In todays society we’ve taken for granted the items that are given to us daily from light, heat and water but what happens when a natural disaster occurs out of no where? PANIC occurs and the local grocery stores and hardware stores are the first to be hit by those that didn’t plan for the “WHAT IF’s” or SHTF.  We buy home insurance, health insurance to protect us from the “WHAT IF’s” but rarely plan for things that take place each year like winter storms that cause power outages. Here are a few things to consider when you get hit with a power outage.

1. Check Family and Friends

First, make a power outage check by calling your family and friends if they or other people in your neighborhood have also lost power. Try texting also since this uses less bandwidth and has a good chance of getting through.

You can also report power outage situations in your area to the proper authorities or call 911, then continue monitoring the outage status.

2. Write the Time on a Sheet of Paper

Electrical power is energy often taken for granted. When the lights, television, heating or air conditioning go off, most people just wait for the power to come back on.

What they don’t realize is it can last for hours or days, and there’s potential damage when it is restored. Most people don’t even take action.

3. Turn Off All Electrical items That Were Running at the Time

When counting major events, the average number of outages is 1.3 and it lasts for 250 minutes.

During this time, you’ll want to ensure everyone is safe when power is restored, though. A quick, unexpected start of a motor that was left on or plugged into a sock can become a safety hazard.

The power surge can also damage the motor. If you can’t easily get to appliance plug sockets, turn the refrigerator and freezer settings to the warmest or off condition. Then keep their doors closed.

4.Shut and Lock All Windows and Doors and Get into Comfortable Clothes.

5. Prepare Your Backup Electrical Power and Lighting Systems

Get prepared to activate your backup electrical power and lighting systems. You did prepare before a power outage, didn’t you?

6. Conserve and Stock Water

The number one thing that disappears off the grocery store shelves is water, so being prepare to fill all the clean containers you can find with fresh water, including the bathtub. Know how many bottled waters you have and begin a rationing regimen, and don’t forget to take care of your animals.

7. Have a backup cooking source

It’s important to care for your love ones, and by having back up cooking source is imperative during a power outage with additional fuel sources. If you are using propane or fuel cooking sources (never cook indoors) due to invisible gases that may be harmful and lethal for everyone so cook outdoors only.

8. Initiate Refrigerator and Freezer Food Conservation Procedures Immediately

Don’t open their doors unless absolutely necessary and decide what you’ll take out in advance. Keep the cold where it belongs.

A packed freezer can keep food frozen for up to 48 hours. A packed refrigerator can keep food cold for up to 24 hours.

Consider using a picnic cooler with frozen freezer bags or bags of ice or dry ice to keep food cold or frozen. Use canned or freeze-dried foods to avoid opening the freezer.

If the food in your freezer thaws, it becomes refrigerator quality until its temperature increases to 40° F (4° C). At this point, use it or cook it.

If the power comes back on and ice crystals are still visible on thawed food that has reached 40° F, you can safely re-freeze this. Any meat, poultry, fish, eggs, milk, or leftovers that have been warmer than 40° F for over two hours should be thrown out.

9. Begin Listening to Your Portable Battery-Operated Emergency Radio

A hand crank capability is good because this won’t discharge your normal batteries and a 60-count crank charge can keep the radio going for over 30 minutes. Every community has an emergency broadcast station where you can check for power outages in your locality or region.

Learn its frequency and then tune your radio to it and monitor the power outage repair processes and weather conditions.

What is a hand crank radio? It is a simple handheld radio that can receive AM and FM signals, which is extremely helpful in times of emergencies. It can be operated and powered with a hand crank.

10. Have an emergency contact list out of state.

It’s important to have a dependable emergency contact person outside of your demographical location that everyone has their number as a check-in location. Having access to a pay phone in case the power outage happens in a big city for a long period of time. This will ease panic if everyone knows how to call the emergency contact to inform them that they are safe as well as calling them when the power is restored.

To many, the effects of power outages are a scenario straight out of a post-apocalyptic movie but for the survivalist, this is only a way to test what they’ve learned and known all along. Now, you yourself know what to do in case a widespread power outage occurs!

What would you do yourself when caught in a widespread power outage? We’d appreciate your thoughts about it in the comments section below!

Extra special thanks to Survival life