Winter Silence
October 2, 2011, Submitted by: Ken Tweet
You are at work. It’s 2PM in the afternoon. In an instant, without even a flicker, the lights go out, your computer monitor goes blank, and the office is suddenly devoid of the familiar background noises that you’ve become accustomed to. Silence.
About 5 seconds later, you begin to hear your office mates around you saying things like, ‘what happened?’ ‘oh that’s just great…’ or ‘$hit, I just lost all my work!’. The phones are not ringing. The power is out. You’re secretly hoping that it stays out long enough so that the boss will send everyone home.
A few minutes later, you walk over to the window to have a look outside. The traffic is becoming grid-locked on the snow and ice coated streets below from the lack of flow-control from blank traffic lights. People are beginning to fill the sidewalks as they stream out of blacked-out stores, shops and office buildings while shivering in the cold wind.
You begin to wonder how wide-spread the power outage is, and if it is affecting the rest of your family at their own locations. Your daughter is a sophomore in high-school, which is about 4 miles from home and 10 miles from where you work. Your son is in eighth grade at the junior high school about a quarter mile from the high school. Your spouse is on a business trip in another state and not expected home for two more days.
The season is winter. The storm had begun early in the morning, catching most people unaware as the intensity unexpectedly worsened while ice began to coat the trees and power lines… thicker and thicker. When the power went out, you pretty much knew that it was because of the storm. You knew that the storm was a big one, and was causing problems well beyond your locality. It stretched for many hundreds of miles.
As the minutes ticked by, you began to get that sinking feeling as you begin to worry about the rest of your family, how they are faring, and most of all, how will you get in touch with them and all get home safely?
The example above is a very real world scenario. The question is, are you ready for it? What could you do proactively to be better prepared or in a better position of successfully weathering the storm, so to speak?
Be prepared
Have a plan
Make sure that all members of the family are prepared and know what to do. Don’t depend on being ‘led’ by others during a disaster, instead, know what to do yourself. Far too many people make very bad decisions during uncertain times, and if you are following their lead, you may end up like lemmings all walking off the cliff together…
Know that communications will be out during a power outage, so, you need to have a pre determined plan of action for everyone involved. Sometimes the traditional telephone ‘land lines’ will still be working, so perhaps the plan is to call a central point of contact for updates – maybe the kids are told to call their grandparents if they can’t reach your cell phone or work phone for example. Make sure they know or have the phone number.
It’s winter, so you need to have the proper clothing and outer wear to keep you alive if out in the elements, in case you are caught in them or have to walk a bit of a distance. Most body heat is lost through the head… keep a pullover hat with you. Gloves, mittens…
You should have a survival kit of sorts in your car with food and other potentially helpful or life saving items. It’s also a great idea for your kids to have a few extra supplies in their school pack. A few high-calorie food bars…
If you are on the road away on a business trip, you should still keep a few preparedness essentials with you. If anything, you’re more likely to rely upon such items while away on a trip than near home.
The ideas are many, but the point is, think about the possibility BEFORE it happens. Remember that most people rely on communications these days, especially when they don’t know what to do… many, instead of thinking or trying to reason for themselves, will first try to call their friends, etc. to figure it out – looking for an answer or direction, but when their cell phones don’t work… what then?
Know what to do.
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When things begin to cool down around here our two vehicles get their winter kits, which includes a couple of warm sleeping bags, extra winter clothes, snow packs, mits, wool caps, etc…………. the rest of the emergency kit gets a look and is upgraded.
As for the big storm and we are at home…………. it falls into the big deal category. Throw a bit more hay to the horses, give the cattle some barley, and read a good book. We have a propane kitchen range, wood heating and cooking if we ran out of propane (unlikely as we have enough always for at least a year on hand) and if need be I can flash up the propane generator.
We have had the power go out when it was -65 with the windchill. Throw a few more logs in the wood heater and snuggle down under the quilt with the dogs.
