<p>The generator we have that is hard wired to the house turns itself on for 15 minutes once a week so you know it is working. I also have it professionally checked and serviced twice a year. Apparently, when you sell your house, this type of generator generally recoup 90 to 95 percent of what you pay, more than a kitchen remodel. I was against it at first because of the upfront cost, but it does protect all your food and protects your pipes from freezing. We live in a wooded area so lose power a lot! Well water makes power outages extra frustrating.</p>
<p>We used to lose power at the drop of a hat but Natl Grid has done a lot more tree trimming in the last several years (wires are behind homes here.) We didn’t even lose power during Irene or Sandy - though there were a lot of power outages around after Irene (Sandy was more kind to us.) </p>
<p>The last time we had severe outage was during an ice storm - which are common here. But I don’t do any long term advance prep. For the hurricanes I bought several cases of water and put stuffon my deck that could turn into projectiles inside garage. </p>
<p>For winter weather I don’t do anything. If we lose power I go to a hotel and leave my H home to deal with keeping pipes from freezing. Lots of my neighbors do have generators from when we were constantly losing power. </p>
<p>We have a stand by generator that runs on natural gas and powers the whole house. Keep enough cash on hand for basic needs if ATMs were down. Keep a box with important documents so if we have to evacuate we can just grab the box. Keep a household inventory on video and/or film for insurance purposes. Most photos and documents are also stored on an online site (smugmug for us). Keep cars full during hurricane season. Keep bottled water on hand as well as basic supplies such as toilet pare, etc. </p>
<p>It is a huge hassle to over prepare. But you just never know.
So when a hurricane hit us (and it wasn’t supposed to) and we spent two weeks without electric, phone, or water I was happy that the tubs had been filled. We didn’t have a generator at the time but were able to get one after a few days–made life much easier.
We had bottled water and plenty of food and after day 3 or so the National Guard showed up with water, ice and food. But the lines were long.</p>
<p>Things you don’t think about are the possibilities that you may be totally stuck and not able to drive your car–we had downed trees covering both driveways–the neighbors came with their chainsaw and tractor to get us out. And the roads were a maze of downed lines and debris–no stop lights (no power), no street signs. And a flat tire on your car was a constant. The street signs are painted on the curbs and roads now for the most part–lesson learned.
No cell phone service (towers down) and land lines were down too. Nobody to call so make sure you know your neighbors. And thousands of people affected in one fell swoop.</p>
<p>Many people lost their homes and fix-up was difficult-- thousands of people needing work done at the same time. So get a tarp or two (or three). Before the storm–after the storm everybody wants one.</p>
<p>People didn’t die in the storm but I noticed the obituary column was very long in the weeks following–think they died of the stress.</p>
<p>And if someone is on oxygen or needs electricity for some other purpose they need to evacuate.</p>