January Disaster in Place: Power Outage!
Time for another round of Disaster in Place! Please feel free to change and tailor to your needs or the needs of your organization and send me a note to let me know if you are using/participating!
If you haven’t participated before, Disaster in Place is a short 5-10 minute exercise designed to help individuals think about their own personal preparedness with a different scenario every month. There is also additional training, videos, and relevant material for those who want to further their involvement. I use it to engage my Medical Reserve Corps members and put up generic versions here for anyone else to use. Enjoy!
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Hello and welcome to the first “Disaster in Place” of 2014!
This month’s scenario is a widespread power outage.
If the power went out across your area right now, what would you do? How would you receive updated information about the outage? Do you have a weather radio, batteries, crank lights, and food and heat options that do not require electricity? Do you fill your gas tank, charge your cell phone and keep cash handy when inclement weather is possible as these things all require electricity to operate? Do you know how to properly operate a generator and protect yourself from electrical hazards?
For everything related to blackout and power outage preparedness, review these helpful FEMA tips, guides, and reminders: http://www.ready.gov/blackouts
For tips on Food Safety During Power Outages, check out this short FDA video: http://www.drc-group.com/project/jitt-poweroutage-foodsafety.html (duration 2:46)
For tips on Downed Electrical Line Safety, watch this short clip the State of Washington: http://www.drc-group.com/project/jitt-powerline.html (duration 1:25)
For information on personally preparing for this, and all types of disaster, take this free FEMA training, IS-22 Personal Preparedness: http://training.fema.gov/EMIWeb/IS/courseOverview.aspx?code=IS-22
We’ve already had some record breaking cold weather, and the winter is still young! Please, please stay prepared!
Tanya
Posted on January 13, 2014, in Disaster in Place Series, Things to Implement. Bookmark the permalink. 2 Comments.
Bigger Than Myself 
We’ve had numerous power outages in 2013. Thankfully, we didn’t get hit with the ice storm power outages that totally wreaked havoc with other surrounding towns. Nonetheless, we’re prepared with water and fresh supplies in our cold room, plenty of batteries to boot. We’re also in a community where if something happens to any of our neighbors, we jump to chip in to help in any way we can. I suppose we’re prepared!
Not for a zombie apocalypse, though… 🙂
We had our fair share of outages in Virginia following ice and especially following the derecho! A community that pitches in with all the key preparedness elements is ideal in my opinion! One huge step closer to zombie prep:)