More people are preparing for emergencies and getting supplies at home

NATO chief Mark Rutte made no bones about it this afternoon: the security situation does not look good, we are not ready for a war and we must prepare.

It is not the first time that such a call has been made. Last week, Defense Minister Brekelmans said that citizens should better prepare for crisis situations such as flooding, a pandemic or a prolonged failure of “vital processes”. The need to make the Netherlands more resilient is also included in the government program of the Schoof cabinet.

It is regularly noticeable that there is still something to be gained. In North Limburg, the shelves with bottled water quickly emptied after E. coli bacteria were found in the drinking water. Something similar happened in Woerden when no water came from the tap for three hours. A software error at security company Crowdstrike paralyzed airports, media and hospitals. And everyone remembers the run on toilet paper at the start of the corona crisis.

“We now have ten times more internet orders than normal,” says Luuk van de Ruit. He owns a so-called prep shop: a store that sells items that can help you save yourself in an emergency.

He has seen demand for his products increase in recent years and can now barely keep up with orders. “At the end of every day I have more orders than at the beginning of the day. Every time something big comes out in the news, you see a peak. Now it’s all kinds of things at the same time, which creates stress.”

The Red Cross also receives calls every day and recognizes those peak times. “Especially when something happens nearby, such as the flood in Spain. We were also called then. Or last summer with the power outage in Eindhoven,” says Nicole van Batenburg, who is involved in crisis management at the Red Cross.

Yesterday it was announced that the Dutch Banking Association will advise having a certain amount of cash at home for emergencies. Geldmaat, the ATM operator, saw an increase in cash withdrawals that same day. The amounts involved were small, a few tens of euros per withdrawal, but Geldmaat saw a clear effect of the advice.

Yet this behavior is not typical for Dutch people. According to pollster Peter Kanne of Ipsos I&O, research in fifty countries shows that the Netherlands scores very low in this area. “Three quarters of Dutch people say: I want to enjoy today and we will see what happens tomorrow.”

And that must be different, the cabinet also believes. In 2025, there will be a national campaign to tell all citizens what they can do themselves to prepare for threats. For example, having an emergency kit at home. According to the Red Cross, this means at least having enough water and non-perishable food in stock. “A radio is also important, as well as a power bank, a whistle and, for example, rescue blankets,” says Van Batenburg.

After the global computer failure last summer, the Red Cross explained what everyone should have at home: