What to do in the first three days of a catastrophic ‘Black Sky event’

Detailed summary

No 10 has published 'Be Ready' advice to stockpile three days' supplies, but what should you do when a blackout strikes?

Parents are taking their children to school and commuters are travelling to work, all wrapping up warm against the chill. And shortly after 8.30am, Britain’s lights go out.

Minutes later, it becomes apparent it is not just the country’s electricity networks that have been cut. In large parts of the country, mobile phone signals also disappear.

Water pumping stations grind to a halt, cutting off supplies to homes, hospitals and businesses across Britain, while major train lines are disrupted, leaving passengers stranded on board.

At first, the cold weather is suspected as causing the national power cut.

But in Whitehall, it soon becomes clear that a widespread and multi-layered cyber attack by a hostile state is wreaking havoc on Britain’s critical national infrastructure.

The Government’s “Be Ready” messaging – launched months earlier, asking people to stockpile enough bottled water and tinned food for three days – suddenly becomes reality.

Those who listened to “Be Ready” advice already have enough stockpiled to keep them going through the start of the power cut.

The difficulty comes for those who didn’t. Cash machines and card payment devices at supermarket checkouts stop working, forcing ordinary people to rely only on what they have at home.

People first need to work out what they need for their households, then find cash to buy essentials from the supermarkets that remain open.

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