Survive Power Outages: High Winds, Snow, and Other Natural Disasters Take Out Power
1. Locate light sources and keep them handy.
Light Sources include candles, flashlights, camp lanterns, and oil lamps. Most homes have a few of these items being used as 'decorator accessories'. Candles in glass jars are particularly appropriate for lighting during a power outage. In fact, I keep a few extra in the cupboard just for this purpose.
Oil lamps work well for overall lighting. These have a wide wick and offer a few degrees of warmth as well as light. By raising or lowering the wick you get more or less light. Adjust it for maximum light using the least wick for economic lighting.
Flashlights require batteries and should be used sparingly, unless you have an unending source of batteries. They are required for exterior lighting, when you leave the house. Candles won't work outside in the dark. Winds blow them out.
2. Locate heat sources and use them sparingly, but stay warm.
Alternate heat sources may not be readily available. However, by using good old fashioned common sense, you may be able to find heat sources that will work.
If your kitchen stove is not electric, it may be helpful. Newer gas stoves require electricity to light, if your stove is electric light, do NOT try to bypass the electric lighting mechanism.
All gas water heaters are a good source of warmth. Turn the hot water on to drizzle to keep pipes from freezing and allow the water to fill a wash pan in the sink, so that it can also 'drain' overflow. Warm water in the sink emits heat. Do this in all rooms with running water.
All gas cook stoves are a good source of heat. Bake cookies, prepare food in the oven, cook soups or stews on top of the stove and keep them cooking. The steam warms the air, and the heat keeps you warm. A warm bowl or cup of soup warms your body. Warm cookies are also heart and body warming. You can leave the oven on low to heat your home. DO NOT LEAVE YOUR OVEN UNATTENDED when leaving the door slightly open to emit heat.
If you happen to have a fireplace, it would be an awesome source of heat and cooking resources. You can prepare food in most fireplaces with a bit of ingenuity. Forks to cook meat, or a large cast iron pot or pan can be used in fireplace cooking.
3. Body heat and snuggling power work wonders.
Those old-fashioned activities are meant to keep you warm. Wrap up in blankets and snuggle on the couch with a good book. Read to your family members, or encourage them to read to you. Put on extra clothing, and bundle up as if you were going to be out in cold weather. (You are.) Pile on the extra blankets at night. Leave the hot water running but turn off all other heat at night, while you sleep. Occasionally get up and turn on the oven for an hour or so if necessary but NEVER leave it unattended.
Keep little kids warmer by putting them in with older kids or parents. Their bodies don't make as much heat as yours does, so take extra precautions to keep them warm. If you get wet, change immediately; wet bodies get cold faster. Stay dry and stay warmer.
Remember your Christmas stockings, all hung by the fireplace with care. This is an excellent way to dry clothing only NOT on the mantle. Hang your stockings, damp clothing, and other wet gear over the back of a chair 4 or 5 feet from the fireplace.
4. Resort to power free work sources.
This article was written first with a pen and paper by candle light. You can still work, even without a battery powered computer. Keep a spiral notebook handy for inspirations. Working pens are a plus.
Since you're going to write everything on a computer later, a rough outline by pen and paper is probably enough, with a few comments to pull it all together. Grammar, spelling, and other editing can be accomplished later on the computer.
Phones with hard lines that don't require power hookups are necessary to power outages. Have at least one on each line coming into your home.
You can probably charge your cell phone when you drive your car, although you may not be going anywhere. So, use it sparingly.
5. Check power sources to be certain cause of outages is not a repair issue.
Make sure lines on your property are not down, or burned. Visual inspections will verify this. Just check at connections outside to power meter, to connections, and fuse boxes. Check breakers to be certain they haven't flipped or kicks off.
Various causes of outages require an electrician to repair your services before you can restore power to your residence. During the recent storm ice and weight on the lines caused a burned connection before the meter. I lived with the outage for four days before I called in the local power company, because an electrician had thought it was inside my house.
Don't hesitate to call in an expert. Their help can be a time saver as well as a life saver.
Related Tags: survival, snow, natural disasters, surviving power outages, high winds, ice storms, lights out, oil lamps
Jan Verhoeff lives in southern Colorado where snow is not so much an annual event as a decade event. Recent storms and weather issues have given her insight to a different way of life. Power outages and emergency preparedness are becoming a necessity even in the USA. Business resources and the thrill of adventure are logged at http://lamarcolorado.blogspot.com some days are missing and some are downright silly, but the storm photos are there.
Your Article Search Directory : Find in ArticlesRecent articles in this category:
- Flood Risk Assessment Information-why Is It Essential?
Are you at risk of flooding? And have you performed your own flood risk assessment yet? These are th - Allah Swears by the Heavy Clouds; the Day of Judgment is Authentic
Comparative Study between the Bible and the Quran (51) - C: The third part (I) (Chapter 51:1-5) - Authentic Tornado Video - Wakeup Call On Global Warming!
Each day, we hear about strange meteorological phenomenon happening in various parts of the Globe. T - Climate Changes And Abnormal Weather - Are We Hurting The Planet?
It is no longer a secret that the weather is changing, with abnormal phenomenon happening all around - Climate Changes and Abnormal Weather - are We Hurting the Planet?
It is no longer a secret that the weather is changing, with abnormal phenomenon happening all aroun - Authentic Tornado Video - Wakeup Call on Global Warming!
Each day, we hear about strange meteorological phenomenon happening in various parts of the Globe. - Global Warming - Apocalypse or Just an Exaggeration?
The constant climate change is a fact that we just can't disregard anymore. As unreal as it may sou - Hurricane Ike Sos
Most of the people in Houston have their power back. Hard hit areas in the suburbs and surrounding - It's A Bit Early For A Freeze, Isn't It?
The passage of a Canadian cold front will introduce a touch of Autumn to the northeastern US. Cool a - Hurricane Ike- Black-n-blue Monday
One neighbor has power, but the one across the street does not. Centerpoint Energy is getting peopl
Most viewed articles in this category:
- Winter Weather Preparations - It's Never Too Late
Each year, exposure to cold, vehicle accidents caused by wintry roads, and fires caused by the impro - Ocean Wave Energy Generation is Promising; What about a Tsunami or Hurricane Storm Surge?
Several ocean wave electricity generation concepts have been considered over the years and now some - Climate Change? I've Got Some Swampland To Sell You
As you know, Hurricane Katrina brought incredibly devastation to New Orleans and surrounding areas. - Urban Heat, Global Warming, Space Radiation, Earth Core Spin Cycle; Which is It?
The debate over Global Warming is heating up; perhaps that is what is making the ambient temperature - Information on the Orlando Climate
The Orlando Climate is sub tropical. The weather tends to be warm and humid. The climate is influenc - Disastrous Floods Kill Tens of Thousands Every Year
Every year disastrous floods kill tens of thousands of people. In fact every year in the last four - Nor'easters, What Are They?
Nor'easters aren't as powerful as hurricanes, but they can be very destructive. The March Nor'easter - Hurricanes and Tropical Cyclones
Hurricane is the name given to a tropical cyclone with continued winds of 74 miles per hour or more - Acid Rain (Acid Precipitation)
"Acid rain" is a broad term referring to a mixture of wet and dry deposition (deposited material) fr - Do You Live in a Flood Zone - 12% of Americans Do!
Over 12% of the United States population lives within a flood zone and even more people live close t