I Just Went 8 Days Without Power

Some good info OP, very good detail off what you went through. I remember when the "great blackout" of 2003 happened in the Northeast part of the U.S. and Canada, I was only without power for about 36 hours and I can't even imagine what 8 days would be like. But you were prepared and that's what counts.

I myself have a bank of 6 deep cycle marine batteries that are constantly monitored using a West Mountain Radio brand smart charge system and are all wired in parallel. They are there to power my amateur radio equipment in the event of loss of power or the breakdown in communications like cell services, land lines and internet. I have them on a portable dolly with wheels which makes the bank of batteries easy to "bug out" with. I also have a couple Honda Generators to power wattage hungry items like RF amplifiers and battery chargers and any other hardware that would quickly drain batteries.

Do you have a CB radio in any of your vehicles or at your home? These "old-school" radios are extremely useful for the general public that don't have access to HAM radio gear and large antenna systems during an emergency. They typically only "legally" draw about 4 watts on AM and 12 watts on SSB (sideband) making them fantastic for a long term communications solution. I was in contact with many amateur radio operators in the affected areas that you were in that were coordinating communications with the Red Cross and other EMS services. CB radio operators on channel 38 LSB were being passed information through amateur radio operators that were in contact with services that citizens needed as well as keeping the listening public up to date with NEWS and information of the occurring emergency.

EVERYONE should really think about in the very least getting a CB radio in the event of a long term power outage or a SHTF situation. Services like land lines, cell phones, internet, tv and wireless communications will be the first things to go down or be shut off by TPTB during a crisis. CB's and HAM radio's are the last line of communications as they don't require any kind of service provider and can be setup very quickly.

Good thread!

This makes me look at people in 3rd world countries much differently; they aren't without - they are more prepared if anything, should a world crisis ever happen! They are prepared because they have nothing much to begin with just the very basics and still they don't act like savage animals as we do here when we are made to go without.
Our spoils of society could very well be our downfall!
Not saying this about all people, but from how you described people as acting in stores it really makes me wonder...what if.
I guess what I am saying here is I have always looked as these 3rd world people as bad off and how horrible it must be when in fact it's quite the opposite. I am the one who is or could be bad off, just not in the way I thought. I just never realized this before.
Those people are ready whereas, I am not, very few of us are I would dare say, it would be much harder to harm or kill them because you can't really take anything that's not there to begin with. They know how to hunt, where to get water,how to make medicine, they have no worries in the heat of summer, they don't have to worry about crime, or a greedy gov. etc.

***let me clarify that I don't think these people in 3rd worlds have it the best, but when comparing/contrasting them to us in a serious crisis they are much better off and maybe all that will be left some day***

BTW OP: What a great job you did holding it down for 8 days, serious congrats on that sir!

reply to post by Fylgje


Glad you finally got you some propane bottles.

Seriously glad you are ok - that Dehrico was bad for many states. I counted myself as a lucky one because I only lost cable/internet for the day.

The lesson is what the boy scouts teach - BE PREPARED. Also if you live alone make sure you have at least one person you can rely on to possibly take you in should an emergency take place.

The only issue I have with your story is that you seemed offended that people sought relief by the lake and you felt some sort of entitlement to it. If I lived on the beach, unless I could somehow own the sand in front of my house, I couldn't stop people from trying to cool off with the ocean breeze nor would I have any right to get upset about it.

We should also be lobbying these power companies to have a plan to bury all power lines - say within 10-15 years. Then one tree falling wouldn't disrupt 100's if not thousands of people's lives.

Dont have have a video phone? would have been interesting to see. But i can understand your family is your first priority.

Loading Ramp....Nice thinking! Pretty sure it wouldn't have occurred to me until I found myself blowing/rolling across the countryside

wow that blows lol

Well, everythings getting back to normal here on my end, but there's still so many still without power and I think it's a disgrace on the power company's part. Sunday afternoon, another storm came through and knocked a bunch more power off. Some people had just gotten their power back on just to lose it all again. I feel for them. At least it's cooled down into the upper eighties, though. It's been a while since my eyes have been opened and this time I'm not just going to go back to buisness as usual. Even though I hear it's expensive, I'm going to check into solar power and all that. I have a lot on my list and I hope other people can look at this thread and it open their eyes so they can be better prepared.

