The Dutch noodpakket: what to store for 72 hours
The Dutch government's Denk vooruit campaign asks households to be able to look after themselves for the first 72 hours of an emergency. Store 3 litres of water per person per day, plus food that keeps, and check your noodpakket every six months.
What this means for your household
Set your household size to see the days, water and food the Netherlands advice adds up to.
Be able to look after your household for the first 72 hours.
Drinking water for 2 people. Official figure: 3 L per person per day.
Person-days of food to cover (2 × 3). Pick food that needs no fridge and little or no cooking.
What goes in a noodpakket
From the government's Denk vooruit checklist.
- Water: 3 L per person per day
- Food that keeps without a fridge
- Hygiene products
- A radio on batteries or that can be charged by hand
- A torch and spare batteries
- Copies of identity documents
- A list of important phone numbers on paper
- Spare keys
How the Netherlands warns you
- The sirens are tested at 12:00 on the first Monday of every month.
- If the siren sounds at any other time and keeps going, it is a real alarm: go inside, close windows and doors, and follow the news. Only go outside when you hear it is safe.
- NL-Alert sends messages to phones in the area. Test messages arrive around 12:00 on the first Monday of June and December, together with the siren test.
- In a long telecoms outage, NL-Alert and the TV emergency broadcasts probably won't work, which is why the government recommends a battery or wind-up radio.
Dutch-specific steps
- Read the booklet 'Bereid je voor op een noodsituatie', which was delivered to more than 8.5 million homes between November 2025 and January 2026.
- Agree with neighbours and family how you will check on each other. The government's campaign says preparing is something you do together.
- Check your noodpakket every six months and replace food and water that is close to expiry.
- Keep a battery or wind-up radio: it is how you will hear official news if phones and internet go down.
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.
- Build toward 7 days of water and food, even if the official minimum is 3. Outages often last longer than planned.
- 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
- 0900 8844 · Police, non-urgent
- First Monday, 12:00 · Siren test
Keep a paper copy: your phone may be flat when you need it.
Your kit, ready when the network isn't
HAVEN turns your noodpakket into a tracked kit with six-monthly expiry reminders, and its guides still work offline when NL-Alert and the internet don't.
- Coverage in days for your household
- Expiry reminders
- Offline guides and AI
- Free to start, no account needed
How Netherlands compares
Netherlands: 3 days. 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.
Netherlands preparedness FAQ
How many days of supplies does the Netherlands recommend?
72 hours. The Denk vooruit campaign asks households to be able to manage on their own for the first 72 hours of an emergency.
How much water goes in a noodpakket?
3 litres per person per day. For a family of four over 72 hours that is 36 litres.
When are the Dutch sirens tested?
At 12:00 on the first Monday of every month. A siren at any other time that keeps going is a real alarm.
What should I do when the siren goes off?
Go inside, close windows and doors, and follow the news on radio, TV or online. Only go outside when you hear it is safe.
How often should I check my noodpakket?
Every six months. Replace anything that is close to its expiry date.
Official sources
- Stel je noodpakket samen (Denk vooruit)
- Informatieboekje: bereid je voor op een noodsituatie (Denk vooruit)
- Wat moet ik doen als de sirene gaat? (Rijksoverheid)
- NL-Alert (Denk vooruit)
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.