Poland and the Baltics' Civil Defence Guides Compared

Quick answer: Poland and the three Baltic states have all given households printed guides on preparing for emergencies, including war. Poland’s 2025 Poradnik bezpieczeństwa (Safety Guide) asks for home supplies for at least 3 days, with at least 3 litres of water per person per day. Lithuania and Latvia plan around the first 72 hours, with Latvia suggesting 3 to 7 days of supplies. Estonia asks households to manage for at least seven days.

These countries sit on NATO’s and the EU’s eastern edge, so their guides are frank about air raids, evacuation and sirens. But most of the advice is the same as for a storm or a long power cut. Here is what each one says, side by side.

The four guides at a glance

Country	Guide	Published by	Date	Self-sufficiency period	Water guidance
Poland	Poradnik bezpieczeństwa (Safety Guide)	Ministry of National Defence, Ministry of the Interior and Administration, Government Security Centre (RCB)	Presented 28 August 2025; posted to households from December 2025	At least 3 days	At least 3 litres per person per day
Lithuania	If War or Crisis Comes: What Should I Do	Ministry of National Defence, with the Lithuanian Armed Forces and its Mobilisation and Civil Resistance Department	2024	The first three days	About 9–12 litres per adult for 3 days
Latvia	What to Do in Case of a Crisis (updated edition)	Ministry of Defence	First issued June 2020; updated 2024	The first 72 hours; stock 3–7 days	About 3 litres per adult per day (4 in hot weather)
Estonia	Be Prepared! What to Do in a Crisis Situation	Rescue Board	Updated 2022, sent to every household; new hazard guide 2024	At least 7 days	3 litres per person per day

Poland: the 2025 Safety Guide

On 28 August 2025, Defence Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz and Interior Minister Marcin Kierwiński presented the Poradnik bezpieczeństwa in Warsaw, with the deputy head of the Government Security Centre. It is a joint publication of the defence and interior ministries and the RCB.

The guide runs to more than 40 pages. It covers floods, fires, long blackouts, cyber threats and disinformation, terrorism, air attacks, chemical and nuclear hazards, first aid and evacuation. It also includes a family crisis plan to fill in.

Printed copies went out to Poland’s roughly 17 million households. Notes from Poland reported in January 2026 that distribution began in December 2025 and was due to finish by 31 January 2026. The guide is also online at gov.pl/poradnikbezpieczenstwa, in Braille, and in other languages.

What Poland asks households to stock

The guide’s home-supplies section is headed “home supplies for a minimum of 3 days”. It lists:

Food and drink: at least 3 litres of water per person per day, and ready-to-eat food
First aid kit: regular medicines, painkillers, anti-inflammatories, anti-diarrhoea and anti-nausea tablets, dressings, gloves, antiseptic, a tourniquet, thermometer, scissors, FFP3 masks and a thermal blanket
Hygiene: toilet paper, wet wipes, period products, nappies, disinfectant, rubbish bags and a bucket with a lid
Light and communication: battery or wind-up torch and radio, charged phone and power bank, cables and batteries, candles and a lighter
Warmth: blankets, sleeping bags and warm clothes, plus a heat source that does not need electricity
Cash in different denominations, and tools such as tape and sealing film

It also asks that every member of the household, even children, has an evacuation backpack. The guide closes with ten safety rules. They include learning the siren signals: a three-minute wavering tone means an alert, and a three-minute steady tone means it is over.

Lithuania: three days, by the book

Lithuania’s Ministry of National Defence published If War or Crisis Comes: What Should I Do in 2024 as a publication for all residents. It explains how to prepare for and get through the first three days of a crisis, until the authorities can restore essential services or bring help.

Its home list includes a first aid kit, cash in smaller notes, power banks, a multi-tool, torches, matches, a gas camping stove, a battery radio, a fire extinguisher, warm blankets and sleeping bags. It says an adult needs about 9–12 litres of water for three days for food and hygiene, and suggests a water filter or purification tablets.

The guide’s emergency bag has a “mandatory” core: food and water for three days, a water filter, first aid kit, sleeping bag or heavy blanket, essential clothing, and documents and cash.

Lithuania’s official LT72.lt website carries emergency information and maps of shelters. In June 2026, LRT reported a survey finding that only 22% of Lithuanians knew exactly where their nearest shelter was.

Latvia: 72 hours, ideally a week

Latvia’s Ministry of Defence first issued What to Do in Case of a Crisis in June 2020 and published an updated edition in 2024. It is built around helping families manage the first 72 hours, or three days, until state services and help return.

Its key advice is to stock food, water and essentials for at least 3 to 7 days. Adults need about 3 litres of drinking water a day, or 4 in hot weather. The guide also suggests 10–12 litres a day of water for washing, or as your family needs. It recommends keeping a week’s worth of cash for the whole family in 5, 10 and 20 euro notes, and a printed road map.

Estonia: plan for a full week

Estonia asks the most of the four. The Rescue Board’s updated guide Be Prepared! What to Do in a Crisis Situation was sent to every household. It says the state will be able to reach everyone within seven days in a crisis, so households should be ready to look after themselves for at least a week.

The Rescue Board’s supply checklist asks for 3 litres of drinking water per person per day, with half the food stock ready to eat. It also lists cash for a week, a battery radio, lighting, medicines, a power bank, heating fuel and pet food.

In spring 2024 the Rescue Board sent a new hazard information guide to about 581,000 homes. It covers sirens, sheltering, evacuation bags and home supplies. In its 2025 survey, 45% of residents said they could cope for seven days or more if shops closed, and 64% had at least a week’s food.

What this means for you, wherever you live

The four guides differ on the number of days, but they agree on nearly everything else:

Water first, at about 3 litres per person per day. For a week, that is 21 litres (about 5.5 US gallons) per person. See how much water to store.
A grab bag per person, not just one per home.
Cash in small notes, because cards and cash machines may fail.
Know your warning signals and where your nearest shelter is.
Write a family plan and keep it on paper.

If your country asks for 72 hours, a 72-hour emergency kit is the right start. If you can, work towards a week, as Estonia does. Our 30-day food stockpile guide shows how to grow from there. For the bigger picture, read why governments say stockpile now.

See how many days your household would last with our free calculator, and which supplies would run out first.

Your checklist

Whatever your guide says, you can start today with what you already have. Follow your national and local authorities for the advice that applies where you live.

Sources & further reading

Every fact in this post was checked against the sources listed above on 1 November 2026. Advice changes: always follow your local authorities.