Re Ike: "Expect the power to go out" - What am I forgetting to do or buy?

Parent Cafe
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<p>Here in very far from the beach Dallas they are telling us that Ike will hit us as a tropical storm and to expect the power to be out Saturday and Sunday. We have flashlights and batteries. We don’t own a generator but I’m not planning to buy one. </p>

<p>I guess I’m supposed to figure out what to feed my family. Cereal with souring milk? Peanut butter and jelly? (We could grill once the 40 mph winds subside.)</p>

<p>All I can think of is that I hope the kids don’t have homework that requires the computer. There’s a football game on Friday, so my daughter won’t be home to do her homework then.</p>

<p>Suggestions? I know this must seem like a wimpy post to those of you who regularly deal with more severe weather. By the way, God speed to everyone to the south who is evacuating.</p>

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<p>Fill the car with gas…? </p>

<p>We can cook on our gas stove when the power is out, by lighting the burners manually (with a match).</p>

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<p>Our neighborhood is all electric. Quite ironic since we all just signed gas leases with Chesapeake so they can pump the natural gas out from under our homes!</p>

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<p>I got this list off of an emergency preparedness website (and there are many such sites): </p>

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<p>For cereal, there is so-called shelf milk that doesn’t need refrigeration, or canned evaporated milk that you mix with water or powedered milk, also mixed with water.</p>

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<p>Get flashlights and candles ready. Candles are good to put around the house if the power’s going to be out for a long period of time. You can play board games by candlelight. You can probably read, too, if your eyes are good. </p>

<p>Buy bread, peanut butter, meal bars, food you can grill for the second day since you say that’s an option. Two days of food isn’t too bad. Be prepared to throw out any perishable items if the power goes out.</p>

<p>Get battery-controlled radio and put batteries in it. </p>

<p>I’m assuming you have water when the power goes out? If not, buy water (for drinking, flushing toilets, pets). Figure out where you can shower before work or school if the power’s still out.</p>

<p>Have prescriptions filled early for any important/daily medications. Figure out what to do with medicines you need to keep refrigerated.</p>

<p>Have some sort of plan for what you’ll do if the power’s out for a longer period of time than what you’re expecting.</p>

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<p>Expect restaurants to be closed if they have no power so don’t count on eating there. </p>

<p>Make sure you have any prescription meds you need because the drugstores could be closed as well (we ran into this during our fires last year).</p>

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<p>We have a gas stove and a gas grill, so I loaded up on stuff that can cook on a burner but doesn’t need refrigeration like… soups, water only pancake mix, spaghetti sauce/pasta. If your grill has a burner or griddle attachment you can do similar. Also, went the PBJ, granola bar, tuna pack route.</p>

<p>Not sure if Dallas will have this problem but…if you don’t have a pool, fill your tubs with water in case your MUD loses water service. You’ll need it to flush toilets and for sponge baths.</p>

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<p>I was thinking that I was the stupidest person in the world because I didn’t know if cell phones/text messages still work when the power is out. Apparently the answer is sometimes/maybe.</p>

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<p>All of the grocery stores have already announced that they will be closing by 10 pm tonight in Houston. I imagine it’s a little crazy to try to get anything at this point. I’m planning on cooking whatever’s in my freezer tonight because it’s unlikely going to be good for much longer.</p>

<p>I can’t imagine the winds would be hitting Dallas with too much force, but in the center of Houston (where I live) they are expecting 100 mph winds after landfall.</p>

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<p>Okay, I’ll assume that my husband knows how to flush toilets using water from the pool…???</p>

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<p>They’re saying 40 mph winds. We have severe spring storms with high wind and hail (we get a new roof every few years) and the power has never been off for more than a few hours. I don’t know why they think this will be so different.</p>

<p>Son is a bag boy at Albertson’s and works after school on Thursdays. Bet he’ll be busy tonight! He is also supposed to work on Saturday…he’ll really earn his $6 whatever an hour if he’s carrying out groceries in a tropical storm!</p>

<p>Blackeyedsusan, are you heading north, or staying put?</p>

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<p>We’re staying put this time. My brother lives in Austin and before Rita made landfall we drove to Austin and it took 14 hours! My husband was critically ill for most of the month of August and is finally out of the hospital and recovering at home and is NOT up for a drive like that. Wish us luck to ride this one out at home.</p>

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<p>missypie, get cash, too - ATMs don’t work when power is out. It probably won’t be necessary, but the cash won’t go bad. :D</p>

