Are You Prepared for a Power Outage? I Was Not – Here Are 10 Things I Learned
At midnight on Sunday, I was awakened by my phone vibrating. Not in a standard, silenced phone call way; more like an Amber Alert.
Without my glasses on, I dismissed it and went back to sleep. Minutes later, I heard one of many tornado sirens blast – longer than their average weekly testing. After the third or fourth round, I couldn’t ignore them. I got out of bed to look outside and check the weather; dead stillness. However, there was a hazy yellowish glow in the sky. The American flag that flies over the nearby bank’s rooftop – my visual form of a weather vane – was utterly still.
Sirens were still blaring. I checked the weather app on my phone. High winds were headed our way. I checked Tulsa Weather on Facebook, which confirmed exceptionally high winds were expected.
What happened after this was truly amazing.
As a child growing up in Tulsa, we’ve been trained to deal with tornadoes as an ordinary part of life. During school training drills, we knew to kneel under our desks, away from windows, and cover our heads. But for some reason, this felt different.
I sat in my suede leather chair, watching the winds and light rain quickly blow through my courtyard. Branches were flying. A loud crack and then a thud. It must have been a tree. Thirty minutes later, the winds and rain stopped. So had my electricity and the internet. Back to silence.
A few friends texted, “Are you ok?” I tried to answer back, but most of those texts weren’t sent.
It looked like the worst was over. I tried to go back to sleep.
After too little sleep, I woke up around 6 a.m. It was light enough outside to assess the damage. Around my townhouse, only one large tree was down. I texted my parents, “Are you ok?” No answer from my mom. I decided to drive over to check on them. I started my car, and in my fog, I became aware that my car needed gas.
It was a shocking two miles to the gas station. Power lines were down, making the road impassable. Giant trees laid on cars with smashed windshields. And there was still a yellowish cast in the morning sky.
The nearby convenience store’s gas stalls were already filled with a line waiting. I got gas on my second stop.
Then more awareness through the fog; I needed cash. I stopped at the nearby ATM. Success!
I noticed my favorite coffee shop had power. Another success!
Mom finally texted back that they’re ok, although without power.
The middle-of-the-night texting and failed calls depleted my phone battery. I plugged my phone into my car charger and realized that this was my only means of charging. I set a reminder to order a portable battery charger on Amazon after the internet was restored.
I headed back home to put my thoughts together. I was due to leave town in two days for a home site visit, but I couldn’t ask the cat sitter to stay in a house without electricity. Time to reassess.
The refrigerator food was getting warm. I packed a cooler with snacks for my road trip, cooked the eggs, and threw away the rest.
I decided to leave a day early. Although they didn’t have power, my brother and sister-in-law graciously offered to cat-sit. They are saints. Mocha got situated at their place, and I focused on getting out of town.
That night alone in my dark, 80-degree house was miserable. I left town the following day as soon as the sun came up.
Even though I had long lists of emergency preparedness procedures and supplies for this exact situation, living through it gave me a different awareness.
It’s a story similar to a cobbler without shoes. Here’s what I learned.
Keep a stash of cash. Always. With a power outage, many ATMs don’t work. And without the internet, open businesses can’t process credit card payments.
Keep a cooler and ice packs. This enables food to be transferred to a cool place immediately.
Purchase portable tech device chargers so you don’t have to sit in your car to charge your phone.
Stock canned goods. Luckily, cooking wasn’t an issue for me on Sunday. I was in business with a match and a gas stove, but had nothing to cook except eggs. I’m not a fan of canned foods; however, canned tuna, peanut butter, and some soup would have been helpful. You’ll want to keep a portable barbecue, charcoal, or propane on hand if gas and electricity are unavailable.
Test the quick release on your garage door opener. And if the doors are too heavy to lift manually, have the springs adjusted so you can remove your car.
Store bottled water. Just in case, store five-gallon water bottles to cover your bases – one per person in your home. (We were lucky that water service wasn’t an issue.)
Get a generator and keep fuel on hand. Even a small generator can run a fan and the refrigerator.
Plan for your pets. In my recent experience, Tulsa hotels with power sold out immediately. So many pet owners were left with only a few options beyond staying in their hot homes.
Offer help. If you have a generator or electricity after a storm – or tools like a chainsaw or pruning tools – reach out to those who need them. If space is available, offer room in your refrigerator or freezer for perishable items and frozen meats. If you have extra bedrooms, invite friends and family to camp at your place; allow them to bring their pets. You never know when you might need to ask for the same.
Get to know your neighbors. If you ever need help with debris removal or borrowing tools, being unhappy with their barking dog, for example, will seem trivial.
Please take a moment.
You will reap immense benefits from taking a moment to assess your home’s functionality during any and all emergencies. To implement your family plan, check out our How to Manage a Mansion™(HTMM™) Emergency Preparedness module.
