If you are without electricity - some hints to avoid damage in your home

[Garnetgirl]

I know that many of you are in a terrible situation right now.
As a survivor of the 1998 ice storm that affected over 5 million people in Quebec, Ontario, northern USA, here are a couple of things that I learned.

Turn of the breaker to your house. When the power comes back on, there may be a surge which can damage appliances and electronics. You’ll know when power has been restored to your area, as others will have lights, etc... on

If you’ve had no water, and your hot water tank is empty, turn off the breaker to the tank. When the power comes back on, if the tank is empty, the element will burn out, and your tank will be damaged beyond repair. (I have a friend who collects scrap metal - he was very happy in 1998.)

 

[Garnetgirl]

A few more suggestions that are less critical:

If you’re a camper, use your sleeping bags instead of blankets at night. They are usually warmer.

´Camp out’ by your fireplace or wood stove, if you have one. You’ll be warmer, and can add a log during the night if the fire gets low.

Use your headlight instead of a flashlight, to be hands- free.

Don’t drive if you only have summer tires on your car. That’s setting you up for loss of control or an accident. You need at least all season tires for safety.

Up here in the Great White North, we use 4 snow tires, not all-season, during the winter months. Obviously, you don’t need them for such an unusual situation, but just to say, tires are very important in slippery and snowy conditions.

 

[AnastasiaBeaverhausen]

Thanks for the tips, @Garnetgirl! I also remember hearing something about being mindful of the pilot light in gas furnances during a power outage. Any idea if there's anything to watch out for there?

 

[Garnetgirl]

Sorry, @AnastasiaBeaverhausen, I know nothing about gas furnaces. I have an electric furnace in my house.

 

[AnastasiaBeaverhausen]

Sorry, @AnastasiaBeaverhausen, I know nothing about gas furnaces. I have an electric furnace in my house.

No worries. I remember for earthquakes, we should shut off the gas. But I couldn't remember what to do with power outages.

I just googled it. Looks like the same advice you posted above would apply to gas furnaces. Shut off the power (but not the gas!) to avoid a power surge.

 

[rainwood]

No worries. I remember for earthquakes, we should shut off the gas. But I couldn't remember what to do with power outages.

I just googled it. Looks like the same advice you posted above would apply to gas furnaces. Shut off the power (but not the gas!) to avoid a power surge.

The earthquake advice we get here is NOT TO TURN OFF your natural gas line unless you smell a gas leak or the gas meter is spinning fast. The reason they give this advice is that if you turn off your gas, you need to wait for the gas company to come and turn it back on because it can be dangerous to do it yourself. And waiting for the gas company could take a long time.

 

[AnastasiaBeaverhausen]

The earthquake advice we get here is NOT TO TURN OFF your natural gas line unless you smell a gas leak or the gas meter is spinning fast. The reason they give this advice is that if you turn off your gas, you need to wait for the gas company to come and turn it back on because it can be dangerous to do it yourself. And waiting for the gas company could take a long time.

True, they did tell us that part too. But their POV was that it's more dangerous to have a gas leak or explosion. So best practice would be to have propane, matches, etc. to last you a few days at least until the gas company gets a chance to come around and turn ur gas back on.

It was a very.....sobering and overwhelming disaster prep training thing I went to. I pretty much left with the realization that I will not survive an apocalypse. Whomp whomp

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

The earthquake advice we get here is NOT TO TURN OFF your natural gas line unless you smell a gas leak or the gas meter is spinning fast. The reason they give this advice is that if you turn off your gas, you need to wait for the gas company to come and turn it back on because it can be dangerous to do it yourself. And waiting for the gas company could take a long time.

Im glad we ditched the street supply and went to tanks for the gas for our hot water

Of course now if we get a power cut we don't have the gas either

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

True, they did tell us that part too. But their POV was that it's more dangerous to have a gas leak or explosion. So best practice would be to have propane, matches, etc. to last you a few days at least until the gas company gets a chance to come around and turn ur gas back on.

It was a very.....sobering and overwhelming disaster prep training thing I went to. I pretty much left with the realization that I will not survive an apocalypse. Whomp whomp

Once a year they do these weekend walks from Wellington north so people can guage what it would be like if they had to walk home (the trains are always stopped after earthquakes)
I used to commute aganist the flow out into the country
I alnost got stuck out there after an earthquake followed by a flood that closed the roads
it was really horrible not being home

In the Christchurch earthquake it took my BIL 4 hours to walk home and they lived in an inner suburb, their house was wrecked with the concrete roof tiles comming through the ceiling, the cellphones were down
my friend is a cop and she lived out of chch - she had to drive into town to work not knowing if her kids were ok at their father's

I guess you just cant prepair enough
here we have the river
we live on the otherside from town

 

[AnastasiaBeaverhausen]

Of course now if we get a power cut we don't have the gas either

My DH and I are just realizing that if we lose power, we really only have our BBQ grill to heat up water, keep warm at night, and cook food with. Oh, and I have some citronella candles and a box of matches. Yeah.... we'd be pretty screwed.

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

My DH and I are just realizing that if we lose power, we really only have our BBQ grill to heat up water, keep warm at night, and cook food with. Oh, and I have some citronella candles and a box of matches. Yeah.... we'd be pretty screwed.

And you have to eat all the good stuff from the freezer before it spoils
All the while possibly pooping in a hole in the back yard
it took Christchurch a while to get enough porta-loos to go around
Then there is the insurence hastle - you could be living like that for months unless you are lucky enough to have a 2nd home

 

[AnastasiaBeaverhausen]

Once a year they do these weekend walks from Wellington north so people can guage what it would be like if they had to walk home (the trains are always stopped after earthquakes)
I used to commute aganist the flow out into the country
I alnost got stuck out there after an earthquake followed by a flood that closed the roads
it was really horrible not being home

In the Christchurch earthquake it took my BIL 4 hours to walk home and they lived in an inner suburb, their house was wrecked with the concrete roof tiles comming through the ceiling, the cellphones were down
my friend is a cop and she lived out of chch - she had to drive into town to work not knowing if her kids were ok at their father's

I guess you just cant prepair enough
here we have the river
we live on the otherside from town

That's an important point. All those emergency supplies are virtually useless when you don't have them with you!

It's happened a couple times in CA where highways got shut down because of flooding and mudslides. There's a couple of highways where it's the only way in and out of town. So I had friends who couldn't leave or get home for days.

 

[AnastasiaBeaverhausen]

Annnnd now I see a headline that some people might be hit with an electricity bill for as much as $10k this month b/c of increased demand for power. Gah. I hope that turns out to be fake news...

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

Annnnd now I see a headline that some people might be hit with an electricity bill for as much as $10k this month b/c of increased demand for power. Gah. I hope that turns out to be fake news...

I sincerely hope that is fake news

there might be some pretty inefficient heating going on
i know heat pumps don't like it when there is a frost