Blackouts and Emergency Preparedness

in all likelihood the most frequently occurring emergency in your house is  a town-wide power failure, sometimes for many hours, occasionally for days. That is not surprising considering an outdated and nearly overwhelmed power grid. We are far more dependent on electrical power in the home than many of us are aware. Just   count the full count of electrical outlets in your house or condo and look at how many are occupied with plug-ins.

Here are suggested ways you can ready yourself:

Emergency Lights

The often overlooked flashlight – Have at least one per person. If it requires batteries, replace  batteries one time per year; if they are the rechargeable type, either keep them charging all day and night or do so every week or two. What’s better, use self-powered flashlights (solar, pull-string or hand-crank, shake). Best area to store a flashlight is just beside your bed.

Automatic Systems – There are a plethora  of automatic lighting systems that have rechargeable batteries. They simply stay  plugged into an electrical outlet, and on their own, turn on when power fails. These range from individual flashlights to dual spotlights. Best places to install them: hallway(s), kitchen, basement, garage or carport

Lanterns – In the ‘old days’, kerosene  or lamps powered by oil were commonplace, but also more common were house fires caused by fallen ones.  In today’s society, thanks to improved technologies, there are many types of self-powered rechargeable LED lanterns Dynamo, solar and oftentimes both.

Emergency Power

Generator – In the suburbs and more rural  areas, it is not uncommon to own a backup generator; gas, diesel engine, propane. Sizes  vary from adjunct to big enough to power everything in the home. Pretty difficult for urban dwellers, though, particularly those living in apartments. But…

Mini-Generator – You might simply refer to them as jumpstarters, but many of the newer ones now have built in DC to AC inverters with two or more outlets. Fully charged, one of these will supply impermanent house  current for appliances, power tools, computer, tv, etc.

Inverters – Power inverters convert DC (i.e. from car battery) to AC (120v house current) and come in a range from 100 watts to as high as 10,000 watts (surge).

Power for Cooking

Most kitchen stoves run on either electricity or natural gas. In emergency situations, quite often neither will operate.

Outdoor (and some indoor) grills – There are a variety of grills, hibachis, and portable stoves available that may be used with propane, kerosene, charcoal, or wood for fuel. Some can be used inside, all can be used out of the home or on apartment balconies.

Backpacking Stoves – Almost all of these can be used in your kitchen and  outdoors or on the deck. The larger ones, while not always the best for backpackers because of weight or bulk, can be used as a replacement stove in your kitchen.

Solar (Sun) Oven – One of the more innovative ways to cook and bake in an emergency (or in any energy-conserving situation) is to utilize the sun’s energy. All you need is a solar oven with several hours’ exposure to the sunlight, and you can duplicate just about anything you might otherwise prepare on or in your kitchen stove. These have been applied in many of the world’s recent disasters, such as the earthquake in Haiti.

Food & Water

Food – If the electricity goes down, so does the refrigerator. Cook anything that  is in there first and foremost, because if the blackout is of any significant duration refrigerated food will go bad. Go for the freezer food after that, for precisely the same reason. The smart idea for any emergency is to load up on canned and dehydrated~dried} items, at least 72 hours’  worth and preferably longer.

Water – Few of us are very aware of the amount of water we use per person per day for drinking, cooking, washing. Water is one of those things we typically take for granted until there is none. Figure a minimum of 1 gallon  per person per day, and that’s an absolute minimum. More is best. So, it’s a good  idea to have some water stored, at least enough for basic necessities. Store  water in sealed 1-gallon or 5-gallon containers, even in the Coast Guard approved contained pouches with a 5-year shelf life. There are also 55-gallon tub storage bladders and 65-gallon heavy duty storage bladders.

Toilet

Lastly, there is the toilet. For many, a loss of power also cuts off water. And without water, a toilet has about 1 flush. For those in this situation, there are a wide range of solutions from single use disposable liquid and solid waste pouches to multiple use  portable chemical toilets.

To Summarize

All emergencies are unplanned, but most can be prepared for ahead of time with some simple disaster preparedness supplies.In the event of no power, specifically one that lasts more than a few hours, think about what you commonly take for granted during a typical day and night…light, heat, food, water, toilet. Now think about going through a day without them.

 

Originally posted 2010-07-18 16:21:37. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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