One in seven has followed the emergency advice – Sverre (20) has no idea what he needs in a crisis – news Troms and Finnmark

Sverre Leander Sundset had not heard that there is advice for self-preparedness until a couple of weeks ago. Then a “get ready with me” video appeared in the 20-year-old’s TikTok feed. It showed a mother packing emergency supplies for herself and her family. Rice, pasta, canned food. – She said that you should have things to get by for seven days in case there was a war, says the 20-year-old. – It was new for me. At 17 square metres, he has just the right amount of space for what he needs from day to day. – I have four kitchen shelves and a small fridge with a freezer shelf at the top. There is room for a frozen pizza, and maybe some bread, says Sundset. The population part of the total defense It is the municipalities that have the overall responsibility for ensuring the safety of their own residents and others who are in the municipality in the event of a crisis. But in the event of major incidents, the municipality must prioritize those who are most in need of help. Therefore, as many people as possible must be prepared to fend for themselves for a period of time. Since 2018, the advice has been to have a stock to get by on your own for three days. New advice came in May this year. Now we have to get by for a whole week. You should have this at home: 20 liters of clean drinking water per person stored in jugs or bottles. Food that can withstand storage at room temperature. Grill, cooker or storm kitchen. Warm clothes, blankets, duvets and sleeping bags. Matches and candles. Wood if you have a wood stove or fireplace. A gas or kerosene stove intended for indoor use is an alternative to wood burning. Agreement on accommodation if you do not have alternative heating. Flashlights or headlamps that run on batteries, cranks or solar cells. DAB radio that runs on batteries, crank or solar cells. Medicines and first aid equipment. Iodine tablets (applies to children and adults under 40, pregnant and breastfeeding women). Hygiene items such as wet wipes, hand sanitizer, nappies, toilet paper and menstrual products. Batteries and charged battery bank. Some cash and several payment cards. Food and water for pets. List on paper with important telephone numbers such as emergency numbers, emergency room, vet, family, friends and neighbours. Source: Safe everyday life/DSB This means, among other things, having 20 liters of clean water per person in the household in stock. The emergency system in Norway consists of a number of different actors, explains Tore Kamfjord, who is the head of investigations in the Directorate for Community Security and Emergency Preparedness (DSB). – It is important that the population also understands that they have a role in the overall defense of Norway, says Kamfjord. Tore Kamfjord is head of investigations in the Directorate for Social Security and Preparedness (DSB). He thinks it is gratifying that so many people have already caught on to the new self-preparedness advice. Photo: Private – Prepared for the worst About an hour’s drive and a short ferry ride away from the dormitory in Sundset is Kjelkebakken farm. Here at Lyngseidet, Frank Valø has farmed for 40 years. – You can look in here. There are many strange things here, says Valø, and shows off a small part of his food storage. As leader of Trom’s farmers’ and small farmers’ association and food producer, he is more concerned with preparedness than most. Frank Valø, leader of the Troms Farmers’ and Small Farmers Association, is more concerned with preparedness than most. Photo: Rebekka Ellingsen / news For him, it’s primarily about food. And he has more than enough of that. In huge freezer boxes, the family has meat, fish and berries to last at least a year. – You will probably find berries from 2010 here if you start looking, he says. And should they still need more food, they have animals on grass and fish in the lake below the house. Valø has around 200 sheep trotting around the site in Lyngen. Photo: Rebekka Ellingsen / news They do not depend on electricity to be rescued, they have a wood-fired oven and gas stove. And then they have diesel. 3000 litres. It will keep the operating devices on the farm running in the event of a crisis. – We are prepared for the worst. As long as everyone in the household stays healthy, only what will come can come, says Valø. Big difference between the youngest and the oldest In a survey Norstat has carried out on behalf of news, nearly three out of four respond that they have been informed of the new emergency preparedness advice. 