# The first 7 days: water, sanitation, shelter and food, day by day

> A day-by-day plan for week one after systems fail: reliable water, latrines and hand washing, shelter, food, and organising the group.

## Quick answer

Days 4 to 7 turn survival into stability: two independent water sources treated every time, a latrine 30 m from water, one warm dry room, an eaten-first food plan, and a daily meeting with a written log.

*Part of [Day Zero](/day-zero), the plan for an AI-related crisis that gets out of control. [Why it exists](/day-zero/purpose). General information, not medical advice: [how these guides are reviewed](/day-zero/review).*

## The first 7 days

The [first 72 hours](/day-zero/first-72-hours) are about staying alive. Days 4 to 7 are about **making the place you are in safe to stay in.** Write the plan on paper and tick it off.

## Day 1 to 3 (short version)

Check people, water, warmth and shelter, then find the others near you. Count what you have: water, food, medicine, fuel, tools.

## Day 4: water for the long run

- Aim for **4 litres per person per day** for drinking and cooking, more for hot weather and for anyone ill. Washing comes after.
- Find **two independent sources**: rain collection, a stream, a well, a spring. Water from rivers and ponds needs treating every time.
- Treat: **boil for 1 minute** (3 minutes above 2000 m), or filter through cloth then add unscented household bleach (2 drops per litre, wait 30 minutes), or use a sand-and-charcoal filter and then boil.
- Keep drinking water in clean closed containers, separate from washing water.

## Day 5: sanitation, the thing people skip

Disease from bad water and waste kills more people than hunger in the first months.

- A **latrine** at least 30 m from any water, downhill if possible, with a lid or covering of earth or ash after each use.
- **Hand washing station** (a container with a tap or a hole, soap or ash) next to the latrine and where food is prepared.
- Burn or bury rubbish. Keep food covered. Do not let waste water run toward your water source.
- Anyone with diarrhoea drinks **oral rehydration solution** (1 litre clean water, 6 level teaspoons sugar, half a teaspoon salt). See [medicine](/day-zero/medicine).

## Day 6: shelter, fuel and food

- Choose **one warm, dry, defensible room or building** for sleeping. Make it draught-free and dry before you make it comfortable.
- Count fuel. Plan cooking for **one fire a day**. Cook in batches. Use a hay box or a wrapped pot to keep food hot.
- Eat the **perishable food first** (fresh, chilled, thawed), then tins, then dry staples. Do not waste a thawed freezer; cook and share it or dry/smoke it.
- Write the food list with dates and the ration per day. Plan so that the total lasts, not so that everyone is full on day one.

## Day 7: the group

- Meet everyone around you. Ask what each person can do: medical, building, farming, repair, cooking, teaching, radio.
- Agree **who decides what** (see [teamwork](/day-zero/teamwork)), a daily meeting time, a watch rota, and a simple rule for sharing.
- Make the first **map**: water, shelter, shops and workshops, fuel, farmland, hazards, other groups.
- Start the **written log**: date, weather, supplies, who did what, problems. It is how the group remembers.

## End of week one: check yourselves

1. Everyone has clean water and a latrine and a hand-washing place?
2. Everyone has somewhere dry to sleep and warmth?
3. Food counted and ration set?
4. Injured and sick looked after?
5. A way to know what the others are doing (meetings, signals, radio)?

Any "no" is the job for tomorrow. Next: [the first 30 days](/day-zero/first-30-days).

## Common questions

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Source: https://www.toswo.com/day-zero/first-7-days
Published by TOSWO Research (https://www.toswo.com/research). Free to cite with attribution: https://www.toswo.com/cite