How to Effectively Prepare for Power Outages and Long Term Blackouts!

how to prepare for short term power outages and long term blackouts due to the ever-changing climate massive power failures are expected to increase in the coming years due to the higher levels of storms I work for an electrical corporation and I know how complicated the electrical grid is and also how fragile all around from we never used to have any hurricanes but in 2014 a category one made landfall more and more storms are going to affect the power grid and we have to prepare ourselves for a long term blackout in this video I'll talk about the best ways to prepare for a short term and also a long term power outage when we face a long term power failure we will undoubtedly be massive loading from unprepared populations everyone will be rushing to the grocery store to find food water and this can be a hazardous situation if you're outside with your family we are so dependent on electricity that most people panic when the power is out for only a few hours they don't panic because they will have a lack of food or water they panic because they'll miss an episode of a television show do you now understand why the Western world would be screwed if we were facing a long-term blackout a massive power outage would be a devastating event to our population we can all prepare ourselves for an imminent power failure by following these steps I will lay out if you follow these tips you should have no problem staying home and surviving a power outage that might even last for weeks many people often think that this type of event will never happen but are we all forgetting about the massive blackout that left 50 million people in northern US and parts of Canada without power the power was out for approximately 23 hours and left eleven people dead even though the USA is considered a superpower our electrical grid resembles something from a third world country the grid is vulnerable and we never know when the next blackout will be primary causes of power outages many things can affect the power grid these causes can be small and only affect a limited amount of people and other causes can lead to a widespread blackout animals animals are one of the leading causes of isolated power outages small animals like squirrels can efficiently run on the lines without being electrocuted they will however be electrocuted and cause a power outage if they come into contact with specific electrical equipment some electrical companies apply different types of barriers to prevent this from happening but it does not always work the Washington Post cited in an article that squirrels and their partners in crime can cause from 10 to 20 percent of all power outages automobile accidents there are many instances where power outages occurs from an automobile accident when a car collides with a utility pole if the pole breaks and falls it will bring the power lines with it and cause damage resulting to a power outage aveer weather-related blackouts the most common and widespread blackout situation would result from storms such as hurricanes and tropical storms lightning storms are also a primary culprit of power outages as the climate is steadily changing we can expect stronger storms that can leave a trail of devastating damage ice and snow this of course is another weather-related event but I find it necessary to place this one on it zone because in places where winter is met with snow and ice the result can be devastating just a small amount of freezing rain can cause trees to break and fall on the lines the utility poles will easily snap in half like twigs storms like this can last only a couple of hours but leave a lot of people in the dark for days I know because I've been there immediate consequences of a power outage we can all expect even if we most commonly experience a power outage for a short length of time that doesn't mean we should not prepare for a time when the lights will just not come back on when the lights go off the first thing we usually experience is concern over if the power will come back online so we can resume our daily chores and entertainment so here is a short list of what you can expect within the first 24 hours of course we can all expect the lights to go out everything in our home will start working and you soon realize how dependent you are on electricity you might still have phones for a short while but you probably will not have internet access and that will basically close the door to the outside world one positive thing if you live in a big city you'll be able to see the stars at night so that's Elysa plus other than buses that depend on gasoline all traditional electric dependent public transportation will cease food shortage due to lack of distribution and people clearing shelves in panic you won't be able to have access to physical cash because the ATMs will no longer be functional electronic payment method will be down as well this is a reason why you should have a small reserve of cash in case something like this happens some people will die due to their medical equipment not working correctly without the necessary amount of electricity panic begins yes on the first day the first hour people will start to panic and if you go outdoors you will most likely see it happening like in 2003 massive blackout we might as well talk about it August 14th 2003 the first massive blackout in history we never think that a blackout that would only last 23 hours would have such a devastating effect on our populations a way of life and economy as a result of the 23 hour outage 50 million people were out of power 11 people died and the cost of the economy was over 6 billion dollars all that in less than a day the problem began in Ohio where a set of human and operational errors set the stage for the blackout a downed power line went unnoticed because the alarm system failed at a local company called first energy a technician from the regional service operator Midwest ISO had turned off the monitoring system while performing repairs this monitoring system signals an alert of a gridded problem he forgot to turn it back on before going out on his lunch break a symbol human error was the cause of this terrible event as a result of this alert system failing to alert the power utility of a downed power line Ohio's electrical grid became unstable with too much voltage flowing through the power lines power plants began shutting down the shutdown created a cascading effect from Ohio through Ontario Canada and all the way to New York over 100 power plants were shut down for 23 hours causing mayhem in New York City and elsewhere how would you prepare for long term power outages when preparing yourself for an eventual long term power outage it's necessary to have a 72 hour emergency food supply with enough food to feed you and we also need to anticipate that elevators and garage doors will not be able to function after the power loss I recommend you figure out how to disengage their garage manually before there is a power outage learning this will allow you the ability to take out your vehicle if you need to bug out real quick there are seven factors you should take into account for coping with an electrical failure the first one and probably one of the most important is safe calm staying calm and not getting yourself into full-on panic mode is one of the most