The first 72 hours
What a blackout actually looks like
Scroll through the first three days. This is the window every household is told to be ready for.
Hour 1Lights, heating, Wi-Fi and chargers all die at once. The house goes dark and silent.
Hour 6Your phone - your map, your news, your lifeline - is draining fast.
Hour 12Supermarket shelves are empty. Card machines and cash machines stop working.
Hour 24No hot food. No hot water. The cold starts to bite - especially for children and the elderly.
Hour 48Emergency help goes to the most vulnerable first. Everyone else waits.
Hour 72The households still coping are the ones who prepared before it happened.
Illustrative scenario, not a prediction.