“
Bracing for a big power grid attack: ‘One is too many’“, USA Today states “
About once every four days, part of the nation’s power grid — a system whose failure could leave millions in the dark — is struck by a cyber or physical attack.”
How
would your family fare in a power grid down situation? What things
would you need to prepare? In our world where we rely heavily on power,
the internet, the stores, debit, credit, etc, etc, we would be in
serious trouble, right?
Let's have a look at some of the things you would need to prepare for.
1.
Lighting options - As much as we think we could live without light, it
would get old after the first 24 hours. One night of the kids
complaining that they couldn't see anything, they couldn't do anything,
they are bored, and so on, it is time to rethink the lighting
situation. What are your options? You could have a large supply of
candles, lighters and matches. Both easy to do and cheap to pick up,
plus they provide a bit of heat. How about a flashlight in every room
and extra batteries in a place where you can find them. Crank
flashlights are a good idea. Hurricane lanterns and other lanterns are a
good plan, just make sure you use them safely. We have a couple of oil
lanterns and they are great, but not used properly they could quickly
cause a larger emergency. Glow sticks of all shapes and sizes might
entertain the kiddos as well as provide some light. Whatever you choose
to have, get them organized in a way you can locate them quickly in a
grid down situation, whether short or long term.
2.
Water is important in a power down situation as well. Have your
drinking water stored, and learn sources of extra water that could be
used for flushing and washing. No you will not be able to run to the
store and get water, and much to our dismay, it won't come out of the
taps. Have a good storage of water filters, berkey filters, life straws
and so forth, there may be water sources around you that you could
filter and drink. Prepare ahead of time, and have a plan of what you
will do. Know how much water it takes to flush your toilet. Learn how
and have the resources to use baby wipes to maybe give yourself a spit
bath, so to speak. What are your options, and have you prepared for no
water with no power.
3. If you do have a generator,
have you practiced hooking it up, at least so you could run your fridge
and / or freezer. Do you have a source of fuel to run your generator
for an extended period of time. The time to learn all about your
generator is not when you are in need of it.
4.
Cooking supplies - Peanut butter sandwiches will get old really fast,
and you will run out of bread eventually. So what are your options for
cooking? Do you have a barbecue? Do you have a long term source of
fuel for it? Do you have a fire pit? Wood? Know what you could cook
over a fire, and how to do it? Do you own small camp stoves and have a
source of fuel for them that would last awhile? Dutch ovens are great,
but you need a source of fuel. Charcoal briquettes are great for fire
pits, barbecues and other cooking options, and they store for
indefinitely if kept dry. Grab yourself a few extra bags this camping
season and tuck them away.
5. Have you thought about what you would do with all the garbage that will quickly build up? Garbage
trucks
won't be running, so what are your options? Have a good supply of all
sizes of garbage bags, bare minimum. Perhaps even have a way to create a
burning barrel. Most places won't allow burning barrels within city
limits, but when it all comes down, it would be better to burn it, than
to have it pile up, attracting rodents, critters, and all manner of
disease. Lot's of garbage bags, and a small burning barrel are a bare
minimum.
6. Food - I can't preach enough about food.
If your family is hungry, they will be cranky, and they will get sick.
Keep a good stock of canned goods, and dried goods on hand, always. It
is easy to open a can and warm it up over a small heat source. Also
canned goods can help with a little bit of water in your system. It is
good to have a supply of familiar foods, especially if you have little
children. Emergency is not the time to be introducing new foods to a
fussy eater. You may think they will eat if they are hungry, but I can
tell you, they won't. At least have a 72 hour supply of food and
water, then work towards putting together a 3 month supply of food and
water resources, and then work to a year supply. Rotate it, learn to
cook with it, learn to love it, and in an emergency situation, there
will be no food shock to the system, causing sickness and mental trauma.
7.
How are you going to stay warm? Do you know how to hunker down into
one or two main rooms in your home and keep them warm? Do you have an
alternate heat source? Warm clothing? Extra warm blankets?
8.
Communication - how will you communicate with your family to know they
are all okay and let them know you are okay? Do you have cell phone
solar chargers? It is possible in emergency situations to get text
messages out, even if a phone call won't go through. Who are you going
to call? Does your family have an out of area contact person, who you
would get a message to, to let them know you are okay? Then if any
other family are wondering if you are okay, they don't all have to try
and get ahold of you, they can contact your out of area contact person.
It is important to have a central contact person and make sure everyone
knows who that is. Extra batteries are important. Crank radios are
important. Two way radios between you and your family that live across
town, are a great idea, as long as you have a good supply of batteries.
9.
First aid supplies and prescriptions on hand are a must. The first aid
supplies should be tailored to what the needs of your family might be.
There are many lists available to help you figure this one out. Do a
little research and build a kit that works for your family. It might
also be important for someone in your family to have first aid
training.
10. Paper and plastic products. It might
be wise to have a supply of paper plates, cups and throw away utensils.
This will keep your dish washing to a minimum and save valuable water.
They can also be burned in your burn barrel that you are going to
create. Things like cards and board games might come in handy too, as
entertainment will not include anything that requires electricity.
Think
as you are going through this list, any other things you may need.
What would you need if the grid was down for only a few days? What if
it was out for a few weeks? What if we had an EMP and it was out for
many months, / years? It is a reality we face in our world today. It
may be a big bad storm that takes out the power grid, it may be a big
bad terrorist that does it, regardless of what the cause of it is, are
you prepared for it? Could your family breeze through it relatively
unscathed if and when it happens to you?
If you think
you would be in serious trouble, then figure out what you need to do to
lessen that trouble. Start today with one little step. Buy a
flashlight and batteries. Buy a bag of charcoal briquettes. Buy a
package of candles. Buy a small portable stove. Whatever it is you
need to do, just start today and do it.
