East Coast Snowstorm - loss of power

by **stonecutter2** » Sun Oct 30, 2011 9:50 am

I read this article about travel issues at airports:
http://www.cnn.com/2011/10/30/us/east-coast-storm/index.html?hpt=hp_t1

And what struck me was this quote by Connecticut governor Dannel Malloy:
"If you are without power, you should expect to be without power for a prolonged period of time."

Any preppers out there near the east coast storm?

Just yesterday, on a long drive home from my parents, I told my wife we should really have a stash of supplies in case we lose power, for whatever reason - snow/ice storm, tornado nearby, thunderstorms, etc. She readily agreed, especially since we just had a baby and we need to be ready to keep her healthy and safe too.

It's surprising to see such a snow storm this early, but it seems to just demonstrate how important it is to have some supplies prepped and ready.

by **TacAir** » Sun Oct 30, 2011 12:30 pm

Welcome to the board.

Something as 'simple'as an early snowstorm can be a disaster, if you are the one without power & haven't done anything to provide for yourself.

SO - now that you have defined the disaster, what kind of "some supplies prepped and ready." are you planning for?

Lots of (experianced) folks on the board are willing to discuss with with you.

Sounds like maybe heat is your first priority about now...

by **raptor** » Sun Oct 30, 2011 1:48 pm

Sorry if you are out of power. However a power outsge should not be a disaster, though it clearly can be. It is easy to prep for and it is reasonably foreseeable. Get some backup lighting and backup heating source. Then stockpile some food and water.

by **Fishsurfer** » Sun Oct 30, 2011 2:49 pm

A power outage is a disaser if you make it a disaster. Thats the way these things go. Its not the event thats an issue, its our interaction with it. There are two options: a) don't interact with a disaster or b) interact and be prepared to do so.

by **phil_in_cs** » Sun Oct 30, 2011 2:52 pm

Connecticut Light and Power says it will be off a week in some areas.

https://twitter.com/#!/greenwichpatch/s ... 9998734336

That's pretty amazing for an early season storm.

by **stonecutter2** » Sun Oct 30, 2011 5:14 pm

TacAir wrote:Welcome to the board.

Something as 'simple'as an early snowstorm can be a disaster, if you are the one without power & haven't done anything to provide for yourself.

SO - now that you have defined the disaster, what kind of "some supplies prepped and ready." are you planning for?

Lots of (experianced) folks on the board are willing to discuss with with you.

Sounds like maybe heat is your first priority about now...

To clarify a few things, I'm not directly impacted by the east coast snow storms. I live in the Midwest. However, we certainly have our share of severe winter weather here from time to time. The storm out east could have just as easily been us.

As far as my supplies that are prepped and ready:

Our house has an electric range and oven. Obviously the furnace would also be out. We have a wood burning fireplace, with a cord of wood in a covered garden shed in the backyard. This would provide some heat indoors, until the wood ran out. What are other safe heat sources in the house if there is no power? Carbon monoxide would obviously be a concern.

We have a propane grill in the backyard and an extra tank of propane. So, we could cook on that if necessary.

The baby would need food - breastfeeding would be adequate, but backup formula is something we discussed. They make formula in pre-filled bottles that are ready for consumption, so we're thinking of stocking up. How much is of course the question. They're saying the east coast folks might be without power for a very long time - days or a week. So perhaps a week's worth of supplies would be a good idea?

I also have a UPS that my wireless router and modem are plugged in to. If the cable line is still hot, I'd continue to have internet so long as that battery lasted.

by **Fishsurfer** » Sun Oct 30, 2011 5:26 pm

3 million down right now. Someones eating Mt. House tonight.

by **TacAir** » Sun Oct 30, 2011 5:47 pm

stonecutter2 wrote:
TacAir wrote:Welcome to the board.

Something as 'simple'as an early snowstorm can be a disaster, if you are the one without power & haven't done anything to provide for yourself.

SO - now that you have defined the disaster, what kind of "some supplies prepped and ready." are you planning for?

Lots of (experianced) folks on the board are willing to discuss with with you.

Sounds like maybe heat is your first priority about now...

To clarify a few things, I'm not directly impacted by the east coast snow storms. I live in the Midwest. However, we certainly have our share of severe winter weather here from time to time. The storm out east could have just as easily been us.

As far as my supplies that are prepped and ready:

Our house has an electric range and oven. Obviously the furnace would also be out. We have a wood burning fireplace, with a cord of wood in a covered garden shed in the backyard. This would provide some heat indoors, until the wood ran out. What are other safe heat sources in the house if there is no power? Carbon monoxide would obviously be a concern.

We have a propane grill in the backyard and an extra tank of propane. So, we could cook on that if necessary.

The baby would need food - breastfeeding would be adequate, but backup formula is something we discussed. They make formula in pre-filled bottles that are ready for consumption, so we're thinking of stocking up. How much is of course the question. They're saying the east coast folks might be without power for a very long time - days or a week. So perhaps a week's worth of supplies would be a good idea?

I also have a UPS that my wireless router and modem are plugged in to. If the cable line is still hot, I'd continue to have internet so long as that battery lasted.

Most fireplaces pump morre warm air up and out than they create. A fireplace insert is a start or one of these fireplace grates
http://www.gratewalloffire.com/
OR

http://www.hastyheat.com/

Kerosene are also a good choice, if used carefully.

BAby are hard to feed for an extended period if they are not on solid food, be carefull of expiration dates, fomula is not cheap!

by **Woods Walker** » Sun Oct 30, 2011 9:48 pm

My town said 90% out and expect TWO WEEKS without power. I got run out of the woods as well during a campout. My truck and generator will not work for some unknown reason so called my parents to drive my 5 year-old nephew to their house which has power. The temps will be in the 20's tonight. If for some reason my parents couldn't come (which they did as I am using their computer) I could have setup my heated tipi. I have some video of me getting run out of the woods by falling trees in the Autumn bug out contest which is a global sticky on top. Not a disaster but needed the chain saw to get to the road. Then again I haven't heard of such long power outages even including the last storm for at least 30 years.

by **raptor** » Sun Oct 30, 2011 11:22 pm

I spoke to relatives in MA & CT. The one in CT has power the one in MA has no power. The people in MA are being told to prepare for a week without power. They are duly prepared and as such it is not a disaster for them. The one key issue is the lack of hot water. Their house is all electric.

I offered to send them a seafood boiler to warm up some water.

by **TacAir** » Mon Oct 31, 2011 12:22 am

Woods Walker wrote:My town said 90% out and expect TWO WEEKS without power. I got run out of the woods as well during a campout. My truck and generator will not work for some unknown reason so called my parents to drive my 5 year-old nephew to their house which has power. The temps will be in the 20's tonight. If for some reason my parents couldn't come (which they did as I am using their computer) I could have setup my heated tipi. I have some video of me getting run out of the woods by falling trees in the Autumn bug out contest which is a global sticky on top. Not a disaster but needed the chain saw to get to the road. Then again I haven't heard of such long power outages even including the last storm for at least 30 years.

Is this a 'leftover' issue set form the hurricane damage from this last summer? IOW, the power company did some lash-up fixes this summer counting on more time to make permanent repairs?

by **Courtland** » Mon Oct 31, 2011 1:17 am

I'm in Western Massachusetts and without power. The main issue, as far as I can tell, is that most of the leaves are still on the trees and combined with wet sticky snow, has caused a treepocalypse. Power lines laying on a neighbor's car, the backyard littered with large branches, etc..

That said, we did get advanced warning, and there are stores with power within driving distance. I used the opportunity to enjoy some of my goodies (like a kelly kettle) & my wife is using her 15 degree sleeping bag for the first time.

My neighbors are doing well, one has even rigged up his car to power his TV and a space heater (not that I recommend it). This snowtober could be an issue for infants and the elderly, though.

by **Dlongmuir** » Mon Oct 31, 2011 8:53 am

I'm in Fairfield ct and last nite the town called saying that the highscool will be a shelter if anybody needs it because of the 30,000 out of power here. As for me I have power so most of my faim is here from Bridgeport and norwalk because of there loss of power and they too have all electric appliences as where I have gas stove

by **majorhavoc** » Mon Oct 31, 2011 10:09 am

I'm in southern Maine and also without power. Coping nicely, but lack of home internet access is the one thing that really hurts!

