We had a power outage due to iced power lines and high winds here in our town. We lost power for a day and found out very quickly that some of our preparation had been unnecessary and that some of what we needed to do just wasn’t done. We knew in advance we would have ice and freezing weather for a few days and had already made sure we were prepared. However, we failed in a few areas. Here’s a recap.
Successes:
- Plenty of non-perishable food in case our power outage lasted for days and ruined the food we had in the refrigerator
- Batteries
- Gasoline
- Cash
- Lighters and matches
- Candles
- Fully charged cell phones
- Extra blankets
Deficiencies:
- Did not test one flashlight, was ultimately faulty
- Some batteries were dead
- Lacked plan to preserve expensive meat in our freezers
The only advantage we had regarding the meat in our freezer was that the weather was 5 degrees. If all else failed, we could store our meat either in the garage or outside safely without any spoilage. This of course would work out to be a positive for us in the winter, but a definite solution will need to be determined for the warmer months we have here as well. We also had zero communication as far as school closings or weather conditions until my brilliant daughters bound into the living room with their clock radio that not only runs on electric, but has a battery backup. They were certainly proud of themselves, and I really couldn’t blame them. This part of my plan (the backup radio) had actually never occurred to me. It was a pleasant surprise that we only needed our emergency supplies for the day, but it uncovered some of the cracks in our well-oiled plan. At least we had a plan, now it’s time to make more changes. Remember to keep the actual plan on a piece of paper instead of stored on the computer.
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