How to Survive a Catastrophic Electrical Outage
I know that I am fortunate as I do not have small children at home. Both of my adult children in Columbus lost their electricity for just over 24 hours. One major concern for us was the supplies for my bakery in the refrigerators and freezers. The other concern was getting the well-pump operational so that the horses could have water to drink. My boyfriend had a generator during the 2004 electrical outage, but bought a second one shortly after that “just in case”. Several hours after the storm, when we realized the electricity was not coming on anytime soon, the generator was humming on the back porch. After my experience, I have developed a list of ways to prepare for a catastrophic electrical outage.
Invest in a Generator: With the high cost of food, keeping refrigerated and frozen items cool is a priority. The morning after the wind storm, Central Ohioans descended upon hardware stores, searching for generators. Lowe’s in Mount Vernon, OH, sold out their stock of 20 generators within 30 minutes of opening, according to a family friend who works there. My cousin found a generator at Aldi in Mount Vernon for $199 plus tax – the last generator in the store. As he was leaving, a man offered him $500 for that generator. My cousin told him that he was going to lose more than that in the food that was in the freezer if he didn’t get the generator home.
What is the dollar amount of food in your refrigerator and/or freezer? Even if you do not live in an area that is prone to natural disasters such as hurricanes or tornadoes, electrical outages are possible. Instead of thinking you can’t afford a generator, ask yourself if you can afford to lose the food in your freezer.
Stock up on bottled water if you have a well pump: Buy 3 or 4 2-3 gallon containers of water and store them in the back of a closet or the basement. You will need this water to drink, cook with, wash dishes and brush your teeth. Water will also be needed to flush the toilet. If you intend to reuse plastic water bottles, the Food & Drug Administration recommends washing the bottle with hot, soapy water between uses.
Stock up on ice: If you do not have a generator, you will need to use ice to keep your food cold. In a fortunate circumstance, we happened to cater a party at our home a few weeks before the windstorm. We had approximately 6 bags of ice still in the freezers. A full freezer operates more efficiently than a half-full freezer. A full freezer will also hold the cold longer, as long as it is kept closed. If you do not normally have enough food to fill your freezer, fill bags with homemade ice cubes or ice blocks to fill in the gaps.
Keep a supply of disposable plates and flatware: While I normally don’t advocate single use plates, cups or forks, water is at a premium during a major electrical outage.
Invest in flashlights, batteries, oil lamps and pillar or jar candles: Let there be light! We own two battery-operated camp lanterns that will run for 100 hours. When the electricity goes out is not the time to start looking for the batteries or filling the oil lamps.
Invest in a camp stove and coffee pot: A propane camp stove does not take much space and can be used to cook many things when the electricity goes out. A Coleman camp stove operates on small round cans of propane that can be purchased at any hardware and many grocery stores for $3-$4.
If you can’t face the world without your morning coffee, understand that electricity is required to operate an automatic drip coffee maker. On the first day of the outage, my father drove 20 minutes each way and stood in line for 40 minutes to get his coffee. On the second day, he heated water on his gas grill and received warm brown water in return. I am already looking for a coffee maker for his Christmas gift.
Prepare an emergency food supply: Buy a large airtight storage bin and stock it with emergency supplies. When buying food for an electrical outage, take into account your other preparations. Even if you have a generator, it may not provide enough electricity to operate a stove or oven. It will be necessary to adapt cooking techniques. Without a generator, cooking options are limited to grills or camp stoves. Canned foods such as stews, hearty soups, and pastas heat very easily with these cooking methods. Canned or shelf-stable packaged tuna and chicken provide excellent protein. Powdered or evaporated milk can be mixed with the water you stockpiled. Anytime you might have leftover packages of condiments from restaurants, add those to the bin.
Please remember: if there is no electricity, the electric can opener will not work. Make sure you have a hand-operated can opener somewhere in your kitchen.
Be a Considerate Neighbor: Do not buy every battery on the shelf. Most stores receive shipments more than once a week. Everyone who wasn’t prepared needs batteries as much as you do. Buy batteries only for essential items – a gaming system is not an essential item during an electrical outage.
If you are physically able, help your neighbors with cleanup. Do not approach power lines, but all of the limbs will need to be gathered.
When a traffic signal has no electricity, that intersection becomes a 4-way stop.
Keep Your Sense of Humor: Believe it or not, Mother Nature did not conspire with the electric company in order to ruin your life. In anticipation of Hurricane Ike, many central Ohio electrical crews were sent to Texas to assist with post-storm recovery. The line workers are putting in very long hours (yes, for a job they signed up for) and are doing their absolute best to restore everyone’s electrical service. I live in the country. I was surprised to have my electricity restored as quickly as it was.
Most regular television shows are available as reruns on the Internet. Your cable service is not more important than restoring electrical service.
Count your blessings. According to the Columbus Dispatch, at least three people were killed in Ohio during the wind storm.
