'I've been ready for a war since 12 - there are 10 things you need'

Yahoo

10-07-2025

A 'doomsday prepper' who has been building his emergency stash since he watch Bear Grylls at the age of 12 has listed 10 items you must always have in case of a global crisis. Shahzad Kayani, 31, first took an interest into survival preparation as a child - after watching Bear Grylls' Man vs. Wild. He began researching what to stock up on - beginning with fire starters, knives and long-life food.
But after realising a more likely event would be a natural disaster, another pandemic or a power outage, he shifted from wilderness survival to any kind. He began picking up survival items bit by bit over the years - and now has a room in his home dedicated to them which contains over £21,500 of survival supplies.
Shahzad has everything from emergency tents and blankets, to food, stoves, torches and even weapons. He reckons he has enough to keep himself and his four family members alive for over six months. He shared the 10 items everyone should have in their home - which will be most essential for survival if disaster strikes.
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Shahzad, a preparedness author, said: "Everyone should have an evacuation kit bag with the basic essentials. At least two litres of water, a medical kit, a water filter. And as much food as you can fit - at least three days' worth in your bag but have more available to take too. A torch, an emergency blanket, a radio for news updates if you lose power.
"Some sort of fire starter, and some sort of knife in case you need to sharpen a stick, or use it in self defence. Finally, copies of all your important documents in case you can't go back home."
Shahzad said he has prepared survival rucksacks for his whole family to ensure if they need to make a quick exit they can get away. Shahzad said: "I've made one for every family member - each with three days' food and water and the basics."
As well as his emergency grab-bags, he has huge stocks of all kinds of different emergency supplies. Shahzad has been building up his collection.
His garage and basement contains everything from six months' of food and water to backup power and heating. He also has sleeping bags, tents, spare boots, socks, camping stoves and rechargeable lanterns. Shahzad even has a collection of guns which he has a licence for - in case times get tough following a disaster.
He has raw ingredients - such as flour, rice and beans - which can be used for long-term sustenance. He has filled five-gallon buckets with them - as he says they can last for years if stored correctly. Shahzad said: "There's this thing that preppers do, you take your dry foods and put them in mylar bags with oxygen absorbers that you can easily get off Amazon.
"The rice - it only works with white rice - and beans will last 25 plus years. And white flour - not whole wheat - will last up to 10 years if you store them that way in a cool dry place inside buckets."
And he has litres and litres of water stored up in bottles which he adds to whenever he visits the supermarket. He said: "I just slowly bought things. I would say everyone should have at least two weeks of food and water, basic first aid, a torch, a propane heater and a stove. Backup power too - a foldable solar charger and some backup power banks and batteries."
While people may suggest his preparedness is over-caution, Shahzad said he's "70% sure" his supplies will be needed before 2030. He said: "From what I've read, a big power grid collapse will happen in the next five years. Or a catastrophic cyber attack. Or another pandemic - or a natural disaster."
water
medical kit
food
water filter
torch
emergency blanket
emergency radio
firestarter
knife
photocopied important documents