Prepare for an emergency
Prepare and take responsibility for your own and your family’s safety in a crisis.
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What is a crisis?
A crisis can look different for different people. When we talk about societal crises, it refers to events that affect many people or important functions in society.
A crisis can, for example, threaten electricity supply, our health, or our freedom. If society does not function as it should, daily life can change quickly and many people may be affected.
Examples of consequences during a crisis
- Heating disappears when electricity is cut off.
- Water and sewage systems stop working.
- Mobile networks and the internet go down.
- Medicines become hard to access.
- Being prepared reduces worry and makes it easier to help each other.
- Transportation and public transport stop running.
- Bank cards and ATMs cannot be used.
- Food spoils and shops run out of supplies.
Your own responsibility
In a crisis, society’s resources are directed first to those who need them the most, such as older people, the sick, and children. Therefore, everyone who is able to take care of themselves needs to take responsibility for their own safety.
By preparing, you can create security for yourself and your loved ones. The most important things are to have water, food, heat, and access to reliable information.
Household and Mental preparedness
Thinking through how a crisis might affect you will help you be better prepared if something happens. Consider how you and your family would manage daily life during a prolonged power outage or other disruption in society. It’s natural to feel worried, but the most important thing is to know how to handle that worry – together we can achieve more through compassion and cooperation.
Household preparedness means being able to take care of yourself for at least one week without help from the authorities. Since much of daily life depends on electricity, a power outage can affect heating, water, food, payments, and communication. By thinking through how you would manage without these things, you can prepare yourself both mentally and practically.
Checklist for household preparedness
These are examples of useful items to have at home during a crisis:
- Radio with batteries, hand-crank, or solar power.
- Flashlight and headlamp with extra batteries.
- Water in bottles or containers.
- Food that lasts at room temperature and can be eaten without cooking.
- Camping stove with fuel (preferably used outdoors).
- Sleeping bags, blankets, and warm clothing.
- Matches, candles, and tealights.
- Kerosene lamp with fuel and good ventilation.
- Alternative heat source, such as a gas or wood stove.
- Home pharmacy with first aid and necessary medicines.
- Hygiene items such as wet wipes, hand sanitizer, diapers, and sanitary products.
- Extra batteries and charged power banks.
- Cash in case card payments do not work.
- Important phone numbers written down on paper.
The municipality’s work on emergency preparedness
All municipalities in Sweden are legally required to carry out a risk and vulnerability analysis once every electoral term. This analysis forms the foundation of the municipality’s emergency preparedness.
In Boden, the analysis is used together with preparedness planning to prevent, plan, and conduct exercises. The goal is to reduce the impact on people’s lives, health, property, and the environment in the event of a crisis.
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Contact
Citizen Service
E-mail: kommunen@boden.se
Phone: +46 921 620 00