What if the entire country lost power?

Two weeks ago the power grid in northern India crashed leaving 370 million people without power for six to 12 hours. That more people than if the entire US and Canada went dark! And then a few days later, half the country lost power with over 600 million people affected.

India is used to daily power blackouts so "hospitals and major businesses have backup generators that seamlessly kick in during power cuts, and upscale homes are hooked to backup systems powered by truck batteries." Small businesses and the poor are not lucky and lack the funds for power backup. Some had to go without water as well pumps had no power to pump.

According to India’s Central Electricity Authority, demand for electricity during peak periods outstrips power generation by an average of 9 percent. So the system is overwhelmed and frequently fails, just not on the scale seen last month.  The government wants to spend $400 billion over the next five years on power-sector investment, adding 76 gigawatts of capacity by 2017. That’s on top of the 85 gigawatts of power India has added in the past 10 years. It's hard to keep up with growing demand.

There's no place like home

Preparedness sites often speak of GOOD (Get Out of Dodge), meaning an escape plan for fleeing the house and reaching a remote safe location in case of hurricane or other mass evacuation. The problem with such plans is the "mass evacuation" part; roads become quickly clogged and a single accident can stop hundreds of thousands of people from going anywhere.

Few sites ever mention the reverse problem - going home during a crisis. Unless your home is in the immediate path of danger, like a fire or beach house in a hurricane, experts agree that it's the best place to be for the average person during an emergency. Hopefully your home is supplied with tools, food, warm clothes, etc that you'll need. It's a place you're familiar with and are comfortable with. [There are very few with a well-stocked retreat cabin in the country with running water and game to hunt, etc]

Take a look at Your Get Home Plan, by J.A.F., a typical urban commuter for Washington DC who every day must drive, take a train and ride the subway. Not unlike many workers in NYC.  Ideas include:
1. Have a good pair of walking shoes at your office. I got horrible blisters once walking a distance in my dress shoes in DC.
2. Have a go-kit with food & water for the trip home, along with a hat, suntan lotion, etc in case you have to walk when the train or subway is not working.
3. Learn alternate routes.  Can you use a bus or taxi? Do you know which neighborhoods are safe to walk in and which are not?
4. Find a place to stay. Is there a friend who lives near the office that you can stay overnight with?  Do you have a change of clothes if forced to sleep at the office because you have no-where else?

During the North East power black-out a decade ago or so, there was no commuting (no trains, no subways) and no hotels (electric key cards on most doors). Most shops with electric cash registers could not sell food or were forced to toss food with no refrigeration. I had no evacuation plan at the time but I did have a go kit (this was after 9-11).  So I slept at the office in Manhattan and ate my power bars.

Without power for over a week

"That's the night the lights went out in Georgia"
-lyrics in song of the same name

The day before Halloween, a freak snowstorm dump inches of wet heavy snow on New York, New Jersery, and New England states. Because the trees still had leaves attached, hundreds of thousands of braches became too heavy and broke. Now this does not sound like a big deal, certainly not as flashy a disaster as a hurricane or earthquake, and yet the consequences have been extreme. The Halloween nor'easter knocked out power to over 3 million homes. Connecticut was hit especially hard and over 100,000 residents of Connecticut are without power a week after the storm and they are NOT happy about it.  See Tempers flare over 6 days of Conn. power outages written on Nov 4.

“Angry residents left without heat as temperatures drop to near freezing overnight have been lashing out at Connecticut Light & Power: accosting repair crews, making profane criticisms online and suing. In Simsbury, a hard-hit suburban town of about 25,000 residents, National Guard troops deployed to clear debris have been providing security outside a utility office building.”

Abusing the work crews is a VERY bad idea. Some of these repairmen have left their familes in mid-west states to work here around the clock.  (A loose wire at our house was fixed at 3:30 in the morning.)

What went wrong? One reader of Instapundit, surmises,

Not sure what goes wrong, but it sounds like greed in not wanting to hire enough workers, failure to pay out of state crews that came up to help with Irene, incompetence, and poor character.

It's possible that Connecticut Light & Power (CL&P) underestimated the massive scope of the damage and was slow to mobilize outside help. Regional disasters like this are particuallarly hard to solve because you cannot just call in workmen from neighboring states. Instead those states are desparate for extra repairmen also and everyone is competing for workers from outside the disaster area. And this is a repeat from just months ago during "hurricane" Irene so "favors" used up, emergency funds spent, emergency workers burnt out.

Bottom Line

It's events like this that show why you must be able to take care of yourself and your family. Can you supply your own heat, light and food for two weeks? If not, why not?

Candle light?

"The things I want to know are in books. My best friend is the man who'll get me a book I [haven't] read."
— Abraham Lincoln

During our power outage with the Halloween snowstorm, my wife & I were reminded of Lincoln reading by firelight. (See painting at right). We tried to read by candle light and found that very difficult to do.

We have a collection of pillar candles made by pouring wax into a milk carton with wick. Also a collection of wide candles made inside mason jars. We chose these types for safety since candle use in emergencies is discouraged. You don't want open flame if there's a chance of a gas leak and candles have started many home fires. The American Red Cross, which deals with those house fires, is opposed to candles and does not recommend them for 72-hour kits.