The reverse of this I think would have a much bigger impact and that being some of these areas that live by the air conditioner. Areas like Phoenix, Las Vegas, some other areas that have very high humidity and temperatures to lose power would be devastating. People that constantly run the air conditioner are not at all acclimated to their own area at which they live. The short time that they spend going from the car to inside is nothing compared to 115 degrees F and 80 something at night. A lot of individuals would perish as the elderly make a huge number of the residents in these areas.
The cold has one advantage that the heat doesn’t, you can bundle to stay warm IF you know what you are doing. People have survived with their homes way below freezing. People rough it all the time in the outdoors where temperatures are much colder than most homes would ever get. There are sleeping bags that are rated at -35 degrees below zero that you can purchase for under $100. I think that everyone should have one of these sleeping bags per person. These are incredibly warm and can be the difference if the above article happens.
Another little item that is good to have are those indoor safe Buddy Heaters
that can be safely run as long as there is a little air circulation and you have a battery operated carbon monoxide detector to warn you as these heaters run on propane. I know people that have stayed quite comfortable in tents using these while the temperature was near 0 degrees F. They are attachments that can use a 20 lbs tank or going the more expensive route using those disposable 1 lbs. metal bottles. These can put 4000 BTU’s on low and 9000 BTU’s on high. The larger models about double that I believe. 4000 BTU’s would almost certainly keep something from freezing. An estimated fuel usage is 22000 BTU’s per one pound of fuel. That means that one disposable jar would last 5.5 hours on low. While a 20 lbs tank would last about 110 hours or 4 and 1/2 days on low. That would give someone over 4 days of heat and time to get the power back up.
There are other methods of staying warm, but the best is to keep the body with as much space between the cold as possible. Many people in dire situations have used just about anything from newspapers stuffed into shelves to even creating dead air spaces with bubble wrap between layers of clothes.
I still would rather face cold than I would extreme heat without being use to it. I do not see how anyone could ever live in the summertime in New Delhi or Baghdad and lives through it. 125 degrees F during the day and only drops to 95 at night, and practically saturated dew point in Delhi that makes it like a steambath. I guess people that live there all their lives adjust. The cold is easier to prepare for.
Heat and cold is all relative to what you are used to. As someone who has grown up in high heat, and now lives in the cold, I can relate, but I disagree with your conclusion.
Yes, high heat kills. That heatwave that went through France a few years ago ‘killed’ 10′s of thousands. Now, they were mainly the elderly and frail. But I dont think they would have done any better in extreme cold, their bodies would still be weakened and susceptible to other causes of death.
Personally, there is no (natural) temperature that I cant handle. I’ve done army exercises in 47degree Celsius heat, and worked in a factory where the ambient temp of the day was well over 50 degrees. If you have water to drink, you can live.
With the cold, you are right – if you are prepared, you can survive it. I think the point of this thought exercise was to show if you’re not prepared, then you will suffer great hardship or die. It takes less time to die from extreme cold than it does from extreme heat. If you manage to find somewhere safe you can wait it out, you could survive with minimal cold weather gear. But if you have to go out in it to get home, find loved ones etc, then cold is far less forgiving. Well, in my opinion.
Now that I live in a snow belt area, I feel that people here are just as unprepared for the cold. Every house, office and shop is heated so you never really experience the cold for very long.
@BM. I should have expanded on what I was thinking in regards to heat dangers and power loss. If for example an EMP event occurred or something that knocked out power for days in a hot desert type climate such as Phoenix it would also stop the pumping stations that bring water to people’s homes and it would be catastrophic becuase the heat would kill people very rapidly that could not get water. In the cold you can last much longer from lack of water as opposed to very high heat. The heat would kill much quicker than a cold snap in which the heating to people’s homes would be shut down. A home will remain, if it is insulated decently, warmer longer in the cold than a home subjected to sudden intense heat.