The power companies need to be forced to take all them record profits and invest it into a more, reliable service, such as burying power lines in certain 'problem' areas. The governer should make them do it. It's 2012 and we have 1800's power grids like a poster said earlier, and that has to change. We all need to change and get more independant from all of these things that we take for granted each and every day.

Some people don't understand this, but, losing power can take a toll on you mentally. It can exhaust you. It's not like going camping, because when ya go camping you are prepared. If you have health problems, you have to get a decent generator. It will also run your frigerator. We lost all of our food, some of it was deer meat that I simply just cannot go out and replace at this time. I lost some ramps and Molly Moocher mushrooms, too.

The biggest eye-opener for me was how people were acting. I've never seen such selfishness and such crazy, panicy behavior. I wish I had thought, like a poster in this thread said, and took an hour or two to film these people and put it on Youtube so that people will know what to expect if a SHTF episode unravels. I'd just like for these people to see themselves as I seen them. I bet that they'd be pretty embarrassed of themselves. They should be ashamed. At times like this, we're supposed to help each other, not hurt each other. There's many lessons to be learned here, and next time, because rest assured that there WILL BE a next time, I won't have to put myself in danger and go out amogst the weak sheep, who in a real catastrophy, would likely be the first to expire not long after the collapse. Me and mine will be sittin' pretty.

Thanks to all who contributed. Hope this helps people.

Originally posted by flashtrum
reply to post by Fylgje

 

Glad you finally got you some propane bottles.

Seriously glad you are ok - that Dehrico was bad for many states. I counted myself as a lucky one because I only lost cable/internet for the day.

The lesson is what the boy scouts teach - BE PREPARED. Also if you live alone make sure you have at least one person you can rely on to possibly take you in should an emergency take place.

The only issue I have with your story is that you seemed offended that people sought relief by the lake and you felt some sort of entitlement to it. If I lived on the beach, unless I could somehow own the sand in front of my house, I couldn't stop people from trying to cool off with the ocean breeze nor would I have any right to get upset about it.

We should also be lobbying these power companies to have a plan to bury all power lines - say within 10-15 years. Then one tree falling wouldn't disrupt 100's if not thousands of people's lives.

I wanted to try and clarify what I meant about the people camping at the lake. It is a major camping place, where people come from all over the country to camp by the thousands. After the storm hit, and the governer declared a 'state of emergency', the Corp Of Engineers and The National Gaurd, should've escorted these people home or to safety, because they were a major burden on our local resources during this and a big part of the chaos. They weren't asked to leave until 5 days later. They were given 'til 5pm to clear out. I had no ill intentions toward any of them, and would never kick them out into a dangerous situation. If it were safer for them to just stay put, then so be it. But I don't think it was the best thing for them to stay. They kept themselves in a bad situation and had they just went home, I'm sure it would've been better for them, and for us locals. If they had no other place to go, I would help them any way I could in a minute.

And more crazy weather to come...

Loved your retelling of your personal experience. Sounds like the docking bay was an Angel on your shoulder.

Congratulations on your survival.

Called a hotel moron...

When I was 18, Hurricane Isabel hit the Outer Banks. By the time its winds reached us, it was on the high end of tropical-storm force. I'd never been through a hurricane since Hugo as a baby, and it was an interesting experience. I say interesting because it was really a combination of terrifying and informative and I currently can't think of a word that encompasses both of those.

You always get the threat of hurricanes living on the East Coast, but everyone just thinks, "Yea, but it will turn at the last second. They all do, no big deal." Even so, we all had 'hurricane kits.' These really just consisted of a bunch of canned food, some bleach to clean the water with, making sure we had extra propane and batteries for the radio and flash lights. We never expected what we got, and it wasn't even that bad compared to most tropical entities.

Everything was fine.. wind, rain, things we had dealt with before.. but then the phone rang. It was our long-time neighbor who said, "It looks like the tree is about to go, you might want to get out." As soon as my mom hung up, I snatched up my 2 year old niece and ran to the other end of the house. About half the family followed me.. but my brother and father ran to the front door and watched the tree. There was a circle around the base, where the ground had become so saturated that the wind was moving EVERTHING.. straight down to the roots. And then they both yelled "Oh !%#$," and came running down the hall. I honestly thought it was over. I really did, But there was a soft thud, and then just the sound of the wind and rain.

