What to stockpile and how to manage water, food, medical supplies, power, and sanitation for two or more weeks of shelter-in-place during armed conflict.
Shelter-in-place during active armed conflict is categorically different from sheltering during a hurricane or power outage. The duration is unpredictable — days, weeks, or months. Access to resupply is cut off. Medical services are unavailable. The consequences of running out of water, food, or critical medication are not inconvenience but injury, illness, and death.
Preparing a supply stock before you need it is an act of survival planning. This guide provides the full detail you need to prepare, manage, and prioritise supplies for extended shelter-in-place in a conflict environment.
No survival supply matters more than water. Dehydration begins affecting cognitive function within 24 hours and becomes life-threatening within 3–5 days. In conflict environments where utility services are frequently disrupted and water sources may be contaminated or inaccessible, stored water is your foundation.
Minimum water requirements:
| Purpose | Quantity per Person per Day |
|---|---|
| Drinking | 2 litres minimum (3–4 litres in heat) |
| Basic food preparation | 1 litre |
| Minimal sanitation and hygiene | 1 litre |
| Survival minimum total | 3 litres |
| Comfortable minimum | 5 litres |
| Recommended planning figure | 1 US gallon (3.8 litres) |
For a two-week shelter, plan for 1 gallon (3.8L) per person per day as your planning figure. For a family of four over 14 days, this is 212 litres — approximately 55 US gallons or eleven 20-litre containers.
Storage:
Emergency water collection:
⚠️ Never assume the water will stay on. In conflict, utility infrastructure is targeted deliberately. Fill every container you have the moment you judge that fighting is approaching your area.
Food planning for extended shelter must account for two realities: cooking may be unsafe or impossible (fuel unavailability, cooking smells, smoke signature), and access to markets will be cut off.
Caloric requirements: An average adult requires 1,800–2,500 calories per day. Children and pregnant or nursing women have different requirements. In a sedentary shelter situation, caloric needs are lower, but cold, stress, and physical activity in the shelter increase them.
Best foods for conflict shelter:
| Food Type | Caloric Density | Storage Life | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hard biscuits / crackers | 400–500 kcal/100g | 12–24 months | No cooking required; high carbohydrate |
| Nuts (almonds, peanuts, walnuts) | 500–600 kcal/100g | 12+ months in sealed container | High fat and protein; no preparation |
| Dried legumes (lentils, beans) | 300–350 kcal/100g dry | 2–5 years | Require cooking; versatile |
| Rice | 360 kcal/100g dry | 2–5 years | Requires cooking and water |
| Canned protein (tuna, sardines, beans, lentils) | 100–200 kcal/100g | 3–5 years | Ready to eat cold; high nutrition |
| Peanut butter | 580–600 kcal/100g | 12–18 months opened | No cooking; high calorie density |
| Dried fruit | 250–350 kcal/100g | 12–24 months | Vitamins; no cooking |
| Energy bars | 350–500 kcal/bar | 12–24 months | Compact; expensive |
| Cooking oil (olive, sunflower) | 900 kcal/100g | 12–24 months | Calorie supplement for cooked food |
No-cook planning: If cooking is not possible, your stock must be entirely no-cook. Prioritise biscuits, crackers, nuts, peanut butter, canned ready-to-eat foods, dried fruit, and energy bars. A typical day with no-cook food might provide 1,500–1,800 calories per person.
Cooking safety considerations: Cooking produces smells that can travel considerable distances and attract attention. During periods of heightened risk, cook with windows sealed and consider timing cooking to lower-risk periods (mid-morning when armed patrols are typically less active). Use small-flame cooking and avoid frying — frying produces more smell than boiling or steaming.
Conflict shelters require medical supplies that go beyond a standard first aid kit. The most common causes of civilian injury in conflict — blast, shrapnel, and ballistic wounds — require specific interventions.
Wound care essentials:
Prescription medications: If anyone in your shelter group takes regular medication, the most important preparation you can make is to stockpile 30–60 days' supply before a crisis peaks. This is especially critical for:
Consult with a healthcare provider before the crisis to understand the safety of stockpiling and, where applicable, how to manage gradual dose reduction if supply runs out.
Sanitation failure causes disease. In confined shelter with multiple people over days or weeks, poor sanitation leads to diarrhoeal illness, infection spread, and rapidly declining group health.
Toilet solutions:
Handwashing and hygiene: Even minimal handwashing (soap and very small amounts of water) reduces disease transmission dramatically. Maintain hand hygiene especially before food handling and after waste contact. Alcohol-based hand sanitiser is a valuable addition to supplies.
Waste management in extended shelter:
Power management in extended shelter determines how long you can maintain lighting, communications, and medical equipment.
Priority power allocation:
Battery and power stock planning:
Maintaining situational awareness during shelter requires functioning communications.
Children in prolonged shelter face a compounded challenge: they do not understand why they cannot go outside, they have less capacity to self-regulate fear and boredom, and their physical needs — for movement, stimulation, and play — conflict with the demands of security.
Practical management:
| Situation | Action |
|---|---|
| Water supply has just been cut | Immediately fill every container available; begin strict rationing |
| Food supply running low | Shift to minimum caloric intake (900–1,200 kcal/day is survivable for healthy adults short-term); prioritise children and medical cases |
| Someone has a deep shrapnel wound | Control bleeding; pack wound with haemostatic dressing; apply pressure dressing; do not remove embedded objects; watch for infection signs |
| Sanitation is becoming unmanageable | Establish strict designated waste area; prioritise handwashing; use disinfectant |
| Power is running very low | Switch to essential communications only; switch off all non-critical devices |
| Someone's prescription medication is running out | Begin rationing under medical guidance if obtainable; prioritise life-critical medications |
| Children are showing serious psychological distress | Increase structured activity and routine; honest, calm reassurance; consider contacting psychological support lines if communications allow |
Take Supplies for Extended Shelter-in-Place During Conflict with you — no internet needed when it matters most.
downloadGet on Google Play