Snowstorm’s are not unusual in the northeast US. However, the massive nor’easter that blasted through during October 30, 2011 has left an enormous number of homes without power / electricity and has shattered records all over.
The timing could not have been worse for a major heavy-wet snow. The leaves had not yet fallen from their branches and the very heavy snow sticking to leaves have overburdened their capacity to hold up, and have been snapping off and tearing down power lines. 3 million in the entire region are reportedly without power.
From CL&P (Connecticut Light & Power)
“Unprecedented damage, be prepared to be a week or more without electricity.”
Take a look at the CL&P power outage map from the morning of Oct. 30.
Black = 80 to 100% without power.
For your future interest, here is the live CL&P power outage map link
Here’s the point of this short article… take a look at the black areas in the map above. Most, if not all homes there are without power, and might be without electricity for a week or more. That, folks, is a life threatening situation. Are you prepared if that were to happen to you?
How would you heat your home and stay warm (assuming it’s winter)?
How would you cook food if you don’t have a natural-gas stove?
If you have well water, how would you get your water?
How would you handle the foods in your refrigerator and freezers?
How would you keep your pipes from freezing (if it were the middle of winter)?
How would you get fuel for your vehicle if all the gas pumps in the region are without electricity?
How would you get food if all you have is a 3-day supply and the stores are without electricity?
Lots of questions, yes…
Think about the answers, BEFORE it becomes an emergency…
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I’ve recently started prepping and am trying to get a few of my friends on board. Even when I cite things like this, they just scoff at me. I’ve told them “don’t show up at my doorstep if anything bad happens” (Though I am planning on them showing up anyways).
Never underestimate the value of a kerosene heater and a few gallons of kerosene on hand, fresh snow and a cooler can help save the groceries as well if the power goes out…and the beer can just go right into a snow bank… 😉
Luckily I have “town” water (not a well) and gas hot water, so I could at least shower. The best thing I ever did though, was to NOT get rid of my 2 kerosene heaters, they (along with a nice stash of kerosene) kept us warm for five days until the power came back on. I’d like to know if anyone has made up a “Lessons Learned” list from this latest weather related disaster.
I had plenty of food, candles and a nice portable radio, so we didn’t fare too badly. A couple of items that I now realize I need to stock up on are C and D cell batteries, since they go FAST prior to an emergency.
Any other ideas?
Im one of the lucky ones that didnt lose power, but my mother, father, sister, niece, nephew, mother in law, brother in law and sister in law did, and came over… it was a win lose situation. One thing to keep in mind during a power outage, especially in an economicly challenged time, is home security. Being a police officer I can tell you that burglaries have been on the rise in the last two days here in CT. Losing power means no alarm, so dont fall into a false sense of security because you have an alarm, they may work with a battery back up, but usually in these situations, the phone lines go down too, and there is no one to respond to the alarm. And I still dont understand why people dont lock their cars. stay warm
Gas stations need power in order to pump and most in Connecticut did not have generators. Many of the very hard hit towns in Connecticut who had 100% power outages had no gas stations open as well. People on the radio were asking for help to find gasoline. For many, the high price of oil for home heating had prompted them to get wood and pellet stoves so they could stay warm, however people living in larger cities were very hard hit and many spent nights in shelters. After day 5, a fire departments started to open “water stations” for those who have well water.
I suggest one start thinking in terms of the “would ifs”. At least 20 years ago, living rurally, I decided to set up the house to get by in bad weather. Using wood stoves for heat, and gas for cooking is a good start. This leaves only lights out, which is easy to replace with flashlights, lanterns or candles. I have a couple valleys in my roof and I collect water in 55 gallon barrels that are plastic, to not rust, and this is used for flushing. So when folks get cold they know where to come to.
I can cook on the wood stoves should I ever run out of gas for the kitchen stove. I always have more than enough wood. Now – we need to think about long term disasters and how we would get food……
Good article, since that October snowstorm I’ve been better prepared for a power outage. Those questions are worth thinking about before something happen.s