After we found the tree lying on our front lawn, I burst into tears. I just sat there and cried, because all of those emotions hit me at once. The tree was massive and ancient, and it had missed everything. The house was fine, our vehicles were fine. It had only bent a piece of the gutter. Luck was an understatement.

When everthing was said and done, we were lucky as hell. The power was out in the entire area for a week or more, but atleast we had a house to live in. I got into a fist-fight for ice at the Winn-Dixie, just to keep milk for my baby niece cold. People were siphoning gas out of the tanks of cars for sale. Prices shot up to $5 a gallon regular, but everyone suddenly became pro drivers.. considerate, even. There was no ice, no bread, no canned goods, no chain saws... but your neighbors were your best friends. They shared food and supplies, eveyone woke and slept with the movement of the sun and you didn't really worry about crime in your own home. I guess that would have came had it continued, but for just then.. everything seemed to be as it should have been.

After everything went back to normal, I found myself hoping for that feeling of community again.... It never came back. I liked to wake at sunrise. I loved my neighbors for more than their pretty lawn and cute dogs. While I wish a hurricane and such hardship on no-one, I think that there is a lot to be learned from situations like this. And I hope that it doesn't always take such an occurance for people to realize it.

Cool post. I've had quite a few more power outages in the past year than I can remember having before that. It always blows my mind when I think about how far removed we are from the things that make our modern lives possible.

reply to post by Fylgje

West Virginians don't wait on uncle sam! Seriously. Today I got a phone call from them telling me to go to my local gas station for ice. yep. Man, I'm glad they called and told me that.

WTF you actually get calls from them telling you to get ice.

Well I suppose its better then nothing, and in a heat wave ice may come in handy. But in a real fix and just when you actually need that ice, it will most likely be all sold out. Maybe then they can call you and tell you that there is no more ice left.

Save yourself a trip that way.

We went through these storms here in MD. thousands without power for several days. People here were buying everything in sight. I was pointing out to my family that THIS Storm was just a little disaster.. imagine how its gonna be when something BIG happens.... Be prepared people. I am 38 years old and saw things with this storm i have NEVER seen in my life! I think we are in for more!

Originally posted by Lusafire
We went through these storms here in MD. thousands without power for several days. People here were buying everything in sight. I was pointing out to my family that THIS Storm was just a little disaster.. imagine how its gonna be when something BIG happens.... Be prepared people. I am 38 years old and saw things with this storm i have NEVER seen in my life! I think we are in for more!

I can't believe so many people seem completely unprepared for even a few days crisis, and I don't mean the posters on here most of them seem at least somewhat prepared, I mean the general public they are describing.

I mean, come on, it IS 2012, and even if you don't think anything will happen, what is the downside to having a month's worth of food for your family, a couple weeks worth of water and some other essentials?

Isn't it much better to have these things and not need them than need them and not have them?

I feel the same way you do after it was all over, I went without power for 5 days and it was horrible. I kept my son and wife safe and cool as much as I could but once I did get power back I felt bad that so many more who needed it more did not have power. I have been trying each day to just remember what I have and be grateful and thankful. Now imagine if we all lost all our cell phones and technology's that we take for granted it would be downright scary. It really is a whole new world when things go bad there's alot of good people out there but a ton of bad when sh*t hits the fan.

I myself have started to stock up on water and first aid kits and other things to last something like this again also for winter as well getting blankets and everything else i want to be alot more prepared to outlast something like this again. Thank you for your story there's alot out there like it I'm glad you guys made it through.

reply to post by Deth2sokpuppets


Love your ATS name.............that emotion strikes me often on this site............

what a interesting topic

reply to post by Fylgje


What you witnessed OP, the nastiness, the "me-first" mentality, the aggression....just a little foretaste of what's to come. And these were people who were only mildly inconvenienced. I have a feeling that when the shtf for real and we are without food and water for months, we will willingly welcome martial law---and all the government shackles that go with it---just to have some peace and order.

I'd like to think we'd help our fellow man and what's left of a Christian influence in our culture will mean we'll look to help one another but I suspect we will only look out for ourselves. It will disintegrate into a "mad maxx" world.