I guess what made this otherwise modest storm so disruptive is there were still plenty of leaves on the trees. That increased the snow load on the tree limbs, which meant more broke off and knocked down power lines. It is amazing how fragile our power distribution system is.

Oh well, I needed to test my contingency planning anyway.

here · by **oldsoldier** » Tue Nov 01, 2011 7:45 am

We lost power at 1934 hours eastern, saturday evening. As of this time, still no power-National Grid is predicting power back up to us on Thursday. All in all, its not a REAL bad experience-we have natural gas for stove and water, as well as heating. So, we can cook, and take showers. Heat really isnt an issue. The only one REAL downside to all this is that the main fire alarm panel is in my condo. And, as we have lost power, it beeps every 10 seconds, to let me know. I dont have the key-and, state law prohibits me from silencing the panel anyway. We cannot muffle it-we have tried. So, sitting in the dark, with candles, is not an issue. With a loud beep every 10 seconds, it drives me crazy!!! And, the number on the alarm system panel, to call, is, of course, out of business....
But, all in all, we are doing well. Food is in coolers, packed with snow. We have water, blankets, and emergency supplies. To be honest, its a nice change. No internet, no TV...we play games (she kicked my ass in scrabble!), talk, and just cuddle. A nice change of pace. I missed this weeks TWD though...and I am not happy with that....

here · by **oldsoldier** » Tue Nov 01, 2011 7:53 am

I will post some pictures of the damage locally too. The trees werent prepared for this-with the leaves still on, and the trees still active, internally, combined with the heavy weight of wet snow, there was nothing but disaster all over this. We drove around taking pictures-a lot of streets, even 2 days later, are impassible due to trees & lines down.
Oddly enough, the only issues I have heard of, were carbon monoxide poisoning (people apparently like to set their gennies close by, and inhale the fumes....no helping stupid, I suppose), one house burned down, locally, and had a fatality, due to the FD was unable to get to the house in time-all roads in were blocked by downed trees, and, lastly, tons of accidents at intersections that have lights out. Here is a tip people: if the lights at an interesection are out, STOP AND CHECK OTHER LANES. Treat it as a FOUR WAY STOP SIGN. I have witnessed, and was almost hit, twice, by people who haul ass through them expecting others to stop-or simply not caring. Dont be that guy. I yelled at one guy who almost hit me-he was in a rush to get to the coffee shop, because they didnt have one that was open in their town. So, my life, to him, was worth $2. Prick.

by **majorhavoc** » Tue Nov 01, 2011 8:28 am

oldsoldier wrote: I missed this weeks TWD though...and I am not happy with that....

You're right, that is a disaster. Oh, the humanity!

by **stonecutter2** » Tue Nov 01, 2011 12:48 pm

I'm glad to hear folks are weathering the storm pretty well. I think the positive attitude displayed is probably a big aid - morale can be pretty important!

For some reason, I hadn't thought about dumping the food in a cooler with snow - plenty of that to keep things frozen and cold for sure

I'm trying to learn all that I can from this website, and this is one scenario that I really want to be well prepared for - loss of power for an extended period of time (maybe a week) due to snow or thunderstorm. I've got some action items I'm going to start working on.

-Stock up with water. This is big, because water is so important. I think top priority.

-Getting a backup generator - I think I can build a lockable/weather protected storage area in back of our garden shed for this. That will keep it a safe distance away from the house to prevent fumes getting to us, as well as keep it shielded a bit from weather and creating too much noise. I'm imagining a modified dog house design of sorts, maybe even with a little chimney/stove pipe vent. If we ever had to use it, we could run an extension cord or two from back there to our house. Then plug in things like our sump pump, lights, etc. I'll have to look into how feasible it would be to hook up our furnace to a generator.

-Baby formula - powdered version stores longer, but need clean water to mix. Premixed is an option.

-More blankets - big, warm blankets.

-Reconsider fireplace as alternate heat source, as it can draw heat from rest of house. Unless we spent most of our time in the living room near the fire

Those grates that have been linked seem really cool, but will they damage the fire brick in my fireplace? I'll be reading more on those.

