Is an emergency stockpile of food and drinks really useful? One thing is clear: In individual cases, situations may arise in which a moderate stockpile of food and beverages can be helpful.

A good example of this is the hurricane "Friederike" (2018). At that time, power outages occurred in individual regions, sometimes lasting for days. In such a case, supermarkets remain closed, chests and refrigerators are out of order. Another example is a quarantine ordered by the health authorities: here, too, a food stockpile can help to avoid risky contacts.

How much food or drink you want to stockpile is a very individual decision. Nevertheless, the Federal Office of Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance has drawn up some general tips for the right stockpile:

• An emergency stockpile should contain food and drinks for ten days.
• This means that two litres of liquid per day should be stored for each person in the household . Important: Water is not only needed for drinking! If the supply of tap water also fails, water is also needed for cooking.
• A rule of thumb for food is: about 2,200 kcal per person per day.
• Act according to the "living stock" principle. This means: Integrate the stockpile into everyday food consumption. This will help you avoid expired food.
• Build up your emergency stock bit by bit! It is not necessary to get everything "in one go" - instead, take a little more with you each time you go shopping. This helps to avoid supply bottlenecks.
• Store food properly, i.e. in a cool, dry and preferably dark place. Make sure the packaging is airtight.
• Don't forget your pets ! Emergency supplies also include pet food, bedding and necessary medication for dogs, cats and co.

The BBK provides detailed tips on the right emergency supplies on its website.

If you cannot leave your house in an acute emergency (for example, during a severe storm), a well-stocked medicine cabinet can help treat minor injuries or minor illnesses.

For medicines, the rule is: replenish the supply before it is used up - and also pay attention to any expiry dates.

According to the BBK, the medicine cabinet should include:

• Personal medicines prescribed by a doctor
• Painkillers and antipyretics
• Remedies for colds
• Remedies for diarrhoea, nausea and vomiting
• Remedies for insect bites and sunburn
• Electrolytes to compensate for diarrhoea
• Clinical thermometer
• Splinter tweezers
• Skin disinfectant
• Wound disinfectant
• Disposable gloves
• Respirator mask
• Dressing material

When storing medicines, it is important to remember that medicines should be stored in a lockable compartment and out of the reach of children. In addition, medicines should be stored in a cool and dry place.

Here you can download a checklist from the Federal Ministry for compiling an emergency supply.

You hear a siren tone and do not know what it means? You can recognise the meaning by the type of signal tone:

• 1 minute continuous tone with two interruptions: alerting the fire brigade. Note: As a rule, the emergency services in Bocholt are not alerted via sirens. In the meantime, the notification and alerting of the emergency forces is primarily done via app and message receivers.
  
  
• 1 minute continuous tone: After previous alerting of the emergency forces, this is the associated all-clear signal.
  
  
• 1-minute rising and falling signal: This is a siren alarm as a warning for the population. The following applies in this case:

Correct behaviour in the event of a siren alarm for the population:

• Turn on the radio! In the event of a crisis, relevant information is disseminated via the radio stations. You can reach the local radio station for the region (Radio WMW) in Bocholt via the FM frequency 88.4 Mhz.
  
  
• Open the website www.bocholt.de. Current emergency information is published there in the event of a crisis on an upstream emergency page.
  
  
• Stay calm! Only call the emergency number if there is an acute emergency.

In the unlikely event that a prolonged emergency situation does occur, for example in the case of a prolonged, widespread power blackout, the emergency info point concept applies throughout the district - and thus also in Bocholt.

What are emergency info points?

The emergency info points are places that are set up at short notice throughout the entire city area in the event of a special emergency. Citizens can receive minor assistance there and have the opportunity to make emergency calls if the telephone and/or mobile phone network is disrupted in the event of a power failure.

The city of Bocholt has procured emergency diesel generators for the emergency information points in case of a crisis. In the event of a prolonged power blackout, these are to help keep communication channels open between the info points and higher-level authorities (such as the district of Borken), among other things.

This is what emergency info points offer:

• Reporting point for emergencies/emergency calls (replacement for 112/110).
• Up-to-date official information on the overall situation

Important: No accommodation (sleeping quarters) or food supply is provided at the emergency info points, nor is there initially any supply of emergency power or hot water (only when the situation worsens in further expansion stages).

The emergency info points are expressly intended for acute emergencies!

According to the current status (February 2023), emergency info points will be set up in Bocholt at the following locations in an acute emergency:

• Mariengymnasium Bocholt
• Gymnasium, Liebfrauen primary school group in Barlo
• Gymnasium, Liebfrauen primary school in Stenern
• Gymnasium, Euregio-Gymnasium
• Gymnasium, St. Bernard primary school in Lowick
• School building, Biemenhorst primary school
• Sporker Hall

In addition, the fire station on Dingdener Straße, the fire station in Suderwick and the police station on Dinxperloer-Straße are available for emergencies.

Map with emergency information points in the district of Borken

Here you will find an overview of current emergency info points in the entire district of Borken. The emergency info points are being dynamically expanded so that more locations will be added gradually.