topic Re: Imagine being without electricity... in Community Chat

Imagine being without electricity...

Susan Louise — Mon, 11 Sep 2017 21:33:54 GMT

and having no clue as to when it will be turned on...will it be in just a few days? weeks? or months? What would you do if you have no clue and nobody could give you a rough timeline?

I mean, it's not like you can just get a deli number...

I'm just thinking of all the folks that left to be safe (I praise them). But then I think of all the things they will face when going home. Even for those with not much damage, 'roughing it' without the basic comforts is a shock to the system for more than just a few days.

Everything in the fridge/freezer needs to be thrown out, no air conditioning, and in most cases no water.

Well, if 70-75% of the entire state is in the same boat, finding the 25-30% of anything that has electricity is surely a major stress factor to just get the basics.

I know for me, I would keep busy cleaning up debris and would be grateful for the books we have for at least a way to keep busy without tv/entertained.

Then I think of those who go from being at a place with all the comforts of being able to take a hot shower, food electricity several miles away then to go home and you can't do anything. Would you try and go back to where you were or just say at home in the dark unknown situation?

So, what would be your plan of action?

Re: Imagine being without electricity...

brandiwine — Mon, 11 Sep 2017 21:27:12 GMT

Being without power is inconveient, but nothing like being flooded or losing everything. May all those affected by recent hurricanes and earthquakes feel the support of those who can only send donations and prayers.

Re: Imagine being without electricity...

SahmIam — Mon, 11 Sep 2017 21:29:01 GMT

Been through that. It was on the 8th day that the power went on. Even the power company had no idea when power would be restored.

Not fun.

Re: Imagine being without electricity...

SeaMaiden — Mon, 11 Sep 2017 21:39:15 GMT

We were out for 4 days after a winter storm about 15 years ago......IT WAS AWFUL.

We were so cold and just sat there in the dark each night with lousy flash lights.....I was ready to do something desperate by the fourth day of no electricity. Can not even imagine 2 weeks. The only MAYBE positive thing was that I was able to put my milk and refrigerator foods out side in the snow to keep them fresh.

At least the Floridian's will not be cold....but being hot is no better when you have no fans etc.... I feel so bad for them all and hope the juice comes back on soon for them.

Re: Imagine being without electricity...

Venezia — Mon, 11 Sep 2017 21:34:45 GMT

I live in New England and we have hard winters. The first thing I did, when we built this house, was to buy a portable generator and have a dedicated electrical panel put in, just for that.

We've lost power so many times, I've lost count. The worst was for about 10 days - and in sub-zero temperatures, you need to be able to keep your house warm and your water and fridge/freezer running.

You plan ahead. You make sure you have enough gas to run the generator and you run it just long enough to keep things going, then switch it off. It's a continual cycle until power is restored.

During some storms around here, people have been without power for three weeks at a time. It's no good waiting till something like that happens to try to do something, because everyone else is out trying to buy a generator and gas, etc.. Plan ahead!

(ETA: And being without power in a NE winter isn't just inconvenient. If your home freezes, your pipes burst, flooding your home and that's just the start of your problems.)

Re: Imagine being without electricity...

Othereeeen — Mon, 11 Sep 2017 21:31:36 GMT

If it's City water, they will have water and toilet use..

Now if it's a well with a pump, you're out of luck on both counts.

Gas stove will probably work, electric one won't.

AC and fridge...nope....

Know what I couldn't stand? The thought ( and use) of the rest rooms in those "Shelters"......and no hot shower for days on end....

Would rather ride out the storm. I know it's silly, but EWWWWWWW.......

I was thinking today that if I had a "go bag" to grab in case I DID have to use a shelter, it would include spray Lysol, my own TP, and maybe even toilet seat liners which you can buy on Amazon.

More important than batteries in my opinion!!!!

They show a lot of the downtown cities on TeeVee...they seem to have come thru OK...it's the homes and residential areas that are hardest hit....No underground wires, trees down all over, damage to homes and flooding.....Terrible mess....

Re: Imagine being without electricity...

Laura14 — Mon, 11 Sep 2017 21:32:02 GMT

I'm not imagining. I have none.

Re: Imagine being without electricity...

santorini — Mon, 11 Sep 2017 21:32:40 GMT

It just happened to me for a few days (Harvey) and 11 days after Ike. I was miserable but we survived. We literally clapped and cheered when we finally saw the electric company repair truck rolling down our streets. A lot of us happened to be out in the streets talking to each other when we saw the truck. They laughed at us but maybe it made them feel good.

Re: Imagine being without electricity...

gidgetgh — Mon, 11 Sep 2017 21:36:36 GMT

@Laura14 wrote:
I'm not imagining. I have none.

@Laura14- oh no!

Ours has flickered four different times today but has stayed on. I hope yours comes back on soon.

Re: Imagine being without electricity...

CelticCrafter — Mon, 11 Sep 2017 21:45:04 GMT

We were without for 10 days after Sandy and it was the most miserable 10 days of my life.

