Preparedness for when

elona

kittie

I did not know that and thought my main problem would be gas ignition!

Might be worth my being on the lookout for good deals on camping stove.

I do have wind up chargers for mobile phones and wind up radio and torch.

[Deleted User]

We have an OzPig outside woodstove and enough wood to fuel her, we also have a woodburner in the lounge so cooking would not be a problem. I have a fairly extensive store cupboard and have looked at the balance of things i.e canned meats, veg,vegetables, fruit and cereals. I also have dried milk powder and tea and coffee. If we had to leave home we have a small portable woodburner(it folds flat and weighs about 1 kilo) made from stainless steel called a Firespout so we could fuel it with small branches , dried leaves etc. If you are trying to start a fire with a Fire Steel it is not as easy as it looks. The best way to use one of these is to light a cotton wool ball, they usually catch with one spark from the firesteel, and then feed gradually larger twigs into it until you have a good blaze. So always include some cotton wool balls in your emergency pack as they will make life so much easier for you.

greenbee

When I was a child we always had lots of power cuts, so were prepared. It happens so rarely now, that it is easy not to think about it! The few petrol shortages and panic buying of food during the snow have brought home the fact that we should all be prepared for emergencies, even if only caused by people over-reacting to short-term media-led hysteria!

A lot of work goes into protecting our critical national infrastructure including power generation, gas supply, water and drainage, but things do go wrong, and do take time to sort out. A few years ago during flooding a gas power station was flooded and had to be switched off. The staff stayed on site to turn the turbines by hand so that it wouldn't be damaged - as a result it came back on line relatively quickly, but this might not have been the case if they hadn't been so dedicated or the flooding had been worse.

Even if we don't think the big disasters are going to happen (I try not to, as it scares me... Listening to stuff like 'The Death of Grass' on the radio really makes me feel that it's all to easy for these things to happen) it is worth preparing for the little ones so we aren't the people panicking because we can't manage two days without bread or milk (there are other foods!)

nuatha

elona wrote: »

kittie

I did not know that and thought my main problem would be gas ignition!

Might be worth my being on the lookout for good deals on camping stove.

I do have wind up chargers for mobile phones and wind up radio and torch.

Elona, if you are still getting gas then you can light a hob with a match or lighter. Either of which you'd need for a camping stove.
HTH

abailey54

Hi, haven't strayed into the old style forums before but found this really thought provoking.

Firstly, I'd probably have a panic attack! I have an open fire so at least until I ran out of fuel I'd be okay for heat. I have candles but have no idea where they are - same story with the camping stove so without light I'd probably be unable to find them!

Although I'd want to keep a low profile, I'd probably feel obligated to check on any elderly/vulnerable neighbours - not that I have any at present.

I've been thinking more recently about stockpiling food and things for emergencies (such as one of us losing a job or whatever) - but it's all been thoughts and no action so far - maybe digging out the buried candles would be a good start

cbrown372

I'd take my chocolate and go to bed

elona

nuatha

I think the gas hob and oven may have a safety feature that means it can't be lit unless the ignition does it.

mardatha

And do other things - walk around your house in the dark and learn to feel where things are - windup torches, candles, matches etc. try to find them in the dark and then if it ever happens you'll be used to it.
Get a plan with the hubby or family - if anything unforeseen happens then do this or go here.

Fruball

Great thread Mard :A

Firstly I would never ignore a warning of that sort as I am fairly certain that we are not far away from such a disaster. I try not to think of the fact we will likely get no warning as I start freaking out a little bit

Following the warning or merest hint of something of that scale, I would get hold of my son asap and get him over to my house.

I would fill the bath and any other containers with water, get laptops/phones and kindle on charge, light the fire if it wasn't already lit, cook a nice meal from our stores, and give myself a big pat on the back for having made a few preps

Toilet would be bucket in the bathroom, lined with a bag of the hamsters wood shavings initially, but would be moved outside if the emergency went on. If there was a baby in the house it would have to make do with dried milk powder made with a bit extra, but that is an unlikely scenario.

I have wind up torches and a wind up lantern, candles etc. The kids have wind up torches hanging on hooks by their beds and we are getting more torches and hooks so we can hang them behind each of the curtains in each room so they aren't annoyingly visable but easily accessable if we have forgotten where others are. They don't know but I have pens and new stuff packed away for such emergencies, to keep them entertained but this needs adding to. We have board games etc too.

A few tealights under a metal baking tray makes a reasonable radiator for very cold areas. Biggest fear would be the water tank in the loft freezing and bursting - suppose once the water went off I would drain the tank.

I would be lucky enough not to have to leave the house and certainly wouldn't be going near any shops.

We would be very comfortable for a couple of weeks and then things would get a bit grim.

prepareathome

What Mar has done (brilliantly I must add) has given you a scenario,a bad one but one that could happen given our reliance on computers for everything to day, to ponder - could you cope if this happened.

If in the blink of an eye you were taken back 200+ years with nothing working unless by hand power.

Not just you but the whole county so the army are not going to be coming by any time soon with supplies. They would be to busy helping at hospitals, quelling riots, manning ports etc in case of invasion(oh yes it would be first thing government would think of security not feeding the population, don't kid yourself that they wouldn't).

If the power down went on long enough then yes food would be brought in and distributed, water might arrive a bit sooner but only if this went on for 2-3 days or more.

Most healthy people can survive for 3 days without water, although they would not be in the best of health by then. Anyone who has had a sick child that cannot keep something down knows how quickly that child goes from a healthy looking one to a very ill and sick looking one. Very weak with no strength. In 3 days an adult can be like that.

You can get buy on far less than the 8 glasses a day that is bandied about (without any scientific fact I assure you, check it out if you don't believe me) most people have different fluid needs from each other, there is no one amount fits all.

Some people have mentioned using the toilet after all the power goes, chances are the sewers will get blocked as no pumps to clear them so if you flush you will find all that happens is the water backs up all over your floor. What would you use and where would you put it - garden????-would this be a good idea even if its cold out there? If you are in a flat?????

If you are stuck in a flat will you be able to rig up a shelter and cook, or use the hallway without others taking your food?

Also if in flat have you anything rigged up so you can hang water/milk/butter/cheese that you might have in outside to keep cool as it is in the middle of winter this senario( summer brings a whole lot different problems).

Many homes now are built without chimneys ( my closest friend has one and we have had great fun working round that for her as building a fire indoors is not an option). Many also have their only fireplace filled with a gas fire and will be unable to remove it -and not something that should be considered unless no chance of gas coming back on ). Even if they could chimney might not be safe for an actual fire - is yours?

So if you don't have the preparations done before hand could you survive say a week of no power?

What would be your plan of action to cope with this?


Right I am a right old ray of sunshine ain't I......


Remember its not a test that has only right or wrong answers there are different ways to deal with these problems that suit different people. Someone in a flat will have some different ways of dealing with these problems to that of someone in a house with access to garden as someone with a fireplace will have different ways of cooking and heating to someone without one.