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Preparing for incidents and crises

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General instructions on preparedness, home emergency supplies and on what to do in different situations

Basic knowledge and skills help you cope with many situations

There are instructions for various situations that can help you improve your preparedness.

However, basic knowledge and skills help you cope with many situations. For example, home emergency supplies form an excellent basis for preparing for many situations.

You will cope with many situations when you:

Stay calm.
Think about what the situation involves and which instructions you know are related to it. How does the situation affect you, your loved ones and the people local to you?
Follow official communications and emergency warnings.
Follow the instructions.
List the most important things to do in the situation and take action.
Help others to the best of your ability.

Updated: 2/9/2025

There are many ways to prepare

We all have different starting points for preparedness. However, everyone should prepare for incidents and crises in some way.

Preparedness includes

home emergency supplies which means water, food and necessary supplies
information about risks and threats, how to prevent them and how to prepare for them
an ability to act, when faced with an abnormal situation
functional capacity, including both physical and mental capacity
a sense of community, which means trust and connection with other people and helping others.

Consider how you can best increase your ability to cope with unusual situations.

Updated: 2/9/2025

Get home emergency supplies for at least three days

Home emergency supplies form an excellent basis for preparing for many situations.

Home emergency supplies include water, food, medicines and other essential supplies. It is not a separate storage but should instead contain products you normally use.

The recommendation is to reserve enough supplies to last you and other members of your household for at least 3 days. However, even a small set of home emergency supplies will help you even if you cannot get everything at once.

It is important to get the supplies when daily life is going on as usual. This will reduce the need to get the supplies when there is an incident and the demand for the supplies may spike.

Home emergency supplies will also help you if you are unable to get to the shops for some ordinary reason, such as falling ill.

At home, check that you have

bottled water and clean containers with lids for storing water
ready-to-eat and easy-to-cook foods that you use in your regular everyday life
radio operating on batteries or otherwise without mains electricity
a flashlight or some other lam operating on batteries or otherwise without mains power
a charged backup power supply
essential medicines that last you a little longer
iodine tablets if there is someone in your household in the target group for the iodine recommendation (people not over 40 years old, pregnant or breastfeeding)
hygiene supplies that allow you to stay clean without water
a small amount of cash
duct tape for sealing windows and vents
also enough food and water for your pets.

You should also get enough information and skills to use the supplies at home in an extraordinary situation and to cope independently.

Instructions in Swedish:

During incidents, the feelings of distress and fear you may experience may lead to some excesses. For example, you may feel like getting excessive quantities of tinned food, toilet paper or other supplies, i.e. start hoarding.

If you need to get more home emergency supplies during an incident, it is a good idea to do so in moderation. Hoarding disturbs the operations of grocery shops and causes problems in the entire production chain of supplies. Making sure that others in need also get the supplies is a good reason to keep your own purchases in check.

The recommendation on home emergency supplies is a recommendation prepared by authorities and NGOs to help households prepare for incidents.

According to the recommendation, households should be prepared to cope independently for at least 72 hours, or three days, in the event of an incident. The three-day period gives the authorities time to act to get the situation under control and help the most vulnerable groups.

Having home emergency supplies for a longer time is also a good idea if this is possible for you.

Test how long you could cope with your home emergency food supplies at the 72 hours website.Opens in a new window.

Updated: 30/1/2026

Information on the services is not available in your chosen language. Change the language of the site to receive information on services in other languages.

Pay attention to various limitations of an individual functional capacity in preparedness

Functional capacity refers to a person’s physical, psychological, cognitive and social capabilities for coping with everyday activities.

Functional capacity may decrease due to aspects such as ageing, injury or illness.

For everyone, preparedness includes consideration of your own and your loved ones’ situations and possibilities, even though the instructions for home emergency supplies and operating instructions for different situations apply to all.

Use the following questions to think about which arrangements you need for preparedness:

How will the incidents specifically affect your everyday life?
What restrictions should be taken into account?
What can you do yourself and where do you need help from others in various situations?
Who could help you the quickest if something happened?
Should you improve your safety net?

It is a good idea to think about the difficulties you may face in coping with incidents and crises in advance, especially if several of the following factors could affect your coping:

A functional limitation, such as a disability or long-term illness, that complicates day-to-day activities.
Need for an assistant and/or electronic aids
Native language other than Finnish, Swedish or Sámi
Illiteracy or digital illiteracy
Living alone
Minor children in the family
Lack of social networks

Special arrangements may not be necessary if you only have one of the aspects. It is good to remember that everyone’s situation is individual.

Follow these steps:

Consider the special needs of your loved ones as part of your own preparedness.
Discuss and ask what kind of support or help the person wants.
Help them keep their home safe.
Help them with preparedness, such as planning how to act.

If your loved one needs support, it is a good idea to draw up an individual preparedness plan for them.

Offer help to those who need it when something extraordinary happens.

A summary of this guide in Easy Finnish and Swedish:

Varaudu oikein - selkosuomi (PDF, 549.63 kB)Opens in a new window.

Det är viktigt att vara förberedd - selkoruotsi (PDF, 461.39 kB)Opens in a new window.

72hours.fi website in Easy Finnish and SwedishOpens in a new window.

Papunet website offers easy-read safety instructions in Finnish with imagesOpens in a new window. on the following topics:

Digital security
First aid, traffic safety and fire safety
Power cuts
Bullying, racism and crime
Dealing with distressing situations

Easy-read information on preparedness and other safety issues:

Updated: 30/10/2025

How the authorities warn about emergencies

An emergency warning is the most important way to warn people and give them instructions in the event of danger. An emergency warning is transmitted on the radio, the 112 Suomi application, websites and, if necessary, television.

A public warning signal is a sound used for warning people of an imminent danger outdoors. It is a rising and falling sound that lasts for one minute. If you hear the public warning signal, go indoors immediately.

Early warnings of severe weather phenomena issued by the Finnish Meteorological Institute increase safety by enabling proactive preparedness, which helps reduce damage and disruption in everyday life.

Updated: 2/9/2025

How to seek shelter indoors

Seeking shelter indoors is the most common way of protecting yourself from a hazard coming from outside. This means that you will move indoors, for example, if toxic smoke, chemicals or radioactive substances are spread in the air.

The authorities warn the population of the threat with an emergency warning and a general alarm sign.

How to prepare to seek shelter indoors:

Learn the steps of seeking shelter indoors.
Learn how to switch off ventilation at home, at work and in other buildings you often use, such as your summer cottage.
Discuss the necessary steps with your family members.

Instructions on practising seeking shelter indoors - 72tuntia.fiOpens in a new window.

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Checklist for preparing for incidents and crises

General instructions on preparedness, home emergency supplies and on what to do in different situations

Basic knowledge and skills help you cope with many situations

There are many ways to prepare

Get home emergency supplies for at least three days

Home emergency supplies checklist

Do not lose your head when getting the supplies in case of an incident

What is the recommendation on home emergency supplies based on?

Ask for advice

Pay attention to various limitations of an individual functional capacity in preparedness

Which aspects can affect one’s functional capacity?

How can I help a person with disabilities prepare?

Easy-read materials on preparing for and acting in different situations

How the authorities warn about emergencies

How to seek shelter indoors

Prepare to seek shelter indoors

How to seek shelter indoors

Are you satisfied with the content on this page?