The short answer
Go to the middle of the building, as far as you can get from outside walls, doors and windows (UKHSA). A basement or cellar is best if you have one; otherwise a ground-floor hallway or the space under the stairs in a house, or a central corridor or windowless bathroom on a middle floor of a block of flats. Avoid the top floor and rooms under a flat roof. Brick, stone and concrete buildings protect best. No UK body publishes room-by-room advice for British house types, so treat our house-by-house notes as a reading of official principles, not a rating.
The rule that covers every home
UKHSA's advice for a radiation emergency: go into the nearest building, ideally brick, stone or concrete, and "as far as possible, stay in the middle of the building away from external doors, windows and walls". Ready.gov adds: a basement or the centre of a large building, with as many walls as possible between you and the outside. Underground car parks and subways are good too.
Fallout settles on the roof and the ground outside. So the best spot is usually low down and central, with as much brick, concrete and earth between you and both as you can get.
What no UK source covers: neither UKHSA nor GOV.UK gives room-by-room advice for British house types, or figures for how much protection each room gives. The notes below are our reading of the official principles, plus the historic 1980 UK leaflet. They are not an official rating.
House by house
Our reading, not official advice:
| Home | Best place, usually | Avoid |
|---|---|---|
| House with a cellar | The cellar, in the corner furthest from any window or light well | Cellar spots right under a window or grating |
| Semi or terrace, no cellar | Ground-floor hallway or the space under the stairs: central, several walls from the outside, well below the roof | Loft rooms, top-floor bedrooms, conservatories, rooms with big windows |
| Bungalow | The room furthest from the roof and outside walls, often an inner hallway or bathroom | Rooms with large windows; anywhere near the roof space |
| Flat in a large block | A central corridor, stairwell or windowless room on a middle floor, or the basement or underground car park | The top floor and rooms under a flat roof; the ground floor next to glass |
| Timber-frame or caravan | Any solid brick or concrete building very close by | Staying put if a solid building is a minute away and you haven't been told to stay |
The 1980 Protect and Survive leaflet said much the same for houses: a cellar or basement was ideal, otherwise a ground-floor room as far as possible from the roof and outside walls. It called bungalows "ill-suited". For flats, it told people in blocks of five storeys or more to avoid the top two floors, and said the basement or ground floor and the central corridors of lower floors were good in smaller blocks.
Flats: the middle floors
Be Ready Utah's nuclear guidance says a floor near the middle of a high-rise may be better, a basement offers more protection than the first floor, and a top floor under a flat roof is "not a good choice", because fallout collects on flat roofs. Ask your building manager or housing association now whether residents can use the basement or car park.
Missiles and drones are different
For an air raid or missile and drone attack, the aim is to protect yourself from blast, debris and flying glass:
- Go to a proper shelter if there is one. Sweden's brochure In case of crisis or war ranks a civil defence shelter first, then a cellar, garage or underground station, then an indoor room without windows.
- The "two walls" rule is a last resort. Ukraine's State Emergency Service calls it "more of a psychological concept" and doubts it can fully protect anyone from a direct drone hit or large debris. It urges people to know where their nearest shelter is and to practise the route as a family.
- Keep away from windows. We found no current UK advice to tape windows; official advice is simply to keep away from them.
The UK has no public shelter programme, so for most people the choice is the best room at home. After an explosion nearby, see is my home safe after a missile or drone strike.
Get your room ready now
Pick the room today, while it's calm. Then keep a few things there or nearby (general practice, based on the UKHSA advice to stay in for one to two days):
- a battery or wind-up radio, and spare batteries;
- torches;
- bottled water and food that needs no cooking, for at least two days;
- medicines and a first-aid kit;
- a charged power bank;
- blankets and warm layers;
- something to do for children.
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What to buy
About these links: plain links to ordinary retailer pages. We may earn from some links in future; we don't now. We haven’t tested these and we don’t rank them: they are examples that were in stock when we checked. Prices change. Check what you already own first. Full kit list
Battery or wind-up FM radio
Look for: FM (Be Ready asks for FM; DAB as well is fine). Both a crank and ordinary batteries, so you have two ways to power it.