We use wide candles and glass jar candles to reduce the risk of tipping over. We have no large pet or kids so, fingers crossed, we think we're safe. And we take precautions like never burning a candle unattended.

So back to the original point, our candles did not put out much light! There are two problems with wide candles.
1. A depression is created down the center of the candle and the wick is hidden as it sinks into the cavity created.
2. The wick can drown in too much wax in the cavity it makes.

So my wife pulled out some taper candles - these are the tall skinny type - and wow the light was much brighter. To protect against tipping we put the taper candles in tall mason jars. It was not easy but reading was possible with a taper for each of us.

Website WSAC.com offers this advice for getting more use of candles:

• Try multi-wick candles. (We had one dual wick candle but it too suffered the wide candle problems mentioned above. Still they may be good for room lighting.)
• Use Reflection - place candles near mirrors or light colored walls to bounce back more light
• Light colored candles seem to emit brighter light than dark colored ones. (?)
• Cold candles (refrigerated prior to use) burn slower. Take care to ensure that they do not become moist. (I've never tried this)
• Air drafts cause candles to burn more quickly
• WSAC and other sites recommend 1/4" length for the candle wick. Higher wicks cause smoking and flickering.
• Try extinguishing the candle by pushing the wick into the liquid wax. When you restart it you'll burn wax instead of wick alone and the wick will last longer.

Bottom Line

Treat candles with respect. This is fire after all.

How long is food safe during a power outage?

“I like these cold, gray winter days. Days like these let you savor a bad mood.”
-Bill Watterson (author of Calvin & Hobbes)

My wife & I recently spent several winter days without power due to the Oct 29 snow storm which dropped 4 inches of heavy wet snow on trees still covered with autumn leaves. This causes massive amounts of broken limbs, fallen trees, and power lines knocked down. The damage to power lines was greater than tropical storm Irene a few months back.

When the power went out on Saturday we knew it would be gone for awhile - this was a major storm. So our first thought was the fridge. We discussed what to pull from the fridge (before opening it) and then quickly removed items we wanted to use and put them in an insulated cooler. The fridge and freezer were not opened again until power was restored. The cooler was placed outside in the snow to help keep it cold. If we had been more clever we might have emptied the fridge and put everything in the snow. This would have been great overnight but perhaps still unsafe during the heat of day. We also could have used dry ice in the fridge but no one was distributing it locally to us.

The magic temperature with refrigerated food is 40°. The USDA says,

"Always keep meat, poultry, fish, and eggs refrigerated at or below 40°F and frozen food at or below 0°F." ... "The refrigerator will keep food safely cold for about 4 hours if it is unopened. A full freezer will hold the temperature for approximately 48 hours (24 hours if it is half full) if the door remains closed."

The USDA website has a table listing when foods are no longer safe. Discard any potentially hazardous food that has been above 41°F for four hours or more, reached a temperature of 45°F or higher for any length of time, or has an unusual color, odor, or texture.

VERY IMPORTANT: More than 250 diseases can be caused by bacteria found in contaminated food. Many bacteria can grow above 40°F and not produce a funny smell or taste. Never taste food to determine if it’s safe.

The following items can tolerate room temperatures for a few days and DO NOT need to be tossed out:

• Butter or margarine
• Hard and processed cheeses
• Fresh uncut fruits and vegetables, Fruit juices
• Dried fruits and coconut
• Opened jars of vinegar-based salad dressings, jelly, relish, taco sauce, barbecue sauce, mustard, ketchup, olives and peanut butter
• Fresh herbs and spices
• Fruit pies, breads, rolls, and muffins. Cakes, except cream cheese frosted or cream-filled
• Flour and nuts

Fortunately the list above describes most of our fridge content.  We should toss our raw eggs and our yogurt. I always thought yogurt would last longer than regular milk but even yogurt has a short shelf life; see http://www.ehow.com/facts_7382133_long-yogurt-stay-good-unrefrigerated_.html

Bottom Line
Perishable food such as meat, poultry, seafood, milk, and eggs that are not kept adequately refrigerated or frozen may cause illness if consumed, even when they are thoroughly cooked.

For a list of foods and which are "safe" or not when warm, check out http://www.fsis.usda.gov/factsheets/keeping_food_Safe_during_an_emergency/index.asp
Another good site is http://www.uri.edu/ce/ceec/food/factsheets/powerout.html

See also my blog post:  Living without power

Emergency Alerts

“Expect the best, plan for the worst, and prepare to be surprised” - Denis Waitley

When a disaster happens how will you become informed of Emergency and Disaster Warnings?

1. The Emergency Alert System
   You’ve heard this an TV and radio as “This is a test of the National Emergency Alert System, this is only a test….BEEEEEEEP” During an actual emergency the BEEP would be followed by instructions on what to do.


2. TV & Radio Coverage (after the emergency)
   Many emergencies will knock out the power so it’s useful to have a solar powered or hand crank radio to follow the new reports and broadcasts by officials to learn what to do after the disaster has struck. When is the power coming back? What roads are closed? Is it safe to go outdoors?


