Getting Ready for an Outage
Sharon May 14th, 2009
Those of you in the Midwest have already had some hefty storms – I hope all is well. The high winds that caused those tornadoes are headed my way, so we’re getting ready for a power outage here. The National Weather Service is warning of widespread potential outages in the Northeast. So I thought a quick post might be in order, reminding people of how to prepare for a power outage. Most of this is common sense, but you never know, and it doesn’t hurt to be prepared – in fact, IMHO, we’re all a lot happier when we are.
One thing we don’t bother with is racing to the grocery store to stock up on chips and bottled water. Water comes out of my tap – I don’t see much point in paying for it, and people throw away thousands of bottles each year. We store water in soda bottles, scavenged out of other people’s recycling. Wash them out, and in goes the water.
And because we keep a reliable supply of food, we’re not panicked about life without it. Make sure you do have some stuff that can be eaten with minimal preparation – the makings of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, for example. Obviously, if you have no food reserve, you’ll have to go shopping, but often, we don’t have a lot of warning before the power goes out – so better you just keep stuff around.
If you don’t keep a gas can around, and the tank full, it might be worth getting gas, however, just in case of an extended outage (remember, such a thing isn’t particularly likely, I’m not trying to panic anyone, but these things do happen). Make sure you have adequate food for pets as well, if you are going out. Also, if you are near to running out of medication, pick up your refill, just in case roads are closed.
Here’s what we do do:
- We check and refill our water containers. We have three 55 gallon rain barrels, as well as bottles of water. Almost any bottle can be used, and if you are going to use the water in the short term, you don’t need to treat it. Open containers, like pots and other things are ok for water for a couple of days too.
Everyone says “fill your bathtub” – well bathtubs always leak. So if you are going to rely on that water, put big containers in your tub, and fill them, rather than simply filling the tub.
If you live in town, you may not have to worry as much about water, so it is up to you. If you have a hot water heater, you can drink that water as well, but make sure you know how to drain it. Remember, it is warm now, and you may need more water than you would for a winter outage. Don’t forget water for pets and livestock.
Some of the water, this time of year, is in the freezer, because we’ve been eating down our freezer supplies, and the freezer cools best if it is kept full. We make sure the freezer is full and cover it with a blanket, and then put a heavy 5 gallon bucket filled with food on top, to discourage people from opening it. When you do open, do so very quickly. We also have a backup plan in case the power is out for an extended period – we know we can can the remaining meat and use most of the food. If you are out for more than a couple of days, invite the neighbors in and have a party with the food.
Speaking of neighbors, you should plan on checking on them during an extended power outage. Particularly, you’ll want to stop in with anyone new to the neighborhood, anyone with an infant, the disabled and the extremely elderly – make sure they have water, food, a way to get along. You might stop in and make sure they’ve heard the news and are ready beforehand, if you like – can’t hurt.
Since high winds are expected, make sure you anchor down or put away your outdoor tools and equipment – the last thing you want is someone hurt by a flying lawn chair.
Make sure you know where all the flashlights are (include one for each child old enough to handle his/her own), as well as any other methods of lighting. The solar lanterns are in the window. I find battery powered led nightlights to be invaluable for children who become nervous when the lights are completely out. While not very sustainable, glowsticks are good for kids old enough not to put them in their mouth, but too young to handle a flashlight effectively.
It isn’t going to get cold here, or I’d suggest bringing in firewood, but if your only method of cooking without power is a woodstove or fireplace, make sure you bring in kindling and wood, so as not to have to use wet. Otherwise, check on whatever method of cooking you have, and make sure you have all the pieces.
Don’t go out if the roads aren’t safe and you can avoid it. I realize this sounds obvious, but every year people are in car accidents because they are out for totally optional reasons.
After high wind storms, trees may be down. If you’ll be clearing roads or land with a chainsaw, make sure you know how to use it and have googles, steel toed boots, etc… If you are using a buck or crosscut saw, again, make sure you know how to use it safely. Stay away from limbs near downed power lines.
Stay safe – if the roads are blocked ambulances may not be able to get to you easily. So use common sense, and wait until the safety nets are back before you do anything risky.
Make absolutely sure all candles, kerosene lamps and fires are extinguished when you are not present – we never, ever leave the room with candles burning – too many kids and animals in my house to risk it. Make sure you have fire extinguishers, and your smoke and CO detectors have backup batteries.
Make some plans for fun activities – schools may be closed, or buses not running if the power is out or roads blocked. Plan on enjoying your outage – play games, cook special foods over the fire or grill them, do yard work, enjoy yourself
It is pretty simple, but simple preparations can make the difference between a lousy time being had by all, and the whole thing being a pleasant adventure.
