Preparing for Power Outages

Nature disasters are generally the key reason for power outages. Storms, floods, tornadoes, or hurricanes can lead to lengthy power outages. Unfortunately, these problems are happening more than ever today. Therefore, checking out the best ways to prepare for power outages is always important.

So, you can stay safe during harsh weather conditions accompanying power outages in the best possible way.

How to prepare for power outages?

Do you want to know the best ways to prepare for power outages? Here we have a detailed guide for you on preparing for power outages.

Let’s have a look at the details below to understand things better.

So, here we go:

1. Be aware of the power outage

First and foremost, it is always important to be aware of what's happening and prepare for that. So, it would help to prepare your emergency plan beforehand during a power outage.

Additionally, here are some things that you should also consider here:

• If you have witnessed any down power line, quickly call the helpline to report the situation.
• Learn how to locate and check your house's fuse box or circuit breakers.
• Always keep the electricity company or natural gas contact details to call them whenever needed.
• If you have a home generator, prefer calling an experienced electrician to install that beforehand.

2. Make an emergency plan for the power outage.

Everyone needs an emergency plan for a power outage, as this is necessary to know what to do in any emergency. There is the possibility that your family may not be together during a power outage. Therefore, you must discuss your emergency plan with everyone in the family. This practice will help them learn what to do at home.

To better prepare for any emergency, you should prepare a list of the things necessary to manage beforehand. For instance, storing your family’s important documents. These may include financial documents, birth certificates, insurance policies, etc.

• Put all the important documents in waterproof containers and keep them in a safe place.
• Also, identify an appropriate contact from out of town that will act as a central contact point during an emergency.

Please write down your emergency plan and exercise it with your family to ensure everybody knows what to do during an emergency.

3. Prepare your home for a power outage.

The next important thing here is preparing your home for a power outage.

Install a standby, non-electric heater or stove. Prefer managing heating units that don’t depend on an electric fan, electric motor, or any other such device to function. It is also important to vent your heater or stove appropriately with the necessary chimney flu type.

Always avoid connecting two heating units to one chimney flue simultaneously. If you have a fireplace where you can burn wood to heat your space, clean it beforehand. Clean creosote build-up that can ignite and lead to a chimney fire.

4. Prepare emergency supplies

You should prefer filling any waterproof, plastic container to store your emergency supplies for a power outage. Key emergency supplies that you must keep on hand for a power outage include:

• Fresh batteries and flashlights
• Putting matches and candles in a water-resistant cover. Always store them away from other flammables.
• First-aid kit with all the basic medications for emergency
• A corded phone
• It would help if you also stocked up fuel for the generator during a power outage.

5. Store enough water

Think of how much water you should have to survive a power outage. Multiply your estimated number of gallons by four to store. Always remember that water is a necessity. It is impossible to survive any emergency situation without an adequate water source.

Generally, people underestimate their water needs for emergencies. Therefore, you must plan to store enough water to avoid any hassle during a power outage.

Even though services like power and water generally resume quickly. However, the severity of weather can also lead to major disruptions, so power may take longer to resume.

That’s why storing enough water to fulfill all your water needs is always important, from cooking and drinking to other uses.

6. Plan your food

When a power outage strikes, people forget that microwavable food items require cooking power. This problem can lead them to face food supply shortages during power outages.

To avoid such things, you should always consider stocking up on food items for your family’s use.

Prefer storing shelf-stable food sources to help you nourish your loved ones during a power outage. Even though keeping up with your favorites can be challenging, it never means that you can't eat healthy during a power outage. You can rely on organic packaged food varieties such as dried or frozen fruits, seeds, nuts, jerky, packaged soups, etc.

7. Keep a battery-powered radio.

Preparing for a power outage also means finding the best source to stay connected with the outside world. Unstable wi-fi signals and dead phone batteries can make it challenging to stay connected and informed. Therefore, you must manage a batter powered radio as an additional information source.

Best ways to protect yourself during power outages

Here we have some best ways to protect yourself during a power outage. Firstly, you should prefer going to any community location with power if cold or heat is extreme.

• Don't forget to take an inventory of the essentials you need. Also, determine how your home phone can work during a power outage.
• It would be best to consider installing monoxide detectors in your home. It would be better to keep battery backups with them to avoid poisoning carbon monoxide in the best possible way.
• Turn off or disconnect all your home appliances or electronics. It is because power usually returns with spikes that can cause severe damage to your appliances.
• Another important thing you should consider here is to understand your medical needs. Consult with your healthcare provider and discuss the power outage plan.

This practice is necessary if you use medical devices that require electricity. So, you must find out the best ways to store essential medicine for life.

These are arguably some of the most important things everyone should consider to survive power outages.

Image by Boyan Chen from Pixabay