LIKE a nightmare from the Cold War era, Americans are being urged to build an elaborate “disaster supply kit” to prepare for a biological, chemical or nuclear attack.

Assembling the kit would take visits to a doctor, a chemist’s, a do-it-yourself shop, a supermarket and a department store.

A room, preferably windowless, ideally in a basement, should be identified as a hideout for families, officials have suggested this week.

Smaller versions of the kits are to be kept in cars and at work, together with flat shoes if you are a woman who wears high heels.

Nine pages of step-by-step instructions are included in a Guide to Citizen Preparedness, which was published on government websites.

Three days after the US issued its most severe warning yet of an imminent terrorist attack, security authorities advised civilians to take extra-ordinary precautionary steps.

Recommendations that relate to the threat of biological or chemical strikes are already known to Americans.

The United States became painfully aware of the risks of such an attack because of mysterious anthrax letters posted after September 11, which killed five people and spread panic nationwide.

The official advice is to stock up on duct tape and heavy plastic sheeting cut to size to cover any vents or gaps in the hideout. A shorter version of the advice has even been published for children.

“You should have duct tape, plastic sheeting and scissors. Have an adult turn off air-conditioners, vents and fans,” it says. “Find an interior room, hopefully a room that does not have windows. Seal around doors and windows with duct tape and plastic sheeting. Take your battery-powered radio with you, so you know when it’s all clear.”

It gives children a definition of the poisonous vapours, aerosols, liquids or solids that could kill them. “They can be released by bombs, sprayed from the air or used as a liquid to create a hazard to people and the environment,” it says. “Some chemical weapons may have no smell or taste.”

Water tops the disaster kit list — a gallon (4.5 litres) a day per person for at least three days, which should be stored in clean containers at home, at work and in the car.

Tinned food supplies that require no cooking — preserved fruits, meats and vegetables, peanut butter and powdered baby milk — are to be set aside in a cool, dark place with a tin opener.

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