the EU to create a “strategic reserve” and stockpile other crucial resources – including firefighting aircraft; medical, energy, and transport equipment; and specialist gear to handle chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear threats.
Meanwhile, experienced Doomsday preppers who have spent years establishing the foundations for survival told Vice that they rely on 15 crucial items they claim will sustain you for a year in an underground shelter – or through an exceptionally dire month on the surface. These comprise: stockpiled water (a minimum of one gallon per person daily), portable filtration systems, emergency rations, fire-ignition equipment, a medical kit, thermal clothing and insulation materials, a tent or tarpaulin for emergency accommodation, a multi-tool or survival blade, illumination sources such as a torch or head lamp with spare batteries, directional equipment like a compass and paper maps, portable charging devices, communication apparatus such as radios, sanitation supplies, vital identification papers and cash.
How to safeguard yourself at home during an assault
Dr Arnab Basu, CEO of Kromek Group plc, told the Mirror: “If a nuclear strike were launched on a UK city, residents would likely be given some warning. For those outside the immediate blast zone, the priority is to get to shelter quickly, ideally the most central part of a building. Seal windows and doors with tape to reduce radioactive dust entering.
“Fill every possible container with water, such as sinks and bathtubs, as water supplies are likely to be contaminated after the explosion.” Whilst many might be tempted to dash towards the closest apparent safe refuge, Dr Basu – who has previously penned a White Paper on “rethinking our readiness for rapid response radiation monitoring in the face of nuclear incidents” – cautioned this could prove a fatal error.
He stressed: “For the next two to three days, remain indoors, preferably in the most central part of your shelter, away from exterior walls and windows. Survival depends less on fleeing and more on shielding yourself from fallout, limiting exposure and relying on stored resources until immediate radiation levels begin to fall.”
Key advice
Meanwhile, experienced Doomsday prepper Dan Goss, 33, from Liverpool, maintained that establishing a robust community network is just as vital as stockpiling provisions. “Having a bunker mentality in a disaster won’t save you when your child gets ill and you need help – you need to be able to be part of the community and help rebuild it,” he said wisely.
He continued: “US preppers are cowboys who think when the s**t hits the fan, you lock your door, load your gun, and anybody that comes up the drive gets shot. You can’t do that in the UK because it just doesn’t fit our culture and our geography.
“How am I going to bunker up in a terraced house? Or flee to the pristine wilderness?
“Are all 60 million of us going to descend on the Forest of Dean and eat wild garlic? Rather, forging bonds with those living nearby proves essential.”
Added: “Disaster studies of the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina found that spontaneously organised civilian groups sprang up. It’s human instinct to want to help.
“I look at my own preparedness by getting to know my neighbours who are keen vegetable gardeners.” Another catastrophe study Dan cites examined India after a series of earthquakes. “It found that the people most likely to survive afterwards when resources were scarce were the ones the strongest social networks – those turned up at all the weddings and funerals.”
Originally, Dan viewed himself as more of a hunter-gatherer type – making bows and arrows whilst searching for wild food. “Turns out I’m better at vegetable gardening,” he admitted. He said: “My wife and I have an allotment and we grow vegetables and herbs.
“There’s only so much you can grow in a city, it just supplements our diet.” Yet even cultivating salad greens on a balcony could prove invaluable.
Gardening stands out as perhaps the most crucial ability to develop, whilst Dan also highlights the importance of conflict resolution skills. “Being able to de-escalate problems – like stopping neighbours from stabbing each other over a tin of beans will be vital.”
Taking first aid and wilderness survival courses would also be worthwhile, whilst learning to knit, crochet and stitch could prove essential when fashioning clothing from rabbit hides. “Or mending backpacks,” Dan suggested more practically.
The survival specialist also champions learning alternative ways of sustaining yourself from nature. “Foraging won’t stave off starvation,” he explained. “But it will prevent things like vitamin deficiency.
“I prefer plant foraging in blackberry bushes, tree nuts, leaves and roots rather than mushrooms, which aren’t very nutritious.” Dan recommends acquiring a copy of The Forager’s Calendar by John Wright.
He said: “It’s remarkable how much there is out there to eat. In my local park there’s three-cornered leek, lemon mint, barberry and wild garlic, whilst roadside woodlands are teeming with dandelions, stinging nettle, thistle stalks and fiddlehead ferns.”
Safest locations
Cornwall
Weymouth
Folkestone
Dover
Margate
Clacton-on-Sea
Felixstowe
Brixworth
Bideford
Aberystwyth
Skegness
Isle of Anglesey
Barrow in Furness
Lancaster
Whitby
Carlisle
Dumfries
Berwick-upon-Tweed
Inverness
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