Sweden's home preparedness: manage on your own for a week
Sweden's Civil Defence and Resilience Agency (MCF, formerly MSB) asks every household to cope on its own for at least a week. Plan on 3 to 5 litres of water per adult per day for drinking, cooking and basic hygiene. The brochure 'In case of crisis or war' was last sent to every household in November 2024.
What this means for your household
Set your household size to see the days, water and food the Sweden advice adds up to.
Be able to manage on your own for at least a week.
Drinking water for 2 people. Official figure: 3 to 5 L per adult per day for drinking, cooking and basic hygiene.
Person-days of food to cover (2 × 7). Pick food that needs no fridge and little or no cooking.
What the brochure asks you to cover
The official brochure groups home preparedness into four needs. Prepare for electricity, water and other services not reaching everyone at once.
- Water: 3 to 5 L per adult per day, plus containers to fetch and store water
- Food: a week of food that keeps, can be eaten cold or cooked simply
- Heat: a way to stay warm at home if the power and heating fail
- Communication: a battery, solar or wind-up radio to receive information
- Cash and essential medicines, in case payments and pharmacies are disrupted
How Sweden warns you
- The outdoor warning signal 'Hesa Fredrik' means an Important Public Announcement (VMA). The warning is 7 seconds on and 14 seconds off, for at least two minutes.
- When you hear it, go indoors, close doors, windows and ventilation, and listen to Sveriges Radio P4 for information.
- The signal is tested at 15:00 on the first non-holiday Monday of March, June, September and December. The all-clear, a 30-second tone, follows at 15:05.
- SE-Alert is Sweden's new phone alert, which complements the sirens. Its first tests ran in 2026.
Sweden-specific steps
- Read 'In case of crisis or war'. It is available to download or listen to in many languages from MCF.
- Plan to keep warm without electricity: gather blankets and sleeping bags and choose one room to heat.
- Expect help to reach those who need it most first. The brochure says not everything will be available to everyone at the same time.
- Know where your nearest shelter is. MCF publishes shelter locations.
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
- 113 13 · Information about accidents and crises
- Sveriges Radio P4 · Radio during a VMA
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 by expiry date and shows how many days you can cover, with offline guides for heat, water and communication when the power is out.
- Coverage in days for your household
- Expiry reminders
- Offline guides and AI
- Free to start, no account needed
How Sweden compares
Sweden: 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.
Sweden preparedness FAQ
How many days of supplies does Sweden recommend?
At least one week. The MCF asks every household to be able to manage on its own for a week during a crisis or war.
How much water should I store in Sweden?
3 to 5 litres per adult per day for drinking, cooking and basic hygiene. For one adult over a week that is 21 to 35 litres.
What should I do when I hear Hesa Fredrik?
Go indoors, close doors, windows and ventilation, and listen to Sveriges Radio P4. Outside the scheduled quarterly tests, it is a real warning.
When is Hesa Fredrik tested?
At 15:00 on the first non-holiday Monday of March, June, September and December, followed by the all-clear at 15:05.
What is 'In case of crisis or war'?
The official Swedish preparedness brochure (Om krisen eller kriget kommer). It was last sent to every household in November 2024 and covers water, food, heat, communication and warnings.
Official sources
- Basics of home preparedness (MCF)
- Download or order the brochure In case of crisis or war (MCF)
- Utomhusvarning, Hesa Fredrik (MCF)
- Viktigt meddelande till allmänheten, VMA (Krisinformation.se)
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.