Avian Flu Diary: Instead Of Cursing The Darkness

NOAA Radio

# 7924

When I wrote about the upcoming GridEX II exercise on Sunday (see GridEx 2013 Preparedness Drill) I mentioned National Geographic’s upcoming `docudrama’ movie – American Blackout – and its mention in the CDC’s Public Health Matters Blog. I’ve now had a chance to watch the movie (and it’s UK counterpart) – and while neither is exactly Citizen Kane – both do a good job illustrating why it is important to be prepared for any type of emergency or disaster.

The plot in both movies is a cyber attack taking down the national grid. And once down, it stays down for days. And as you might expect, by day 2 or 3, a lot of unprepared people were getting pretty desperate.

Without electrical power, water and gasoline doesn’t pump, elevators and air conditioners don’t run, ATM machines and banks close, grocery stores can’t take debit or credit cards, and everything from cooking, to flushing toilets, becomes a major challenge. Particularly in urban settings.

Having lived for more than a year `on the hook’ on a sailboat, I understand what its like to be off the grid. But of course, I’d prepared for that. I had solar panels, kerosene lanterns, battery operated devices, and other work arounds. It wasn’t luxurious, or even comfortable a good deal of the time, but living aboard a boat in the tropics tends to make up for such things.

Today, I’ve `swallowed the anchor’, and live on dry land. But I keep the much of the same gear I had aboard my sailboat, in case the power goes out. Battery operated radios, LED lanterns (much improved over the old, hot, smelly kerosene lanterns), a propane camp stove (with extra fuel) . . . even a small solar panel to recharge batteries.

Not because I’m expecting a `100% grid-down’ situation as depicted in these movies, but because I live in hurricane country, and these tropical systems have a nasty habit of shutting off the juice for days or weeks at a time. As do ice storms, tornadoes, blizzards, floods, earthquakes, severe thunderstorms and derechos across the nation.

Add in the real possibility of solar storms, cyber attacks, and good old fashioned equipment failures, and the odds of your spending a few days without electrical power over the next couple of years go up appreciably.

If a disaster struck your region today, and the power went out, stores closed their doors, and water stopped flowing from your kitchen tap for the next 7 days . . . do you have:

A battery operated NWS Emergency Radio to find out what was going on, and to get vital instructions from emergency officials?
A decent first-aid kit, so that you can treat injuries?
Enough non-perishable food and water on hand to feed and hydrate your family (including pets) for the duration?
A way to provide light (and in cold climates, heat) for your family without electricity? And a way to cook? And to do this safely?
An emergency plan, including meeting places, emergency out-of-state contact numbers, and in case you must evacuate, a bug-out bag?
Spare supply of essential prescription medicines that you or your family may need?

If your answer is `no’, you have some work to do. A good place to get started is by visiting Ready.gov.

Unfortunately, a lot of people make the wrong choices when they do prepare. They buy candles instead of battery operated lights, they use generators inside their house or garage, or resort to dangerous methods to cook or to heat their homes.

As a result, when the power goes out, house fires and carbon monoxide poisonings go up. Each year hundreds of Americans are killed, and thousands affected, by CO poisoning.

In Carbon Monoxide: A Stealthy Killer I wrote in depth on the issue, but a few tips from the CDC include:

Prevention Guidelines

You Can Prevent Carbon Monoxide Exposure

Do have your heating system, water heater and any other gas, oil, or coal burning appliances serviced by a qualified technician every year.

Do install a battery-operated CO detector in your home and check or replace the battery when you change the time on your clocks each spring and fall. If the detector sounds leave your home immediately and call 911.

Do seek prompt medical attention if you suspect CO poisoning and are feeling dizzy, light-headed, or nauseous.

Don't use a generator, charcoal grill, camp stove, or other gasoline or charcoal-burning device inside your home, basement, or garage or near a window.

Don't run a car or truck inside a garage attached to your house, even if you leave the door open.

Don't burn anything in a stove or fireplace that isn't vented.

Don't heat your house with a gas oven.

Food safety after a power outage is another concern, and is something I covered a couple of years ago in USDA: Food Safety When The Power Goes Out.

The USDA maintains a Food Safety and Inspection website with a great deal of consumer information about how to protect your food supplies during an emergency, and how to tell when to discard food that may no longer be safe to consume.

A Consumer's Guide to Food Safety: Severe Storms and Hurricanes

This illustrated PDF version (2.1MB) is recommended for printing.

While preparedness may seem like a lot of work, it really isn’t. You don’t need an underground bunker, an armory, or 2 years worth of dehydrated food. But you do need the basics to carry on for a week or two, and a workable family (or business) emergency/disaster plan.

For more information on how to prepare, I would invite you to visit: