Guides
Verified step-by-step guides for the most important preparedness tasks.
Interactive tools
Emergency supply calculator
Calculate water and food quantities for your household – by people, children and days.
Open toolChecklist generator
Create a personal emergency checklist tailored to your situation.
Open toolBuild an emergency supply in one weekend
Step by step to a one-week supply – what really belongs in the cupboard and how to rotate it.
Open guideBehaviour in siren alarm
General alarm or water alarm? What the siren tones mean and the first steps.
Open guideMake drinking water safe
Boil, filter, disinfect – drink safely in an emergency.
Open guideGet through a power outage
Light, warmth, cooking and information without the grid – for 72 hours.
Open guideUse iodine tablets correctly
Who has them, when they work and why only on instruction.
Open guide72-hour plan for the family
Roles, meeting points and a plan that even children understand.
Open guidePack an emergency bag (go-bag)
What belongs in the bag when you have to leave the house in 5 minutes.
Open guideBuild up a cash reserve
Why cash is important in an emergency – and how much makes sense.
Open guideCaring for pets in an emergency
Supplies, transport and an emergency plan for dogs, cats & co. too.
Open guideShelter during storms & severe weather
Before, during and after hurricane-force gusts, hail and thunderstorms, get through safely: understand warning levels and know when to stay indoors.
Open guideShelter from flooding
Read warning levels correctly, avoid cellars and underground car parks in time and never through flooded water – before, during and after the event.
Open guideProtection in earthquakes
Drop, Cover, Hold On – and make your home earthquake-safe.
Open guideProtection from avalanches & landslides
Read the avalanche bulletin, plan tours and respect closures.
Open guideProtection in heat & drought
Drink, cool down, avoid the midday heat – and look after vulnerable people.
Open guideProtection in a pandemic
Supplies, hygiene and vaccination – stay prepared for months.
Open guideProtection in a gas leak
If you smell gas, only one rule applies: no ignition source, get out, report it.
Open guideProtection in a wildfire
Heed danger levels and fire bans – and report fires early.
Open guideProtection in a chemical accident
On a chemical alarm: get inside, close the windows, listen to the radio.
Open guideProtection in a dam failure
Recognise the water alarm and flee immediately to higher ground.
Open guideProtection in a cyberattack
Backups, two-factor and some cash – become digitally resilient.
Open guideProtection in terror & violence
The simple principle in an emergency: Run – Hide – Tell.
Open guideProtection in a solar storm
Preparedness as for a power outage – plus awareness of GPS and radio disruptions.
Open guideMRE, emergency rations & freeze-dried
Ready-made food comparison – what needs no cooking and water and how long it keeps.
Open guideSurvival times without water & food
How long humans survive without water and food – and why water comes first.
Open guideProtection Shelters in Switzerland: Entitlement, Assignment, Equipment
Every person in Switzerland has a right to a protected place. Who builds, who pays, how you find your assigned place, and when you really need to use the shelter.
Open guideEmergency Power & Solar for Crises
Power station, solar panel, generator, or power bank – how to calculate your electricity needs correctly and safely bridge a power outage.
Open guideAssembling a home medicine cabinet: contents, storage, stock
Bandaging materials, the right medicines, and supplies that remain complete and shelf-stable in an emergency – how to assemble and maintain a home medicine cabinet.
Open guideCooking & heating without power
How to cook safely and keep a room warm during a power outage – and why a grill, a portable gas stove and a patio heater are life-threatening indoors.
Open guideEmergency preparedness for people with special needs
Anyone who depends on long-term medication, medicines requiring refrigeration, power-dependent devices or assistive devices needs tailored emergency preparedness – this guide shows what seniors, the chronically ill, people with disabilities, pregnant women and families with infants look out for.
Open guideFood preservation: canning, fermentation & storage
Canning, fermenting, drying, vacuum sealing, freezing: this is how you preserve food yourself and supplement your emergency supply – without poisoning yourself with botulism, the most dangerous mistake.
Open guideProtection in Emergencies: How to React
Whether severe weather, chemical accident or power outage: the first step is always the same. Recognise the alarm, inform yourself via radio and Alertswiss, follow the authorities' instructions. This overview leads you to the 13 hazard-specific guides.
Open guideGetting around in an emergency: which method when?
Car, bike, on foot or even horse? The best transport method in a crisis depends on the scenario – and in a traffic jam, the car is often the worst choice. Honest pro and con analysis with real figures.
Open guideKeeping occupied in a crisis: structure and stability without power
When a long power outage knocks out screens – that's when daily routine and analogue activities provide stability. How to keep yourself, children and elderly meaningfully occupied, and how to prepare a simple activity set.
Open guideHygiene & emergency toilet without running water
If water or power fails, hygiene becomes a health risk within days. Keep hands, body and toilet clean – and build a low-odour emergency toilet in minutes.
Open guideStaying warm without heating
How to stay warm without heating in winter during a power outage – keep one room warm, insulate your body, and why substitute heaters with open flame indoors are deadly.
Open guideSecure important documents
ID cards, insurance policies, bank documents: during a fire, flood or evacuation, there is often little time. How to prepare your most important documents, keep them dry and accessible, and back them up digitally.
Open guideCreate a family emergency plan: template & guide
Who picks up the kids, where do you meet, how do you contact each other if the mobile network is down? A written family emergency plan clarifies this beforehand – create it once, print it, practise it yearly.
Open guideHow a Crisis Management Team Works – and Why Aid Takes Time to Become Effective
Official aid requires time in an emergency: How Swiss executive bodies make decisions – and why emergency supplies bridge the first days.
Open guideGold & Precious Metals as Crisis Reserve: Buy, Store, Premium
In Switzerland, investment gold is VAT-free on purchase, while silver, platinum and palladium cost 8.1% VAT. What this means for purchasing, storage and premium – frankly and without promises of returns.
Open guideDisinformation — SIFT method, lateral reading, and deepfakes
False information spreads faster when it triggers emotions. With the SIFT method, lateral reading, and reverse image search, verify a story in minutes — factually and impartially.
Open guideShock calls: how to respond correctly and agree on a family code word
Fake police, prosecutors, or bank employees use panic and pressure to get cash, valuables, or bank cards handed over – sometimes with AI-generated voices. The right response: hang up immediately, call back using the number you know, never hand over money. Clear explanation, with family code word and reporting channels.
Open guideLost in the mountains: what Switzerland really recommends
The STOPP rule is not a Swiss recommendation. What the CAS, J+S and Swiss trail organisations actually say – and why blockage is the most common mountain emergency.
Open guideMap and compass: navigate as Switzerland teaches
Orient the map, determine your position, 3-point rule, LV95 coordinates and march time – according to the official J+S teaching material and swisstopo rules.
Open guideAlert in mountain emergencies: 1414, coordinates and emergency radio
How to properly call for help in the Swiss mountains – alert schema, Swiss Grid, alpine emergency signal, emergency radio 161.300 MHz. And why Rega cannot find you on its own.
Open guideCreate and print your own hiking map
Put together exactly the map of your area at swisstopo: print it free as a PDF (map.geo.admin.ch) or order it as a waterproof mySwissMap – offline-safe for hiking and emergencies.
Open guideReporting clearly with SALUTE and the W-questions
SALUTE is a US Army reporting scheme that organises an observation into six points. For the emergency call in Switzerland, the W-questions from the first-aid course help you; you pass on reports word for word.
Open guide