I to live in a very cold part of the country and have experienced no heat for over 24 hours and the house stayed warm enough for that time. On the other hand when the power went out for about 16 hours one time and it was only 95 degrees the house heated up quite quickly. This is part in the fact that the sun was out adding to the heating of the air temperature and the sun angle was higher, about 70 degrees during that time. Yes, I learned and have electric generators and back up fuel so this never happens again not having power. That is as long as it doesn’t last over 10 days or so, then more fuel would be necessary.
I personally do much better in the cold than heat as do the other people here. A couple of years ago the power went out for 2 days in some locations around the city and the temperature was sub zero and no one suffered ill effects. One thing that is good about cold areas is a lot of people have fireplaces. In very hot areas there is really no way to cool down homes without air conditioning. Also in very hot areas air circulation is very important to help cool the body.
I still cannot believe how people can take extreme heat like 47 degrees or 50 degrees C, that is too hot for me. I think the hottest I have ever felt is about 113 degrees F, about 45 degrees C. I get sick over 40 C, or 104 F. It is impressive how much people can really take. Lets hope that my opinion that heat is worst or your opinion on cold is worst is not actually proven by some a couple of disasters in the future.
@BI, On one deployment to the middle east we had to stop in Kuwait at Camp Buehring and re-qualify, again (like 5 times)before we went in country. We had to go out to Udari Range, in August. It was over a 130 F. Please, don’t anyone say it’s a dry heat. I was an E-8, so basically I told people what to do but I could still pass annual PT and did daily PT as well. When we got to the range I would walk about 25 yards and chug a bottle of water, walk another 25 yds and another bottle of water and so on. When we got to the live fire, I just sat down. The instructor is going “sarge aren’t you going to qualify”? I told him to “leave me alone, you don’t want me out there with a live weapon”. Anyway nobody said anything, that’s what happens when you send an old man to do a young man’s job. A week later we were walking across the camp, there was a “cool” breeze blowing and it felt great. went to the post office and it was 115 F. LOL. In November I was freezing at 70 F and I’m from the south. I think it is just what you get used to; up to a point. Also for us OLD men, the meds we take for cholesterol, low blood pressure and hypothyroidism make people VERY sensitive to the cold. That’s why I live south of the Mason-Dixon line.
The hottest temperature I ever experienced was 116 F a few years ago where I live (I know… it’s fairly common for those in AZ, NV, etc. during the mid summer), but I cannot even imagine 130 F! I do agree that as strange as it sounds, you do get relatively accustomed to your environment (I didn’t say ‘comfortable!) and our bodies adapt as best they can.
Great, informative blog. Keep it up! I read everything you post.
Many years ago two friends and I ended a night on the town with them driving home in one car and me in my car. It was snowing and 1:00 AM and I slid on the snow and my car was stuck. I was in a sports jacket with penny loafers (Hey, it was a long time ago). I walked 18 miles it took me 8 hours in a blizzard. By the time I got home it was over a foot deep and the temps were approaching zero. Not a car on the street and not an open business anywhere. I was lucky and also 19 years old and in good shape. No frozen toes but it was close. Another couple of miles and I probably would have had some real damage. I have never forgotten that night 50 years ago and I remember it everytime I leave the house in the winter. If you see me you will know me because I’m the one with a winter jacket, gloves and boots in the car. Dress for the climate you are traveling in not for the comfort of a car or public transportation.
I keep my B.O.B.;s in my truck and a Get Home Bag in my Wifes Van.
We had a Ice Storm a few years ago with this scenario. We had no power for 13 days here in KY But I have a Generator and a Big Buddy Heater with the Grill tanks. We never lost water so we were comfortable. I did close down parts of my house and put up sheets and blankets over hallway entrances to keep heat in other rooms.
It is just me and my wife now, but during those two weeks we had all my children and Grandchildren with us.
My wife and I are the only family preppers and it really opened our eyes as to what to expect when TSHTF. Thankfully we did prep for an emergency and now we double up on all our things because we do know that our Family will show up, and we wont turn them away.