When hurricane Irma hit, she hit north Georgia with a vengeance. In my particular situation she decided to drop some trees near my home which caused a major power outage for my neighbors and myself. We were left without power for three days, and though my family was prepared in our household, we weren’t prepared enough. Here are some things I learned that I think could help you too in an event of a long term power outage.
Water Water Water
Besides being one of the most essential elements of survival, you can never have enough of fresh clean water. We knew the storm was headed toward us so we decided to fill our tubs with water. And that water came in handy when it came to flushing toilets. What we didn’t anticipate were our neighbors not having enough water to flush their own toilets. So we ended up a little short on water through our power hiatus since we decided to do the right thing and share our stored up water. Luckily we had enough drinking water – in the form of cases of bottled water – to last us. So the lesson learned here, store at least enough water for your family AND your neighbor.
Wet Wipes!
There are so many uses for wet wipes, from using them to clean up spills to cleaning yourself. In our case we used them not only for changing our daughter’s diapers, but also cleaning our hands, washing our face, etc… Wet wipes have so many uses I think everyone, whether they have a child or not, should have them on hand. Having enough wet wipes to last a few days is essential for any emergency kit.
Solar
Having back solar lanterns was quite the luxury. Not only do they output more light than a candle, they’re less dangerous. I highly recommend the Luci light. We found the frosted version to be the best version of this light. It lasts up to 24 hours on a single charge and is powered through solar – so no need to worry about having batteries. Having battery banks to charge up your devices was quite useful as well. We still had access to the internet with our cell phones and we were able to check the weather, and keep abreast of news related to our power outage. We also had a handcrank/solar radio that allowed us to listen to the latest news via radio.
Propane
Having a propane stove was not only a great luxury item, it helped us prepare hot meals during the outage. Propane stores for quite a long time and one canister can last several meal preps. You can also purchase Propane heaters in the event your power goes out during the colder seasons. I recently found out from my boss that you can purchase a propane generator as a back up generator. We are looking into that option for the future.
Well there are my short tips on how to prepare for a storm. I hope you found them helpful. I’ll probably have another post about a 72 hour emergency kit and what I recommend that you put in it in case of a disaster – both man made and natural.
Thanks,
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