Will you be ready when it happens?
It is not a matter of IF – but rather a question of WHEN and for how long.
This is not gloom and doom conspiracy theory apocalyptic stuff either, it’s just the hard cold truth of real life.
Every year we have storms. Motorists lose control and crash into power poles. Fires and other calamities at homes, factories, industrial complexes, and other places knock out the power to countless other homes and businesses within the affected area.
Then of course, you can add in the other man-made crisis events of all kinds as well. Though rarer these things do happen and unfortunately are happening even more so as we go along into the future.
Regardless of the cause, it is a very good thing to be prepared for it when it happens.
Want to Get A Realistic Idea of What It Will Be Like?
Turn off your main breaker. Turn off the main water supply valve to your home – or just shut the individual valves for the sinks and the toilets.
Try that for just a few hours or maybe a day or two if you dare.
Here are a few things to think about first and decide how you are going to handle them;
- Lights No Longer Work – How will you see?
- Refrigerator Stops Cooling – It will eventually loose the cold inside and your food will spoil. This will happen much faster if you open the door!
- Toilettes Stop – You get to flush them once more – then the water in the tank is gone and it will no longer work, yet you still have to pee and poop. How are you going to deal with the waste and the smell that comes along with it?
- Heating and Cooling – Once the power goes off your HVAC goes along with it. How are you going to deal with that? If you are in a cold climate in winter, even inside a well-insulated home – once the heat stops working it is only a matter of time before the temperature plummets below life-threating levels. Likewise, if you are in an area that gets really hot in mid-summer it will become sweltering very fast – so again what’s your plan?
- No Store Access – If the power goes out in your whole area, the stores will shut down. Their computerized registers and systems won’t work and they will be in the dark without video and other systems so many will simply close immediately. Those few that don’t – if any – will soon run out of everything you need and want? Do you have enough food and other supplies already on hand – or not?
- Cooking – Something as simple as making a pot of coffee has a whole new set of realities when there is no power. How will you cook, heat up water, etc.?
- Water – speaking of water… Once the taps stop flowing you will have an immediate and serious problem if you are not already prepared. Are you prepared NOW? How much water do you have, is it drinkable and how long will it last?
- Communications – Cell and landlines will not work. The TV is off the air. How will you get information about the situation? Do you have a portable battery-operated/solar chargeable radio? How about a CB? What is your plan – and do you have it in place and working NOW?
- Security – Anytime there is widespread disruption there are bad people who seek to exploit the situation and prey upon other people. If they come for you, your family members and or your property – what are you going to do about it? Do you even know how to defend yourself other than calling 911? When systems don’t work and the police and emergency services personnel are already overwhelmed – they may not even know you need help let alone be able to respond. That means no one is coming to help you – so you must help yourself. What is your plan?
- Does Your Plan Work? – Sometimes people do have some ideas and think they have made ready for such things. Yet they are not ready. Let’s say you have a portable generator. Great! When is the last time you started it and used it? Will it start, will it run and if it does for how long? Do you have enough good fuel on hand? How about emergency food? Is it still good – can you cook/prepare it? Does your family know where everything is and how to use it in the event you are not home and can’t get there for whatever reason? Do you practice, drill and rehearse – or do you just hope it all works out OK?
These are just a few things to think about and ponder how you would handle these situations. Get a piece of paper and write down your responses and discuss them with your family. See what you come up with.
In my next post, I will give you my ideas on how you might want to handle these things. Talk to you again soon!