Torch or head torch, plus spare batteries
Look for: Runs on the same AA or AAA batteries as your other kit, so one spare pack covers everything. A head torch leaves both hands free.
- Alpkit Ionic 350 Lumen Head Torch · Alpkit · £15.99 (price on 1 November 2026) Shop
- Lifesystems Intensity 155 LED Head Torch · Lifesystems (UK brand store) · £19.99 (price on 1 November 2026) Shop
- Alpkit Kula 550 Lumen Head Torch · Alpkit · £19.99 (price on 1 November 2026) Shop
- Lifesystems Intensity 480 LED Hand Torch · Lifesystems (UK brand store) · £29.99 (price on 1 November 2026) Shop
- Dynamo Powered Wind-Up Pocket LED Torch · EVAQ8 · £3.60 (price on 1 November 2026) Shop
Bottled water
Look for: 3 litres per person per day for 3 days, for drinking. More for babies, pets and medical devices.
- Seven Oceans Emergency Drinking Water 0.5l (5-year shelf life) · EVAQ8 · £3.94 (price on 1 November 2026) Shop
Frequently asked questions
Which room should I shelter in?
The middle of your building, away from outside walls, doors and windows (UKHSA). A basement is best. In a house without one, a ground-floor hallway or understairs space usually puts the most walls between you and outside. In a flat, a central corridor or windowless room on a middle floor.
Is a top-floor flat safe to shelter in?
It's a poor choice for fallout. Be Ready Utah's nuclear guidance says a top floor under a flat roof is not a good choice, because fallout settles on the roof, and that a floor near the middle of a high-rise may be better. The 1980 UK leaflet Protect and Survive told people in blocks of five storeys or more to avoid the top two floors.
Does the 'two walls' rule from Ukraine work in a British house?
Ukraine's State Emergency Service calls the two-walls rule more of a psychological idea and says it doubts it can fully protect anyone from a direct drone hit or large debris. It urges people to use proper shelters. It's a last resort if you're caught without one, not a safe room.
Is 'hide under a door' from the 70s leaflets any use?
Protect and Survive (1980) described a lean-to built from doors and reinforced with bags of earth, sand or books, inside a fallout room in the middle of the house. The idea underneath it still matches today's advice: be in the middle of the house, far from the roof and outside walls, with as much heavy material around you as you can. A door on its own does little.
What if I live in a bungalow?
Protect and Survive called single-storey homes ill-suited for shelter. Use the room furthest from the roof and outside walls. If a large brick or concrete building is very close, it may be better, but UKHSA's advice is to go into the nearest building and not travel once you're told to shelter.
Should I tape my windows?
We found no current UK advice to tape windows. Official advice is to stay away from them: shelter in a room or spot with no windows if you can.
Sources
We opened each page on the date shown. Official advice changes: if a source says something different now, follow the source.
- UKHSA (GOV.UK): What to do in a radiation emergency (updated 10 September 2024) (read 1 November 2026)
- Ready.gov (FEMA): Nuclear explosion (read 1 November 2026)
- Be Ready Utah (Utah Division of Emergency Management): Nuclear blast (read 1 November 2026)
- Wikipedia: Protect and Survive (1980 Home Office campaign) (read 1 November 2026)
- Ukraine Crisis Media Center: 'Two walls' rule doesn't guarantee full protection, SESU urges public to use shelters (28 May 2025) (read 1 November 2026)
- Swedish Civil Defence and Resilience Agency (MCF): In case of crisis or war, English edition (PDF) (read 1 November 2026)
Related guides
- Radiation emergency in the UK: what official advice says (go in, stay in, tune in)
- Worried about war? How UK households can prepare — calmly
- An emergency plan for flats: what's different, and what to ask
We're an independent UK site, not the government. We check guides against official sources and link to them. In an emergency call 999.
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