Sharon
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- Comments(9)
ah, the joys of having a Rohrschach brain. I came here directly from TAE this morning; and I read your headline as “Getting Ready For an Outrage”
Which made perfect sense. I didn’t get it internally corrected until I was halfway through you first paragraph.
Something I so far have found missing in almost all prepper preparations is- a good mobile radio, and knowing how to use it; and having one or more neighbors who also have them and WILL check in with you.
The GMRS (general mobile radio service) radios now available can be cheap and pretty powerful; we use them on the 160 acre farm here all the time, both for convenience (Honey, I’m out of water out here; have you got a minute to bring me some?) and security (Hiya- ok, I made it past the snowdrift, and am on my way.) It also impresses trespassers you’re confronting that you’re in radio contact with someone out of reach.
Cell phones cannot be relied on- you tower may go down; in multiple ways.
Lots of GMRS radios will have the NOAH weather channels available; useful for storms.
I’ve got a pair of Cobras that are in their 4th year of full time use; same batteries (lithium ion rechargables) – paid $75 for the pair.
Don’t be put off by the “Requires FCC license” stuff- a) the license is free and automatic, just send in the form, and b) the requirement is almost universally ignored, and unenforced anyway. I’m licensed – big whoop!
We had three days without power a few weeks ago. Lots of trees came down and left a big mess everywhere, so we were working hard everyday to clean up, which meant we got filthy. Our solar showers made the entire experience bearable, either purchased from camping stores or homemade rigs. So if you’ve got the food/water/warmth/communications taken care of, I highly recommend moving on to prepping for hot water for bathing & cleaning up a bit.
Our poor little car got crunched with tennis to golf ball sized hail. Lost only the windshield and pock-marked roof. Other folks in Oklahoma are without power or their house, so a bit of auto damage is light in comparison.
Irony is, we are moving in two weeks to Virginia. I thought I could escape weather damage to my vehicle after three years living here. Ha ha.
We had two weeks without power in January due to a vicious ice storm. We kept our food outside to prevent spoilage and moved into our kitchen, where we hung blankets in the doorways and used the gas stove to keep warm. People yelled that we were going to die of carbon monoxide poisoning, but, of course, that only happens when they carbon mon. is not being BURNED OFF by the flame. At any rate, we stayed super-toasty, had plenty of yummy food to eat, and realized how utterly important it is to have the one thing that kept us sane–our hand-cranked/solar-powered radio. It was the only thing that kept us connected to what was going on. The news station broadcasted 8 hours a day keeping everyone informed, and at night, we got to listen to Jay Leno.
We also wrote stories, played 10,000 rounds of Boggle, and, of course, walked several miles to a friend’s house where we efficiently emptied her wine cellar.
All told, it was a good experience. I learned that as long as I have fire, water, a big kettle, and a hand-cranked radio, I can be pretty happy. Throw some whiskey into the equation, and I’m thrilled.
If we didn’t have a gas stove, we could have still stayed warm (with our sub-zero sleeping bags) and we could have cooked outside, on a fire.
thanks to reading this site we are pretty well stocked….
Lucky for us we have a swimming pool – so we could flush toilets with that if we needed to. I also fill up my washing machine (old top loader) everytime we start getting stormy weather (more toilet flushing) but also the dirty clothes can go for an overnight soak when the power is more reliable.
Just a note, don’t be so sure that the water from your tap is going to always flow. We, in the Detroit area, found out that during the Great Power Out a few years ago. With the electric grid shut down for about a week, the pump stations were not working, ergo, they couldn’t pump water to the homes. We were glad to have bottled water to drink.
I agree with Di. Our town has several well pumping stations and all use electric pumps with propane-powered generators at each site for back up. (The pumps fill several large storage tanks located around town at the higher elevations.) Still, from what I’ve seen, the propane tanks are only about 500 gallons, and even assuming the propane tank is full (it actually might not be as generators usually self-start and “exercise” for half an hour or so each week to stay fresh), that may only run the pumps for a week or so of grid outage, though I’ve never asked anybody in the water department.
Up until not too long ago, a grid outage of over a week seemed to be a very remote possibility, but in these new times, who knows?
Some folks reading Sharon’s blog here may recall that people around Fitchburg, MA lost power for *several* weeks this past December in an ice storm when the local utility’s emergency management plan proved woefully inadequate for the task.
We’ve been through 2 major power outages in our area in the past year. The tip of keeping gas on hand is an excellent one, as well as keeping the van gas tank full. Ice and gas are nearly impossible to get in an extended outage, as we found out the hard way! With a sick child (on refrigerated antibiotics) ice was a must we simply could not get. We paid out of pocket for the prescription to be filled again due to spoiling. Ouch. I now have several milk jugs of frozen water in my freezer. Finding gas to buy on our way to the hospital (same sick child with a severe asthma attack) was also a very scary adventure in a rural area. I generally look forward to power outages, but extended outages are very difficult if you are unprepared.