THE POWER GOES OUT - What should you do?

We have the power go out ever once in awhile here,no biggie.
A few times it was a few weeks.

I have everything I need.
I have food,water candles and beer.

Oh,and also my family, neighbors ,friends.
That is a network of people to work together in case the real shtf happens.

Other than that,do some grilling,have a few beers and chill if and when the power comes back on.
If it looks like the power will never come back on,on to the next phase.

My power goes out all the time here. 1 night is a godsend, usually it's many days or over a week.
Us country folk get tended to last. and we are ready for it.
first thing, candles out, oil lamps filled, flashlights ready, always. time to catch up on unread magazines.
then hit the barns, fill the troughs to the brim.
if it goes a day or 2 I've still got a few hot showers.
also and if it goes a day or 2 get the generator out. main priorities are fridge and freezer. can trade the freezer for the tv if i want for a few hours.
guns are always loaded and ready, it it's a shtf sceneraio I'll fill the tub and water jugs with water. I also have a well and 2 ponds so not too worried about water.
I have A gas grill and gas stove. also have alot of camping implements, stoves, burners, lanterns, etc. if need be I'll get them out.
I'm always ready for the little stuff. trying to be ready for the big stuff.
i also have a wood stove and plenty of firewood and canned and boxed goods. i can cook on the woodstove if need be.
I like to think I'm ready, but probably not. I know I can cruise through 2 weeks of no amenities in the dead of winter without a problem. A SHTF scenerio worries me though.

I have a 1700 watt silent generator, just enough power for fridge and ps3.
if it were a major quake, I'd shut off the natural gas.

I have a biolite campmstove that burns found items. fillable bath tub blatter for water.
tons of dehydrated foods.

break out the candles and see what happens next.

reply to post by r2d246


If it is night time go to sleep...

if its a permanent thing expect people to act like idiots and become paranoid that everyone wants their stuff.

I would know for sure (at least as far as the eye could see) by going out to the roof and seeing how far out the power was out.

If it was city wide, I'd start to get concerned.

Probably not too much until it had been off for 8+ hours, as an outage lasting 8+ hours is pretty rare.

I'd also go to my emergency radio, if I couldn't get ANY signal at all, then I'd start to worry.

Turn on my natural gas generator.

Disappear. And fast.

Immediately fill up any and all clean containers with water. You can survive a while without food, but NOT without water. Keep fridge and freezer shut tight.
Go up street to store and take what you can..legally is preferable, but you gotta do what you gotta do.

Jeeze loise! do you KNOW how hard it is to find a black ski mask in a pile of old laundry in the dark?
But, if i WAS prepared id don that baby and head on down to the local armoury for a load of MREs and a few
"added assessories" i have always admired.....then .....well, its off to start my new country i guess.....

The correct answer is: ...... Navy Beans

reply to post by irsuccubus

For those who dont know a can of crisco will burn like a candle and last for weeks. All you have to do is put like 1 to 3 wicks in depending on the size of the can.

This was great piece of knowledge-I didn't know this. Thanks
_______________________________

reply to post by Gridrebel

The orignal question could be taken simply, "the power goes out" as in for a few hours or a day. Most people don't do much or they do a few things, depending on the time of day, the climate, if at work or at home etc. I'm sure that most people don't grab their guns and eat all the ice cream in the freezer every time the power goes out. Probably the most important thing to do if the power goes out is to determine WHY the power went out.

Yeah. Last night well.. at 4:30 AM yesterday-my power went out. I was in bed watching Curb Your Enthusiasm [lol-which I did]. I'm a late night person as my husband works night shift. Everything went pitch black so I waited for my eyes yo adjust to the darkness.. but they didn't. Eventually I grabbed my lighter [it was on my nightstand but I had to 'feel' for it], found my way to get a flashlight, then got the wind-up radio [it also works on batteries]. I listened to the radio in bed and eventually drifted off. Power was off almost two hrs.

I did look outside to see if I could see others with any lights at all, because even though it was 4:30AM, you can generally see some lights or the glow of lights-nothing! I was a tiny bit worried for a minute, until I had the flashlight & radio on, then it was alright.

If the power would have stayed off I would have slept until the husband came home. If he didn't come home-well, I would cross that bridge if/when I got to it.
__________________________________________________

reply to post by r2d246

The correct answer is: ...... Navy Beans

OK. Well, we have a lot of beans, & rice, lots of non-perishables..not enough for forever, but enough for awhile. Some water-still, not enough. Some of everything, not enough of anything, but we'll manage

THE POWER GOES OUT - What steps should you take right away?

Step 1.Make sure wifey has had enough wine.
Step 2 WIN !

I would laugh because I got solar energy

reply to post by r2d246

THE POWER GOES OUT - What steps should you take right away?

Light up a candle.

I'm just thinking I'd like to get a few key items, just in case. Like if the SHTF, we'd run out of water in a hurry. If we just had some water stored at least we could hold out for maybe a month. By that time either things are back to normal or you know for sure that you're screwed!

Always have a supply of 'dried goods' ie. food that does not need refrigeration. Living in the city would be more dangerous no doubt.

I live in the rural part of my state. I often times encounter the power going out. I have lanterns that use kerosene and dried wood for the fire pit, and to heat my home. Two wells with bucket access, and a pond of about an acre and a half stocked with quite a population of fish. Also arms to protect everything with..... as do my neighbors. We are a close knit group, and look after each other. That is my preparedness. We could bring substantial deterrent to bear.

Originally posted by knowledgedesired
FIRST THING WOULD BE NOT TO PANIC!!!!

I would haul butt to the nearest grocery store and stock up even more than I already am and get ready for the show down to begin. I have plenty of stuff but at that moment that would be one of the many signs for me that things were about to get crappy.

To all of those greedy people out there.....

The additonal supplies I would be aquiring at last minute would be also to help out my fellow man so we have enough food and water to prepare for the future.

I would also instantly arm my entire family with a fire arm for protection from the turd burglers that are going to freak out.

If there's no power, the stores won't sell food because cash registers run on electricity.

reply to post by r2d246


poo poo

reply to post by tinker9917


Back up generators are pretty common these days

You guys, and me, with generators: how long do you think a gas powered generator is going to run when gas will literally be unavailable after about a week of a "lights out" situation?

Yeah, I have one. But I also know that I am not gonna get much use out of it.