Estonia's emergency supplies: be ready for a week
Estonia's Rescue Board recommends keeping at least a week's supply of essentials, including food, water and medicine. That is about 21 litres of drinking water per person. Half of your emergency food should be edible without cooking or heating.
What this means for your household
Set your household size to see the days, water and food the Estonia advice adds up to.
Keep one week of food, water, medicine and cash at home.
Drinking water for 2 people. Official figure: At least 2 L for drinking plus about 1 L for cooking, per person per day.
Person-days of food to cover (2 × 7). Pick food that needs no fridge and little or no cooking.
Some official pages found were older versions. Check olevalmis.ee for the current list.
What the official list includes
From kriis.ee and the Rescue Board's Ole Valmis (Be Prepared) guide.
- About 21 L of drinking water per person
- Canned and instant foods, half of them edible without cooking or heating
- Medicines you need regularly
- A battery radio
- A flashlight with spare batteries
- A power bank
- Candles and matches
- A small camping stove
- First aid supplies
- Cash
How Estonia warns you
- EE-ALARM is the state public warning system. Messages come from 'EE-ALARM', or from +372 5950 0000 on foreign SIM cards.
- The siren warning is a one-minute rising and falling tone, repeated at least three times with 30-second pauses.
- If you hear the sirens, get indoors immediately, away from windows, and only then look for information.
- To check a warning and its instructions, call the state helpline 1247 (+372 600 1247 from abroad).
Estonia-specific steps
- Read the Ole Valmis guide. The government sent crisis guides to nearly 600,000 Estonian homes.
- Follow official channels in a crisis. The Rescue Board's campaign 'In a crisis, listen to the state' warns against rumours.
- Know the air threat steps on olevalmis.ee: where to shelter at home and what to do if you are outside.
- Keep supplies for everyone in the household, including children, older relatives and pets.
Go beyond the minimum: what we recommend
Official lists cover the basics. These are the gaps we see most often when an emergency lasts longer than expected.
- Rotate a long supply: eat the oldest first and replace it, so a week or more of food and water stays in date.
- Keep paper and digital copies of IDs, insurance and prescriptions, so you can prove who you are and get medicines.
- Write the expiry date on everything and check the kit every 6 months, so it doesn't quietly go out of date.
- Plan for phone power: a charged power bank, plus a solar panel or car charger for longer outages.
- Save offline maps of your area and agree a meeting point, in case the mobile network is down.
- An offline survival guide on your phone: HAVEN tracks your kit and expiry dates and works with no signal.Download HAVEN free
Numbers to write down
- 112 · Emergency services
- 1247 · State helpline (24/7)
- +372 600 1247 · From abroad
Keep a paper copy: your phone may be flat when you need it.
Your kit, ready when the network isn't
HAVEN tracks your week of supplies and medicines with expiry reminders, and keeps offline guides on your phone for when the power and network are down.
- Coverage in days for your household
- Expiry reminders
- Offline guides and AI
- Free to start, no account needed
How Estonia compares
Estonia: 1 week. Across the 25 governments we checked, most ask for 3 days, a growing group asks for a week, and Austria asks for the most, at 10 to 14 days. See every country's advice.
Estonia preparedness FAQ
How many days of supplies does Estonia recommend?
At least one week of essentials, including food, water and medicine.
How much water should I store in Estonia?
About 21 litres of drinking water per person, which is enough for a week.
What is EE-ALARM?
Estonia's state public warning system. Alerts arrive on your phone from 'EE-ALARM', or from +372 5950 0000 if you use a foreign SIM card.
What does the siren warning sound like?
A one-minute rising and falling tone, repeated at least three times with 30-second pauses. Go indoors immediately, away from windows, then look for information.
How can I check whether a warning is real?
Call the state helpline 1247 (+372 600 1247 from abroad). It is staffed around the clock.
Official sources
- How can I prepare for possible crises myself? (kriis.ee)
- Public warning system EE-ALARM (olevalmis.ee)
- Air threat: steps for informed action (olevalmis.ee)
- Be Prepared! (Estonian Rescue Board, PDF)
This page summarises official advice and is not a substitute for it. Always follow the instructions of your local emergency services. Last checked 2 November 2026.