Surviving a Lengthy Electrical Power Outage

With the long and cold nights of winter and storms blowing across the country, power outages are an inevitable outcome. Are your prepared? Having survived the ice storm that ravaged the Northeast in 2003, here are some tips to help your family survive without power.

Before the Power Outage

No matter how confident you are that you will not lose power there is always the chance that the one extraordinary event may occur. Having lived in Florida for a year and having lived through several outages caused by hurricanes, we knew the importance of being prepared. Preparing for a winter power outage is not difficult; it requires some prior foresight and some imagination on your part.

When to expect Power Outage

The weather stations are forecasting an Ice Storm, Blizzard or Thunderstorm. It is time to start preparing. Make sure everyone has an emergency task/duty that they are responsible for. This makes children feel important. Do not procrastinate.

Suppliers that should be kept on hand:

Flashlight: Have your flash light readily available. If it requires to be charged, make sure that it is fully charged. If it runs on batteries make sure that the batteries are functioning. Check your flash lights periodically so as not to let battery corrosion ruin your flashlight.

Extra Batteries: These are always extremely useful. Have different sizes to replace the batteries in your flashlight and portable radio.

Battery Powered Radio: The radio will keep you connected to the outside world. We kept our radio tuned to a weather station to keep getting updates on what next to expect with the weather and nighttime temperatures.

First Aid Kit: Keep your first aid kit handy in case of any unforeseen emergencies. We keep an extra supply of commonly used medications in the kit (acetaminophen, ibuprofen, burn cream, and bandages among other supplies)

Bottled Water: If your water supply is from a well like ours was bottled water was a necessity. Have at least a week’s supply of water on hand.