Civil unrest kit
Localised disorder, transport closures, restricted movement. A calm kit oriented around staying home, communicating, and not becoming part of someone else's problem.
Civil unrest in Europe is rare, usually local, and almost always short. The risk for a normal household is not violence — it is suddenly being unable to move freely, to reach a pharmacy, or to communicate while networks are degraded. The kit below assumes you are sheltering in place; the wizard adjusts for whether you are in a centre-city flat, near a likely flashpoint, or in a quieter area where the disruption is mostly logistical.
Why this kit, not a generic 72-hour list
A civil-unrest kit is closer to a "stay quietly at home for a week" kit than anything dramatic. Most additions over the baseline are about communication, documentation, and being able to function without leaving home for several days. The wizard asks about location and household so that, for instance, parents of young children see a different items list than a single adult.
What this kit usually contains
A representative slice of the kit a typical European household receives for this scenario. Quantities are tuned to your household and climate when you run the personaliser. Estimated total cost for the items below: €253.
| Item | Quantity | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|
| Trauma bleed kit (tourniquet + pressure dressing)critical A CAT-7 or SOF-T tourniquet, an Israeli bandage, and two haemostatic gauze packs. |
1 kit | €45 |
| Drinking water reservecritical Sealed potable water in cool, dark storage. Split across multiple containers — if one spoils, the rest survives. |
(adults + childrenCount) * 2 * days L | €12 |
| Shelf-stable no-cook food (3 days)critical Nuts, bars, tinned fish, peanut butter, dried fruit. Food that needs no heat, no fridge, and almost no prep. |
(adults * 2000 + childrenCount * 1500) * days kcal | €35 |
| Manual can openercritical A simple, reliable can opener that does not need power. Keep one in the kitchen and one in the evac bag. |
2 units | €6 |
| Basic first-aid kitcritical Adhesive dressings, sterile gauze, tape, gloves, scissors, tweezers, antiseptic, paracetamol/ibuprofen, ORS sachets. |
1 kit | €25 |
| Headlamp + spare batteriescritical A hands-free LED headlamp per person, plus enough spare batteries for one full set. |
adults + childrenCount units | €18 |
| Battery / hand-crank radiocritical A small radio that works without mains power and receives AM/FM and (where available) NOAA/EBU emergency bands. |
1 unit | €30 |
| Pepper spray (where legal) A small canister of pepper spray, carried in the evac bag, used only as a last-resort deterrent. |
1 unit | €12 |
| Walking-home shoes at work A pair of comfortable closed-toe shoes and a small day bag with water, snack, and a charger at your workplace. |
1 set | €30 |
| Window privacy covers / heavy curtains Heavy curtains or blackout blinds for street-facing windows; reduce visibility from outside. |
1 set | €40 |
| Pre-agreed communication backup channel A pre-agreed second messaging app (Signal, Wire) plus an alternative email account on a different provider. |
1 plan | €0 |
| Supplemental small-bill cash (evac) An additional 100-200 EUR/USD equivalent in small bills, kept separately from the home cash, in the evac bag. |
(adults + childrenCount) * 80 EUR |
Three habits this week
- Agree one offline meeting point with everyone you live with, and a second one if the first is unreachable. Write it down. Networks may be unreliable; agreed plans are not.
- Top up everything you take daily — medication, baby formula, pet food — to a 14-day reserve while shops are normal. It will be the calmest shop you visit all year.
- Identify two trusted local information sources (your municipality's official channel and one local journalist or community page) and bookmark both. Avoid algorithmic feeds during active events.
Personalise YOUR civil unrest kit — 90 seconds
The list above is the universal half. The wizard asks 6 short questions about your home, household and climate, then adjusts the items and quantities.
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