<p>And to flush the toilet, dip up a pan of water from the bathtub you’ve filled, and pour it in. (Such fun.)</p>

<p>Good luck! We’ll be thinking about you and the others in Ike’s path.</p>

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<p>Best of luck to you. Are they telling you what to do in case of 100 mph winds?</p>

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<p>Harriet, that sounds more convenient than going out to the pool to get water before every flush!</p>

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<p>I think you’re basically supposed to go to an interior room with no windows because in hurricane-force winds it’s likely that something outside could become a projectile (lawn furniture, BBQ grills, etc) and crash through a window. Also, we’re going to stay downstairs in case a tree limb comes crashing down or the roof blows off.</p>

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<p>Ice in your refrigerator will keep things cold, just like a cooler. Try not to open the doors alot and you should be able to keep things cold but not frozen.</p>

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<p>missypie,</p>

<p>They are now saying Ike may go east of Ft Worth. You should be just fine. Your toilets should work. </p>

<p>If you are really worried, freeze water in old milk jugs or OJ bottles to help keep your freezer cold and frig cold. You can also fill a cooler with food you would use as if you were going camping. Sandwiches, cold fired chicken, cold salads with chicken, (chicken ceaser salad), spam, cold bean salad or deli salads, etc. and use sterno for heating water for coffee or soup.</p>

<p>You can buy milk pouches that don’t require refrigration, or dry milk. If you have ever been camping you do without electricity for a few days.</p>

<p>I have been through 3-4 hurricanes when I lived on the Gulf coast and the 1989 earthquake in San Fransico. I survived and so can you.</p>

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<p>All the above mentioned ideas are great. My hubby is a retired Fire Captain and teaches emergency preparedness, so I can tell you that we have been through this exercise more than once :)</p>

<p>I would suggest cooking up some of the meat as you can eat it for several days afterwards if it is cooked, but it may not hold for long in the freezer.</p>

<p>I would add to the list. </p>

<p>Large sheet baby wipes to use in case you cannot actually shower before work or school.</p>

<p>A first aid kit handy</p>

<p>In the case of a tornado or flood (which you should be familiar with in TX), make sure that the females in the household have their identification on their person. In the May 3, 1999 tornado in Oklahoma, many women could not get into the secured areas where their homes were after the event because all of their id info was in their purse that “blew to Kansas”!</p>

<p>I know that it sounds really gross, but have large heavy weight garbage bags to line the toilets with so that if you don’t have enough water to manually flush the toilets, you can line the toilets and then dispose of the bags. </p>

<p>If you have a pool or a spa fill it up so that you could use that water for flushing toilets and save the drinking water for just that and cooking. You can also fill all the bathtubs with water so that you could use that for a back-up supply.</p>

<p>Do NOT try to cook with charcoal grills inside your home.</p>

<p>Be careful about feeding people too much dried fruit, as it can cause another disaster if it is hard on the digestive system…you catch my drift :(</p>

<p>Make sure that you have all of your emergency phone numbers in your cell phone and if the cell sites are jammed or down, pay phones are the first to come back up, although they are hard to find these days.</p>

<p>Do up all the laundry now so that everything is clean being that you may not have water for a while.</p>

<p>The biggest thing to note (having worked several disasters where FEMA and the American Red Cross and others are involved.</p>

<p>It is assumed that you will do the best that you can to prepare for food, drink and sustanence for a least the first 72 hours. If it is too dangerous to get relief workers and supplies in, you will not see them for a few days. </p>

<p>In the case of a HUGE incident, it takes time to set up safe shelters and the better prepared you are to take care of you and yours, the less frustrated you will be when everything goes into “disaster mode” which can sometimes feel like pure CHAOS!</p>

<p>Be aware of who your neighbors are and if they are living alone, are impaired, elderly, etc. just so that you know who to check on after the storm clears.</p>

<p>Prepare, relax, and wait to see what happens. Our thoughts and prayers are with everyone as they prepare for the unknown. :)</p>

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<p>Fill the bathtub for flushing water. Or basic washing water. Use bottled for teeth, drinking etc.</p>

<p>Best way to flush toilet is to fill the tank (not the bowl) and then flush as normal. You will then have to refill tank.</p>

<p>We also plan to use disposable table ware when the power is out, rather than deal with washing dishes with water we don’t have or have had to haul.</p>

<p>Be very careful with candles. I like to put many candles in the fireplace to give a cheery glow to the room. And use battery operated lanterns around the house. Candles only in the fireplaces, on the kitchen counters/stovetops, and on the dining room tables.</p>