A long time without power

"Do you realize if it weren't for Edison we'd be watching TV by candlelight?" - Al Boliska

In Louisiana Hurricane Ike knocked out power to 99% of the Entergy Corp customers. Eight days after the storm, CenterPoint Energy of Texas reports that 819,000 customers, or 36%, were still without power in its service area. "Most" of metro Houston should have power in another 4 days, nearly two weeks after the hurricane.

Disasters like this go way beyond the 3-day (72 hour) go-kits that most agencies recommend. Could you live without power for two weeks? In earlier blogs I've covered Food Safety During Power Outages and Living without power. Today I'd like to offer some additional practical advice that we use in our home.

1. Build a long term food store. One month is good, 3 months better.
2. Include in your food store items that do not require cooking like peanut butter, crackers, canned fruit (do you have a manual can opener???), cereal, instant milk, canned tuna and other meats, etc.
3. Have a camping stove and extra fuel. I like the butane mini-stoves sold everywhere as an alternative to hot plates. When cooking with gas, either cook outdoors or have LOTS of air ventilation. Never use charcoal indoors. Also be aware that some cities and apartments/condos have regulations restricting the storage of fuel and gas cylinders.
4. Stock up on easy meals that just require boiling water (which you'll make with your portable stove). We store MRE's and boxes of pasta with canned/jar sauce. Ramon noodles are also convenient.
5. Store water. We use several 7 gallon containers. Anything larger would be too heavy for us to move.
6. Have means to purify water. If your water storage runs out or is old you'll need to purify water before use. We keep on hand iodine tablets, water filters, and the stove for boiling.
7. Have something for light. Flashlights and batteries will run out fast - unless you have a hand crank flashlight. We have a large store of candles (fire risk!), a multi-fuel gas lantern, and a solar powered lantern.

BOTTOM LINE
When you consider the emergency supplies we have at home you may be thinking either

1. we're nuts to have so much stuff
2. we're rich to have so much stuff

Neither is true. We shop for bargains, keeping an eye out for sales, closeouts, etc. JC Penny's once sold hand crank radios for 70% off just before Christmas. We bought several for ourselves and as gifts to friends.

You don't have to build the ultimate emergency bunker overnight. Each year buy one new item like a portable stove or high-end water filter as a present for yourself and family. Within just a few years you too will be prepared to handle emergencies.

UPDATE Oct 7

"Some parts of Houston are projected to be without power until early October. Meanwhile the aftermath of Hurricane Ike remains with fallen trees, contaminated water, long food lines, a serious gas shortage, fights at gas stations and total damages that could exceed $18 billion.
More than 300,000 evacuees are in shelters and the Federal Emergency Management Agency plans to pay for some victims whose homes are unlivable to stay in hotels or motels until Oct. 14."
- FinalCall.com