Do you have an emergency kit for power outages?

hollydolly said:
yes Annie but my point is..I know these people, I know how they are, I lived among them for years... we always used to joke that they were all secret hoarders.. ..in our village the house that look the poorest were often the richest people.. so crying after a few hours about no food, or fuel... just doesn't wash with me...

These are people who do at least 50 % of their shopping at street markets.. as well... and who use Calor gas for their cooking...
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Do you think people in small flats in cities were as prepared as your village? Especially since this is an area that doesn't normally experience outages though the grid everywhere is increasingly vulnerable.
 

People who only live in a small flat can't store many groceries and they'll never have an electric generator if they don't have a balcony. People living in a house are in a much better situation.
 
George1959 said:
People who only live in a small flat can't store many groceries and they'll never have an electric generator if they don't have a balcony. People living in a house are in a much better situation.
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George - an electric generator is an oxymoron. If you have no power you need to generate power.
 

Eupher said:
After encountering a power outage in Salt Lake City about 22 years ago that lasted about 2.5 weeks (yep), I swore I'd never own a house without a generator. That turned out not to be true when I lived in Ohio, but I was there only a couple years. I bought a 17kW Kohler standalone after moving to Missouri (most-of-the-house) generator in 2007 or so, and that addressed the few outages I had there.

My current (and last) house I put in a 20kW generator and that puppy powers the whole house when the entire neighborhood goes dark. Runs on natural gas and I service the Kohler engine every year and it runs just as should. Had a power interruption about a month ago that lasted about 6 hours -- not critically long -- but I felt bad for my neighbors.
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Heavy duty power cords and sharing and you do not have to feel for your neighbors.
 
Twostep said:
May I borrow that please?

What I do not see here or or expat forums is an escape plan, checking on one's circle and an emergency meet up location once away from the desaster area.
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Yes, please feel free to borrow.

The family lives in all points far in our county. Checking on them is done by phone. They don't understand the meet-up location point, so I've given up & would have to work it out on the fly :eek:.

At our house, everyone is aware of what needs to be done & what others will do. When we worked, we had plans on which routes to get back home. The kid works in the southern part of our county, but she know the back roads like us to get home. Meet up location would depend on the damage, but generally at the township hall or fire dept.

As far as evac plans, we've discussed them over the years & they've changed from time to time. Basically, we decided to stay in place unless we had no choice but to leave. Having large animals doesn't make it easy to pick up go. Smaller critters have their crates to be packed up in if needed.

Our neighbor next door is in a similar situation as we are plus little kids to deal with. We'd be helping each other out if we both stayed.

One thing everyone should think of is where is a safe place to keep your important paperwork that is either irreplaceable or hard to get again in times of emergency. We got a safe-deposit box at the bank after one of our neighbors lost everything in a house fire which included birth certificates, marriage certificates, car titles, banking info, wallets (credit/debit cards, insurance cards, cash, driver's licenses) & etc. I keep copies in the house of what is in the box just for reference if needed.

When the SHTF, your cell may not be working so you won't be able to navigate your way around with Google. Most county engineers will have maps of the county & you can get state maps at some government offices as well as by mail just for asking.
 
Even though we had the portable gas generator, my husband wanted something smaller for short-term power outages for his CPAP. He looked around & found this. We've had it for a long time & it works well for it. You keep it plugged in until it's needed & then every once in a while, you run it so the battery is used & then plug it back to recharge.

It weights a ton, but if you are on one level it could be moved around on a small 4-wheel dolly. For some people who can't have or handle a gas generator, this may be what you are looking for. Especially if you need it for medical equipment.

Our friend seen it & bought her Mom to run the fridge in outages which she has regularly for short periods.

One day we dragged it around the house to plug in different appliances (each separately) to check out how they ran. It handled the sump pump & fridge did just fine. The lesser the load of coarse, the longer it would run.

Pro: You can run it safely inside your house or apartment & it's quiet. Con: It's not cheap, but they will have sales on them.

Yeti 1400 Lithium Portable Power Station
th-2981909462.jpg
 
Lilac said:
Yes, please feel free to borrow.

The family lives in all points far in our county. Checking on them is done by phone. They don't understand the meet-up location point, so I've given up & would have to work it out on the fly :eek:.

At our house, everyone is aware of what needs to be done & what others will do. When we worked, we had plans on which routes to get back home.a The kid works in the southern part of our county, but she know the back roads like us to get home. Meet up location would depend on the damage, but generally at the township hall or fire dept.

As far as evac plans, we've discussed them over the years & they've changed from time to time. Basically, we decided to stay in place unless we had no choice but to leave. Having large animals doesn't make it easy to pick up go. Smaller critters have their crates to be packed up in if needed.

Our neighbor next door is in a similar situation as we are plus little kids to deal with. We'd be helping each other out if we both stayed.

One thing everyone should think of is where is a safe place to keep your important paperwork that is either irreplaceable or hard to get again in times of emergency. We got a safe-deposit box at the bank after one of our neighbors lost everything in a house fire which included birth certificates, marriage certificates, car titles, banking info, wallets (credit/debit cards, insurance cards, cash, driver's licenses) & etc. I keep copies in the house of what is in the box just for reference if needed.

When the SHTF, your cell may not be working so you won't be able to navigate your way around with Google. Most county engineers will have maps of the county & you can get state maps at some government offices as well as by mail just for asking.
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Sounds like you got it figured out.
Thank you for the pointer about county engineers.
 
Yes. I have a couple of good flashlights.....and I put in fresh batteries a couple months back. I am in an apartment building and it is brick...so it retains heat well. I often go all winter without turning on my thermostat.
I also have several freeze packs on my freezer. And an insulated cooler. Will keep me a few hours at least
 
We maintain a collection of goodies to cover about any SHTF situation. We have the joys of losing power for multiple days seems every 3-4 years. Helene was 9 days, Blizzard in 93, 17 days. No whole house generator, NG or water line.
The recent fires in WNC took out power twice for hours. We had stocked up the camper ready to run at a moment's notice if needed.
 
Twostep said:
I do not understand what you are asking.
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Of course you don't, so let me explain it to you.

You try to shame me by my insistence that my neighbors ask if they can tie into my house generator, indicating that your own position of "volunteering" your own power is somehow more noble than my approach. In today's parlance, that's called "virtue signaling".

That's patently silly and childish.

Beyond that, how do I know how my neighbors are getting on without power, or even if I know they don't have electrical power? Maybe they're just fine with candles. Maybe they're running a small portable generator and I can't hear it. If my neighbor needs my help, he knows how to ask.

Here's an idea -- you mind your business and I'll mind mine.
 
I keep five gallons of water and several flash lights and a lantern handy. Sometimes that's not enough. On two occasions, I have gone a full week without power.
 
Eupher said:
Of course you don't, so let me explain it to you.

You try to shame me by my insistence that my neighbors ask if they can tie into my house generator, indicating that your own position of "volunteering" your own power is somehow more noble than my approach. In today's parlance, that's called "virtue signaling".

That's patently silly and childish.

Beyond that, how do I know how my neighbors are getting on without power, or even if I know they don't have electrical power? Maybe they're just fine with candles. Maybe they're running a small portable generator and I can't hear it. If my neighbor needs my help, he knows how to ask.

Here's an idea -- you mind your business and I'll mind mine.
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Please - whatever you think.
In my neighborhood we do not sit on each others' laps but know who has what when SHF.
It felt good when a neighbor knocked and asked if I need him to cut the grass. Something was amiss so he asked.
 
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