Surviving without power after Irene
We were one of the fortunate ones. We only lost power for about a day and a half.
Preparing ahead of the storm
The news reports indicated that this could be worse than the worst Nor'Easter we had ever faced. Remembering back to 1996, we had a blizzard that shut down the state in Connecticut and caused my home to be without power for three days. During winter, having no power in the northeast is critical and potentially life threatening. Fortunately, this storm came through in the summer so although flooding and downed power lines could be ominous, at least we would not have to worry about freezing to death.
My husband and daughter laughed at me, but remembering back to those 3 days of no heat, no lights and no way to cook indoors, I set about preparing for hurricane Irene.
My husband is a contractor and because occasionally he works on a job site where there is no power, we own a small generator. With about a half a gallon of gas, you can get about three hours of limited power
Before the hurricane, I bought.a gas-can full of gas, some bread, water, gatorade, and a bag of ice. I also got some cash from the ATM in case we lost power for longer or needed to travel. I also filled up the truck with gas in case we needed to leave the area.
The day before the storm, I made two crock pots of prepared meals. One was cock and bull stew, a mixture of beef, chicken, vegetables and steak sauce. The other was sausage and spaghetti sauce. I cooked up a box of spaghetti, and put it in a plastic bag in the refrigerator after it had cooled.
When we got hungry, we simply plugged in the crock pot and within about an hour, our dinner was ready. We didn't have to fuss with the grill or worry about opening our freezer. It was easy, simple and tasty, even though we were eating by candle light. We were able to charge our cell phones, and remain in contact with most of our family this way, even though we had no cable or television.
Throughout the day we listened to the news are discovered that half the state was without power. I kept asking my husband where all the rain went as they had originally predicted 6-12 inches of rain that would accompany the storm.
Since we were listing to the local radio station, we got local news and had no idea that Vermont, upper New York and New Hampshire were experiencing the drenching that was originally slated for us.
After getting power on after a day and a half, we watched the news and were saddened to see homes floating by in the rivers north of us. I wondered if those folks had been prepared as we had been. I hoped so, but when water floods your home and moves it, there is not much you can do but abandon it.
Being prepared versus not being prepared is simply thinking about what you might need, and planning for it. Sometimes during natural disasters, that means you have to move, and you have to do it quickly.
While I am grateful our power was only off for a day and a half, my sister in law in the next town over, was out for two days. Others are still waiting and are being told it might be weeks rather than days. Planning for a week is one thing, planning for multiple weeks is another.
Thankfully, it is warm out still and no one should freeze from the devastating effects of Hurricane Irene. How did you fare this storm? Do you have power back? Water in the basement? Trouble getting to work because roads are closed? Please comment and let me know how you are doing after the storm.
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