Germany has told its citizens to stock up on water and food in the event of a terrorist attack or national catastrophe and may even consider re-introducing conscription in its first overhaul of civil defenses in two decades.

Chancellor Angela Merkel's cabinet approved the 70-page plan at a time when Germans are particularly on edge after two Islamist attacks in July and several much larger-scale attacks in France and Belgium this year.

The German word for stocking up on provisions in case of an emergency is "Hamsterkaeufe," and some media have mocked the plan for encouraging Germans to hoard like the small, furry pets.