important things you can do to stay safe when the blackout of 2003 happened New York City was dealing with mass panic that was caused of many injuries and death a power outage doesn't mean it's the end of the world so just stay calm and stay safe the second one would be emergency lighting emergency lighting is important because you never know how many nights you'll be in the dark my personal preferred emergency light is a crank led light those are true emergency lights because you don't have to rely on batteries you can find someone Amazon for around $20 and as you know LED lights does not require a lot of energy to function for a long period of time you might only need to crank it for about 30 seconds to gain about an hour of light as I would probably mention candles would be something that I would use as a last resort because of the apparent fire risk especially in this day and age when we have cheap and reliable lighting technology to substitute candles it's not a bad idea however to have a box of candles in your house in case the blackout turns out to be a long term grid down scenario remember one fact when people are in full panic mode like in 2003 it doesn't have to be a long term blackout to have desperate people roaming the streets that's the reason having all the lights in your home turned on might not be such a good idea because you might attract some uninvited visitors only use the lighting that you need so you're not attracting the crazy people the next one would be emergency power supply these days there are many different options to offer regarding emergency power backup supplies you also do not necessarily have to spend thousands of dollars on a generator having the means to recharge your cell phone can be essential if you're in this type of situation for a few days you can buy a compact portable battery power bank that can charge multiple devices the best thing about these is that they are inexpensive for what they can accomplish another great thing is that they are smaller than an iPhone 6 so you can bring it out with you if you decide to bug out of your home if you require more energy you can opt for a generator generators can be loud and prove dangerous if the surrounding population is becoming increasingly desperate I would suggest getting an inverter generator they are more expensive but they are also much quieter if you do get a generator that is loud you can even build yourself a generator quite box or you can buy one but they can be quite expensive if you decide to buy one and they're not that difficult to build next up would be your emergency water and food supply you should prepare an emergency water and food supply to last you for at least 72 hours however I recommend a two-week supply regarding food I prefer canned food that are precooked and that you consume either cold or warm the first food to consume would be those that have a short shelf life you should start with the frozen products because they will begin to thaw rapidly only open your refrigerator and freezer in case of absolute necessity to keep the internal temperature as low as possible transfer ice cube trays from your freezer to your refrigerator which will help keep food cold for longer if a thick layer of frost has formed in your freezer do not hesitate to scrape it and put it in the vegetable tray of your refrigerator as well a conventional refrigerator will keep your food cold for about four hours however after this time it will start to rise to room temperature if the blackout takes place in the winter and also if your kitchen is closed off from the rest of your house do not hesitate to open a window to let the cold air in to bring the room temperature down a freezer that stays closed keeps the food frozen for about 12 to 20 hours depending on the outdoor temperature the colder the room the longer it will keep food at a lower temperature the next one would be means of generating heat if you're stuck without electricity for an extended period in colder climates you will need to be able to produce sufficient heat to survive gas and oil heaters have the advantage of not depending on the power grid to operate and are excellent heating for this type of event the best heaters that I would recommend are endure safe portable propane radiant heaters heaters like this are fueled by a one pound propane cylinder it's always prudent to have these types of cylinders around so keep them installed because they're not expensive and they also don't require much space also I'll say again make sure that the heater you buy if it's run by propane that it is indoor safe you certainly don't want to expose you and your family to dangerous co2 next one is communication without power you will not be able to inform yourself of current situations from your television so having a battery-powered radio is essential better yet get yourself a cranked powered radio in case your battery runs out prematurely what's great about these types of crank radio is that it can also be used as a power bank to charge your cell phone having the ability to charge your phone by even 1% can be life-saving cell phone use would become harder as time went on and the initial power outage turned out to be a long-term rate down situation and the final one is sanitation proper sanitation is important especially if medicine becomes scarce in a long-term crisis I've always reminded people to stock up on hand sanitizer liquid hand sanitizer is affordable and also has a very long shelf life I also recommend you have some baby wipes on head there are a bit more expensive and can take up space if you live in a small house or apartment but they are perfect to wash up your hands your face or even white after you go to the washroom having a stock of toilet paper is also not a bad idea but what I like best are sanitary wipes in the form of a tablet they kind of look exactly like a white peppermint all you need to do is add a few drops of water on them and they'll transform into something similar to a baby wipe there are also rugged enough to wash your entire body with and also to wipe after going to the washroom so to conclude as we increase our dependence on the power grid we are developing a growing need to prepare for a massive long term power outage it has happened before and it will have it again and someday it might last much longer than 23 hours so that's why you need to prepare yourself and your family check out my website team hag live.com for more of these types of articles basically what you'll find in this article is you can watch a 2003 documentary that goes into detail on what happened in New York City during the blackout and it also delves deeper into how the blackout happened and how easy it is for blackouts like this to happen with only a simple human error thank you very much for watching if you enjoyed this video please subscribe to my channel and you'll see much more content like this coming up shortly also again check out my website team hack live.com it's quite new also but it has also great articles and great information if you're interested in this type of topics thanks again Cheers

Channel: Team Hack Life

Views: 215,601

Rating: 4.7773271 out of 5

Keywords: Power outage, long term blackout, blackout, long term power outage, power outages, grid down, survival, prepping

Id: pc_zEW4hYjM

Length: 16min 28sec (988 seconds)

Published: Sun May 27 2018