Why the government wants people to think ahead
On 3 November 2025, the government launched the multi-year Think Ahead campaign on TV, radio and online. The campaign is intended to prepare people for prolonged outages of power, water and internet. The government cites geopolitical developments and climate change among the reasons for this.
The message is straightforward. Put together an emergency kit, make an emergency plan, and talk to one another and help one another. From 25 November 2025, 8.5 million households received the booklet Prepare for an emergency.
The reasoning behind the campaign is clear. In a major emergency, emergency services cannot be everywhere at once. People therefore need to be able to manage the first 72 hours themselves.
A useful start, but not a full business plan
The advice rightly focuses on basic needs. Water, food, radio, medicines, lighting and mutual agreements are important when power, water or internet are out for a prolonged period. For many households, that is already a step forward.
The figures cited by the government show that this step cannot yet be taken for granted. According to that research, 31 percent had an emergency kit at home, 18 percent had an emergency plan and 17 percent had agreements with family about a meeting place.
Even so, a household emergency kit is not the same as continuity for a family with several residences, a business or assets abroad. Other questions then arise. How do you pay if ordinary payment routes do not work? Who may act on your behalf? How do you reach people if the internet and mobile network are down?
Responsibility does not stop at the front door
For entrepreneurs and families, the first 72 hours are often also an organisational test. Staff may have questions. Suppliers may be waiting for payment or information. Fixed costs continue, even if communication is temporarily interrupted.
Within families, the situation can also be spread out. Someone is at home, someone is travelling, someone is abroad or at a second home. An emergency plan focused on just one address will not answer all practical questions.
This is not about complex scenarios. It is about authority and reachability. Who makes decisions if you cannot be reached? Where is important information kept? Which payments can wait and which cannot? Who has access to which resources within the applicable rules?
Payments and contact need separate attention
When power and internet are down, communication is often the first concern. A radio can provide information, but it does not create contact with a family member or employee. Even a charged phone is of limited help when the network is unavailable.
Payments are similar. An account may be in order, while a payment app, card terminal or online banking environment is temporarily unusable. That difference between ownership and access is important for anyone with obligations.
It is therefore sensible to look separately at payment routes, communication routes and authorities. A second account, an extra card or a list of telephone numbers can be useful, but only if you know when they do and do not work. Testing is more important than assuming.
From general advice to personal setup
The strength of Think Ahead is that it makes preparation normal. It lowers the threshold for discussing at home what you do during a prolonged outage. That conversation deserves to be widened when your responsibility is greater than one household.
A practical next step is a short inventory. Which people need to reach one another? Which payments are critical? Which locations matter? Which documents and access tools are needed? Which agreements have only been made verbally and need to be recorded?
Restraint is appropriate here. Not everything needs to be duplicated. Not every risk calls for a technical solution. But the first 72 hours become calmer when roles, resources and alternatives are known in advance.
Sovaryn can set up a second infrastructure for clients alongside the ordinary emergency kit: your own power supply, satellite internet, a hardware wallet and clear steps. This does not replace water, food or agreements. It complements them for those who also want to prepare for reachability, payments using their own resources and access.