15 percent state that they have followed them. That’s slightly more than one in seven. The survey was carried out a week after the new councils were launched, in a representative sample of 1,000 people. There are far more among the oldest who have taken the advice, compared to the youngest. Kamfjord in DSB is happy that so many people have already caught on to the changes. He is less surprised that the information has reached the oldest parts of the population to the greatest extent. – We don’t have the exact answers as to why the elderly are more concerned with this than those who are slightly younger, but it probably has to do with life experience, life situation, interests and understanding of risk, he says. Do you have a contingency stock? Yes, I have what the government recommends Yes, but I don’t have everything the government recommends No, I don’t have anything in stock Show result – Back to Cold War preparations – We live in a society that has been blessed with deep peace for three decades, says Tom Røseth, associate professor at the Norwegian Defense College. He believes it makes it more difficult for people to adjust to a potential crisis or war situation. – But it is important that we are prepared, and that we have preparedness to deal with crisis or war, so that we can manage without electricity or in isolation for a shorter period. Russia is the biggest threat to Norway now, says Tom Røseth, associate professor at the Norwegian Defense Academy. Photo: Ingvild Vik / news Røseth emphasizes that it is not a likely scenario that Russia will go to war against NATO, but: – We are a bit back to Cold War preparations. The adversary is not as formidable as the Soviet Union was, but it does have means of power and weapons of destruction that are formidable, and we must take that very seriously. What do you do if the power goes out, the water gets contaminated or you can’t get food for you and your family? Reporter and father of young children Christer Johnsgård checks how things really stand with his own and his neighbours’ emergency plan: – Generation of finished goods Valø knows what he is talking about when it comes to societies in crisis. For three rounds he has served as a soldier in Afghanistan and in Mali. There he saw what happens when societies collapse. – They were completely dependent on food imports. But what happens on the day the border closes? Valø believes that people today are too dependent on shopping at the store from day to day. Photo: Rebekka Ellingsen / news The farmer is therefore clear in his speech: Norway must be as self-sufficient in food as possible. We cannot depend on imports to survive. He has taught his three sons to butcher animals and gut fish. These are skills Valø believes most young people lack. – We see a generation of finished products, he says. Valø believes in particular that preparedness in the cities is far too poor. Many homes are so small that there is neither room for a freezer nor an alternative heat source. – We have created a community where we will shop daily. It is not a contingency. Lack of time, money and space Hybelboer Sundset does not shop every day, but he is at the shop two or three times a week. The goal is actually to shop weekly every Monday. But here there is no room for things you only have to be on the safe side. – Do you know what you should really have at home? – Yes, there is dry food and canned food and the like. Things that last, that you can keep lying around. Sundset had no idea what the authorities advise us to have at home in the event of a crisis. Photo: Rebekka Ellingsen / news news reads the entire list to him; he is surprised by how much other than food the authorities think we should have. – I have no idea where I could store 20 liters of water in here. The 20-year-old has never before thought that a situation could arise where he cannot use the water that flows from the tap in the kitchen. He believes that few of his own age know about the advice on self-preparedness. – We probably have different priorities than those who are older than us. I don’t think we have the time, finances or space to invest in this. Encourages cooperation Kamfjord in DSB understands that it is difficult to find space for self-preparedness in a small apartment. He has advice for people who live in tight quarters: Don’t set your ambition level too high. Preparedness can be done easily. – For example, you can fill empty soda bottles with water. It costs no more than the deposit and it is relatively easy to find storage space for it. Among the things we should have at home in a crisis: Dry food, canned food and iodine tablets. Photo: Ingvild Vik / news Kamfjord recommends working with people around you. – No one can do everything, but through cooperation you can be better prepared for crises. And that is precisely Sundset’s plan. If the crisis arises, he must seek help from his parents. They live on Håkøya, in the strait between Tromsøya and Kvaløya. He can almost see over there from the driveway outside his dormitory. Although Sundset does not have emergency stock at home, he has a plan in case of crisis. Photo: Rebekka Ellingsen / news – Do you know if your parents have these things on the list? – Not at home, but at the cabin we have it. It’s an hour’s drive from home, so we would probably go straight there. – Not used to war For Sundset, it is difficult to imagine what kind of crisis could hit us. – The only thing I can think of is a virus crisis, like the corona pandemic was. Then a lot was closed down, he says. Although the news broadcasts are wallpapered with images of war in Ukraine and Gaza, it feels distant to Sundset. He was born in 2004, long after both hot and cold wars in Europe. – People my age are not that used to war. It was something that happened in the old days. Hello! Do you have any input or thoughts after reading the case? Or perhaps you have something you are passionate about, a good story or a funny tip? Feel free to send me an email! Published 19.06.2024, at 09.03



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