-A few days of emergency rations. Combined with food still in the house, this can supplement if needed.

here · by **oldsoldier** » Tue Nov 01, 2011 3:12 pm

Honestly, camping equipment, used wisely, works best. There REALLY isnt a need to get expensive stuff-I have a car camping stove that could be used in a pinch. You just need to use it wisely, as in, WELL ventilated. Other than that, our temps drop down to the 20s at night, and the house gets to a cozy 50 or so-certainly not warm, by ANY means, but definitely easily survivable. I dont really see a need for alternate heat sources. But, I dont have children either, and people's comfort levels are different. A fireplace would be nice-heat, light, and cooking out of once source! But, we make due with what is at hand. Her parents, on the other hand, have a well, and its electrically operated-so, they are without power AND water. Even flush toilets. In THAT scenario, yes, I would certainly suggest a generator-but, for me, not really needed. I have been unplugged for a couple days, with the exception of being at work, and am liking it

by **ViciousFishes** » Tue Nov 01, 2011 3:16 pm

Whew just got our power back in seacoast New Hampshire. We did just fine prep wise, but the kids were going through screen withdrawal. Of the 33 fish tanks I take care of only one had serious loses. Its New England we can handle a snow storm.

Tom

here · by **oldsoldier** » Wed Nov 02, 2011 7:38 am

We just got ours on last night about 9PM. I went to the local shelter to volunteer (I had no power, and didnt feel like sitting home alone in the dark). Had some dinner there, talked to folks, just generally socialized, and was going home about 9, which is the time my fiance gets home. I pull up to my house, am talking to her on the phone-and our porch light came on. ALL my neighbors came out, cheering, happy, etc. My next door neighbor went to check on an elderly man across the street. When he came back, I told him how ironic it was that, without power, we all hole up in our homes-as soon as it comes on, we are all outside, cheering and carrying on

by **majorhavoc** » Wed Nov 02, 2011 8:05 am

oldsoldier wrote:We just got ours on last night about 9PM. I went to the local shelter to volunteer (I had no power, and didnt feel like sitting home alone in the dark). Had some dinner there, talked to folks, just generally socialized, and was going home about 9, which is the time my fiance gets home. I pull up to my house, am talking to her on the phone-and our porch light came on. ALL my neighbors came out, cheering, happy, etc. My next door neighbor went to check on an elderly man across the street. When he came back, I told him how ironic it was that, without power, we all hole up in our homes-as soon as it comes on, we are all outside, cheering and carrying on

That's a cute story. And you're right, ironic. Good on you for volunteering. Some much of our preps seem predicated on the idea that we'll be isolated from our neighbors (if not actively fighting them off, based on some of the discussions going on).

I firmly believe that any realistic disaster scenario will bring people together, or at least offer the oppportunity to do so.

here · by **oldsoldier** » Wed Nov 02, 2011 8:32 am

There really is no point in sitting home, doing nothing, in my case-I had HOURS of time, with literally nothing to do. Roads are fine, its just getting the grids back up. So, I opted to use my time wisely. I WILL say this though-I live in a small community, of under 8000 people. I am surrounded by similarly sized small communities. In essence, we are all neighbors, and, as such, rely on each other during these times. I enjoy living in small towns, as opposed to cities of 50,000 or more, specifically for these reasons-not saying it doesnt exist in larger cities, but, growing up in a city of 100,000+ people, neighborhoods often pulled together, but not the whole city, during major emergencies.

by **solrac7** » Wed Nov 02, 2011 8:55 pm

I finally gave in this past summer and bought a small (3000w/3500 peak) generator - and rewired the well pump and furnace with plugs and a neighboring receptacle, as well as running a line to the basement from the genny. This way when the power goes out, I unplug the well pump and furnace from their receptacle and plug into the genny recepacle in the basement . The fridge gets an extension cord. I can run the pump and the fridge or the furnace (blower fan) and the fridge but not all 3 at once. it's a poor man/ jerry-rigged solution, but the line-man working to restore power won't get fried because of me. I ended up running the fridge and my george foreman grill (New York strip med-rare- yum!) and ate like a gentleman during the outage. Not too bad this time!
Cb