3. Warning Sirens
   Many towns have sirens to warn of tornadoes, fires, nuclear power plant melt-downs, etc. My blog posting, Emergency Sirens, talks about the importance of understanding what your town sirens mean – is there an all clear signal or just danger signals? One signal or many? Continuous or repeating?


4. Residential Alerts
   Sometimes the police will drive through neighborhoods using their public address system to issue evacuation alerts, see Fire at Night.


5. NOAA Weather Bulletins
   Make sure your emergency radio or HAM radio can pick up the National Weather Service channel for 24 news and alerts. You can also buy alarm clocks or special devices to wake you in the middle of the night if there is a NOAA alert.

Bottom Line

Keep in mind that most emergency operations suffer from terrible communication. Don’t rely solely on news from officials. Use common sense also!

During the East coast blackout, I listened to NYC emergency center radio reports at my office for news when railroad service would be restored. (Electric trains were stuck and needed to be moved out of the way) I slept overnight at my office. The next morning my wife called to say a friend could see trains moving so I should ignore the radio and get to the train station. Sure enough diesel engines were running and I got home.

My first hint of 9-11 after getting off the commuter train in NYC was a crowd of people staring at TVs in a bank’s display window (my first thought –was, Oh no, a stock market collapse). Nothing was said on the train or at the train station about the World Trade Center. No sirens in midtown Manhattan. I got to work and about an hour later was told that all non-essential personnel should go home because Rockefeller Center could be a target. While walking south back to Grand Central Station I passed hordes of people all walking north along Madison Ave. I had no clue why. (Turns out the mayor had evacuated the entire southern region of Manhattan) Next I’m fortunate to be on one of the last trains out of the city before the lines are shut down. It wasn’t until I got home and watched TV that things started to make sense.

Prius Power

“I want to die in my sleep like my grandfather... Not screaming and yelling like the passengers in his car.” - Will Shriner (American Comedian)

From Prius Powers Home During Ice Storm,

A Massachusetts [electrical engineer] - faced with no power in the recent ice storm, powered up the family Prius to create electricity: The hybrid car made enough electricity to run the essentials; the fridge, the lights, the TV, the wood-stove fan. During the power outage, it supplied 17 Kilowatt hours of energy to his home for three days. ...

He dug up an inverter which made 120v AC from 12v DC current and he wired it into the hybrid electric Prius. [These inverters are available for about $100 many places online.]

Further details can be found at Ice storm tests mettle of Harvard residents. The three days used roughly five gallons of gas. The device allowed the engine to run every half hour, automatically
charging the car battery and indirectly supplying the required power.

Bottom Line

This is a very clever way to have backup electrical power. If you own a Prius consider buying the converter and instructions for installing it.

Living without power

"CenterPoint Energy has said that it expects some places to be without power for
at least two weeks." - Houston Chronicle, Sept 14 following hurricane Ike

The Houston Chronicle has several excellent tips for surviving without electrical power. I'll present these as a top 10 count down list...

10. Eat the perishable food first.
Save the canned goods for later. Cook meat on a gas stove or barbecue grill and start eating it right away.

9. Keep the refrigerator and freezer doors closed as much as possible.
When you do open the fridge, take out everything you'll need for the the current meal and next few hours. Keep these items in a cooler and don't touch the fridge again until the next meal.

8. The best light comes from the sun.
Read and work during the daylight hours. Catch up on your sleep at night. If you use candles, cover them with hurricane globes. The Red Cross opposes candles completely - candles cause accidental fires.

7. Use electrical generators with care.
Use it outdoors only! See Gas Generator Warning for more details

6. Treat all lines on the ground as if they were live power line.
High power lines can arc electricity several feet. Stay away.

5. Call your power company - maybe.
The Houston power company recommends not calling them on day one. They know when huge neighborhoods are dark. But if your neighbors have power and you don't or if it's been a few days, then call your local power company so they know your house is still in the dark.

4. Remember those old-fashioned family values
What! No gameboy or iTunes? Try a family sing-along, cards, charades, story-telling.

3. Remember the children!
Kids and elderly are easily stressed and frightened. Make sure they have activities be it work or play to pass the time away without worrying.

2. Smile!
Be kind to everyone during an emergency. Everyone is having a very bad day. Don't make it worse by turning on each other or by being rude.

And finally...

1. Won't you be my neighbor?
Move in with someone who does have power. Or visit occasionally for a cool drink or to cool down with air conditioning. Perhaps they can store some of your food in their freezer?

Bottom Line

Don't have a friendly neighbor with power? In some areas the Red Cross will provide cool down shelters - you don't have to spend the night but can drop by to pick up water, cleaning supplies and a hot meal. The Red Cross might also send an Emergency Response Vehicle (ERV) through your neighborhood when the roads are safe to travel. The ERV provides foods, drinks, and supplies to neighborhoods. Listen to the radio or call the Red Cross to find out if these services are available.

See also www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/5998723.html for a nice article covering the topics of this blog.