AMSTERDAM - Many Netherlands residents are worried about a war between Russia and NATO. Two-thirds (62 percent) worry that Russia will attack the Netherlands. Many are considering, or already working on, putting an “emergency kit” together should the worst happen, RTL Nieuws reports after surveying 20,000 members of its opinion panel. 

RTL conducted this survey after warnings from NATO military officials about underestimating Russia and the risk of its war with Ukraine escalating. Rob Bauer, NATO’s highest military officer, recommended last week that people be prepared and stock up on an emergency kit. “You need to have water, you need to have a radio on batteries, and you need to have a flashlight on batteries. To make sure that you can survive the first 36 hours,” he said. 

Prep shops in the Netherlands, where you can buy emergency supplies like water filters and shelf-stable foods, are currently doing good business, one owner told RTL. According to him, it’s not just Bauer’s warning. Business has been good since the pandemic, and given other developments like recent power outages and the risk of flooding. Many Netherlands residents feel that society could quickly become unstable, the broadcaster found in its survey. 

Over half (56 percent) of respondents think an emergency kit is “unnecessary at the moment.” But 27 percent are considering getting one, and 15 percent already have an emergency kit at the ready. 

Half (51 percent) of Netherlands residents think that the Dutch government should prepare more actively for a possible war, for example, by stocking up on food, fuel, and medicine. The same majority wants to increase defense spending to at least the NATO standards, and 52 percent think the government should release information campaigns about “how to act in a war situation.”