Power Failures for Long Periods of Time

By Jim Long | PreppingandSurviving.Blogspot.Com | January 5, 2015

In a disaster situation you may wind up with the power grid being interrupted for a period of time.  Also, for urban dwellers, your gas mains or piping in your house may break due to earthquake.  Know how to shut the gas off to your house in this situation.  FEMA states that you should have 96 hours of food and supplies due to a disaster.  Hurricane Katrina taught us not to depend on the government, we need more than this!!  These are just some suggestions/ideas to make what you have last as long as possible!!

1.  Load and carry your firearm.  You may be prepared, but others will not be.  Don’t let your preparations make you a victim.

2.  Assess your food situation.  Use refrigerated leftovers and thawed meats first!!  Move one or two frozen items at a time into the fridge after a few hours to help keep fridges contents cold.  Know what is in fridge and freezer so you don’t have to keep opening  and letting out the cool!!  Keep a supply of charcoal/wood or a backup or two of propane for that type barbecue.  If this looks like it will be a extended power failure, start smoking and jerking meats (thawed first) over barbecue at low heat.  Don’t wait for everything to thaw and try to do it all at once.

3.  Well pressure will start to fail after a while in the city.  Fill EVERY available container with water.  Even if the container is non-sanitary, fill it!!  Toilets don’t flush on air!! (fill the bathtub if you can) .  Also while on the subject, pee outside (that includes the ladies, sorry)  Save the water for b.m. flushes.

4.  Make it known that you are armed.  Carry your long gun  in the yard as you are prepping.  This will keep your honest neighbors honest and will make others think twice!!

5.  NEVER LET YOUR FUEL TANK GET BELOW THREE QUARTERS OF A TANK!!!!  Have back up fuel, in cans, that you rotate once a month.  Have enough to get out of Dodge and somewhere safe!!  Also back up propane canisters for Coleman stove/lantern or white gas.  BATTERIES, BATTERIES,  BATTERIES!!!

6.  If you have an R.V. keep it stocked and fueled.  The holding tank will provide you a storage for your waste (ladies no peeing in the backyard!!)  and the water tank, batteries, generator will give you power to listen to broadcasts to assess the situation and get out of Dodge if you have to!!  Plus, with a stocked  R.V. you hook up and go, before it gets rough!!

7.  Have maps of the area.  Stay off the well traveled highways, as they will clog up first.  I cannot emphasize enough, taking “Sunday Drives” and finding different ways to get to your fall back position.  Even though some use the same route through some areas, there are 14 different ways from Fresno to Auberry that I have found.  If a bridge is out, I can turn around or detour to another way.  These 14, by the way,  are passable by a 2wd.  Does the importance of a tank ¾ full have any importance now?

8.  Make sure that you have your prescription meds, and do not put of refills.
There are so many things more, but this gives you the basics.  Think about what YOU need in these situations and provide yourself double!! Better safe, than sorry!!

Sources:

http://preppingandsurviving.blogspot.com/2015/01/power-failures-for-long-periods-of-time.html

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Yellow_Tape_by_Downed_Power_Lines_%287536146736%29.jpg