Article By Frank Bergman
The Australian government has ordered the general public to begin stockpiling food and water and making emergency preparations for an undisclosed “crisis.”
Australians are being urged to prepare emergency supplies as a disaster management expert warns that families may need to sustain themselves when authorities cannot respond quickly enough.
The push comes as governments across several countries tell households to prepare for disruptions that could cut electricity, interrupt deliveries, and leave communities without immediate assistance.
Japan is among several major nations preparing to issue an alarming emergency order urging citizens to stockpile food, water, and essential supplies so they can survive for days without government assistance if “war” or “disaster” suddenly strikes.
RMIT University Associate Professor Lucy Lunevich recommended that Australian households maintain at least a month’s supply of food, alongside bottled water and basic emergency equipment.
“We must be prepared for anything,” Lunevich said.
The Australian Red Cross also backed household preparedness, while warning against panic buying.
Expert Warns Crises Can Outpace Government Plans
Lunevich said Australia should learn from Britain’s preparedness campaign and ensure families can cope when floods, bushfires, or supply-chain failures overwhelm normal services.
She warned that rapidly changing conditions are compressing the time available to prepare.
“We’re living in a time of compression of time,” Lunevich said.
“Whatever community leaders, government, or politicians could predict or plan for, say, 5, 10, or 20 years, is now happening overnight.”
Her recommendation includes long-lasting foods such as canned baked beans, drinking water, and other essentials.
The central message is that households cannot assume government assistance will arrive before their own supplies run out.
Red Cross Says Australians Should Prepare Now
Australian Red Cross Director for Recovery and Resilience Nichola Krey told Yahoo News Australia that Australians should “absolutely” prepare for disruptions.
“We encourage all Australians to be prepared for any disruption,” Krey said.
She urged people to understand local hazards and “be prepared for when they eventuate.”
Australia faces no immediate threat of war, but Krey pointed to the country’s recurring natural disasters.
“Our country is in constant disruption from floods, fires, extreme heat events and cyclones,” she said.
According to the Red Cross, three in five Australians will experience an emergency during their lifetime.
Preparation Extends Beyond Food and Water
The Red Cross emphasized that families should build readiness gradually rather than repeat the supermarket rushes seen during the pandemic.
“We are absolutely not encouraging Australians to run out and start stockpiling food,” Krey said.
“No panic buying, please.”
Her advice includes keeping identification, important documents, and irreplaceable belongings together in an accessible location.
Families should also maintain necessary medications, prescriptions, and spare supplies.
Parents are encouraged to discuss emergency plans with their children, including where they would go if evacuation became necessary.
Those preparations can determine whether a family is ready to leave quickly when conditions deteriorate.
Army Chief Warns Public Will Have to Make Sacrifices
It comes after Britain’s army chief, General Sir Roly Walker, delivered a blunt warning to approximately 700 soldiers at Catterick Garrison.
“You didn’t know this, but our nation is going to need you,” Walker told the troops.
He said political leaders would soon have to confront the public about the dangers facing the country.
“There was a time that our nation didn’t want to think of a time when it would need its soldiers to fight in a war,” Walker said.
Walker said citizens would have to accept sacrifices to put defense and security first.
They would also be asked to contribute to defending the country.
He urged the public to “back us, to back you to do the one thing that you do that nobody else gets to do, and that is to take the fight to the enemy.”
But polling reveals a stark divide between those preparations and public willingness to fight: nearly half of Britons say there are no circumstances in which they would take up arms for their country.
Japan and Europe Issue Parallel Preparedness Appeals
The Australian warnings follow a fresh appeal planned in Japan, as Slay News reported earlier this week.
Japanese Disaster Management Minister Goshi Hosono warned that households must be ready to manage without public assistance for at least three days, preferably a week.
Japan’s emergency order is scheduled for November 2 alongside the launch of its new National Disaster Management Agency.
Its focus is earthquakes and other natural disasters.
Britain has also urged households to maintain three days of supplies.
Sweden and Norway have recommended reserves lasting up to a week.
For Australians, Lunevich’s recommendation goes further: a month of food on hand to help families withstand disruptions.
The warnings put household self-reliance at the center of emergency planning, with food, water, medication, and an evacuation plan prepared before a crisis arrives.
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