Threw out hundreds of dollars worth of fridge and freezer stuff. No way to keep it safe to eat even if I did cook it all.

Once they came back in stock, we did buy a small generator to keep the fridge and freezer, the furnace and a lamp or two going.

I just heard on the TV that it may be weeks before it's back for some people.

Re: Imagine being without electricity...

Annabellethecat66 — Mon, 11 Sep 2017 21:45:27 GMT

OMG! I've told this before, here! I lived in my house one Winter for 4 full days without any electricity. I live in an all electric home.

It was during a major snow storm. No one could get into our development. I couldn't get out anyway because there were live wires that'd come down across my driveway.

During the day I took my cat and sat in my car and watched DVD's (portable DVD player) and read and during the night I had one battery which I used to heat a heating pad and took that to bed with me. It was 4 full days by the time the electric company could get to me.

You do what you have to. I am 70 now but it was probably around 5 years ago. My daughter was so upset but she couldn't do anything (because of the roads).

I've been without heat and electricity off and on over the years. Last year I bought a kerosene heater. Of course I never had to use it. That's OK, I'd rather keep it handy than have to use it.

Re: Imagine being without electricity...

FrostyBabe1 — Mon, 11 Sep 2017 22:00:19 GMT

My family in Bradenton is without power, as is the majority of Manatee county. They have no idea when it'll come back on. They've charged their cell phones in their cars, but cell service is spotty. They packed perishables into coolers with ice. They don't keep a lot of refrigerated/frozen food during hurricane season. They have a gas grill, gas stove, gas water heater, and city water/sewer. They're not thrilled about "camping" in their house, but they have no damage other than some limbs down in their yard. My 78 year old aunt spent her day driving people home from shelters. My 86 year old uncle plans to keep his tee time tomorrow. As my aunt put it, "we're alive, our house is fine and life goes on".

The county has put out a plea for volunteer medical professionals. My aunt still has her nursing license and is going to call tomorrow to see how she can help.

Re: Imagine being without electricity...

Nightowlz — Mon, 11 Sep 2017 22:01:08 GMT

No fun with no power after an ice storm.

We are seriously thinking about installing a Generac & or Solar Panels.

Re: Imagine being without electricity...

Preds — Mon, 11 Sep 2017 22:01:39 GMT

We spent the days gutting our house out. Evenings I went to work to keep up our jobs ... that were also hit, but had power. Then I would meet DH at his dads house to clean, sleep, and start all over again. When we finally got a connection for power ( a temp pole for the area), we set up a camper in the front yard and keep going. We were the neighborhood watch. LOL

Our clothes, our life was spread out to friends, family and even strangers. They would wash it, try to clean it, try to save it. You simply do what you can do and pray for the strength to keep going.

Re: Imagine being without electricity...

SilleeMee — Mon, 11 Sep 2017 22:05:20 GMT

Having a prolonged power outage is one of my biggest fears. I wish I could afford one of those automatic back-up generators. It would give me peace of mind.

Re: Imagine being without electricity...

NickNack — Mon, 11 Sep 2017 22:12:07 GMT

I think if I lived in a hurricane prone state I would have a generator. Of course, a lot of people in Florida don't have water right now either. Key West has no water, and I read in another post on Facebook about somewhere in Florida that they said you could drink the water but not use it to shower or flush the toilet or anything else because they were worried about sewer build up. They posted the link to the newspaper article. It would be really tough. I feel for those people and pray for them.

Re: Imagine being without electricity...

Noel7 — Mon, 11 Sep 2017 22:14:41 GMT

I've been there, we lost power in the 1989 SF earthquake. We had no idea how long it would last, that turned out to be about five days.

The first night we ate beans out of a pull top can.

Re: Imagine being without electricity...

sunshine45 — Mon, 11 Sep 2017 22:15:54 GMT

the most time we have been without power was 7 days in the middle of winter. we had had a very bad snowstorm. it was tough, but we made it through. it cannot even compare to having flooding and losing everything.

Re: Imagine being without electricity...

truffle — Mon, 11 Sep 2017 22:17:33 GMT

I get antsy if we have an outage for just 20 minutes, there's just no way I could handle an outage for days or weeks. I would probably check in to a nice hotel rather than imposition one of my relatives.

Re: Imagine being without electricity...

kitcat51 — Mon, 11 Sep 2017 22:57:42 GMT

Been without power for over 3 weeks & we have a well so no water either, this happened in winter after an ice storm. My husband stayed near work 50 miles away & I stayed home by myself to watch the pipes in case they froze & burst so I could call a plumber for help. No heat, power or water...you just learn to make-do. I did have a gas stove to warm up bottled water to wash with & make a hot meal, you quickly become grateful for little things & the gas stove top was number 1 on that list. I wore so many layers of clothes trying to stay warm I could barely move my arms, funny to think about now but not then. Power outages are often in my neck of the woods so a few years after my husband passed away I had a generator installed. My state sent 200 lineworkers & 100 tree trimmers to help FL get the power back up. Hope everyone stays safe & life for all effected gets back to normal soon.