Community Chat

[Mersha]

Hurricane Isabel in 2003 was 4 days.

[reiki604]

6 days after Hurricane Sandy.

[Drythe]

Two and a half weeks after Hurricane Fran.  

We know how to prepare,  put away yard items, filled tubs, sinks, and washing machine with water, still nothing holds out that long.

40 huge trees down on our land, two directly across the drive.  Three tornadoes touched down.  Neighbors, and DH chainsawed us out of the drive and I worked every day, bringing home a 5 gal. Container of water with me.

No power, no water, hot as the hinges, no cooking. Bought a portable generator two months later.  A year later built a new home with installed generator.

[Greeneyedlady21]

Having lived my whole life in an area that gets blizzards, ice storms, tornadoes, hurricanes...I would say more than a week.10 days or more is my best guess.

When I was taking care of my Mom in hospice care there was a terrible Winter storm that knocked out power for five days. The hospice tried to get us a hotel room, everything was booked. Thank God for two neighbors who helped me keep our portable generator going. I was shoveling and doing that and taking care of my Mom. There were trees and branches all over the driveway. Our plow guy took care of them with his chainsaw.

The hospice was going to move her to a care facility temporarily if it lasted much longer, then thankfully the power came back on.

[RedTop]

Longest our WV family has ever been without power was 5-7 days in February in the 80's, when my girls were maybe 3-6 yrs old. We managed very well, and the girls still remember it as a cool adventure.

At that time, our main heat was our wood and coal stove in the basement, so the house was quite toasty day and night. We had 2 kerosene lamps that lit our main living area, a battery lamp in the bathroom, and everyone had flashlights. We had a radio to listen to, and both girls had battery operated cassette recorders to play their storybooks for entertainment.

I had drawn up water in every 5 gallon bucket we owned, as well as filled my wringer washer, the bathtub, and gallon jugs of water for drinking and cooking. We did not run out of water.

I cooked on the woodstove, baked potatoes in the ashes of the stove, and we made out just fine.

Our neighbor down the road with kids near the same age as ours, didn't make it thru the 1st day, and made her husband get them out of here to her mother's. He dropped her and the kids off, and came back to enjoy the peace and quiet.

[Peaches McPhee]

1991.  Rochester NY had a severe ice storm.  I did not lose power, but my parents and my sister did.  They all came to stay with me, after giving up on their own homes.  Over a week for them.  

[Buffalogal47]

4 days in February, 2002, in Buffalo, NY. We had an ice storm which brought down trees which in turn fell on the power lines. I caught a bad cold which turned into pneumonia. I'll never forget that storm. 

[Eileen in Virginia]

A week in the summer of 2012 after the derecho went through our area, taking down 2 different power lines in our neighborhood. Temps were triple digit most of that week. We were able to get a suite in one of the only local hotels that still had power (and a nice cold swimming pool). The devastation and power outages were so widespread that we were small potatoes. 

[River Song]

No power for two weeks after Hurricane Irma in 2017, it was a direct hit for us.  Forty trees down on our property, two trees against the garage door (couldn't get the cars out), five trees down across the driveway, had to chainsaw them out.  Thankfully, the house was fine.

But, we are on well/septic with a lift station for the septic tank.  No power = no water = no power to the lift station = no flushing toilets.  And, we do not have a gas stove, could only cook on a propane grill.  All the food in the freezer/frig had to be thrown out, can't eat it fast enough with the heat and lack of ice.

There was no gasoline available in any gas station and no ice anywhere, either.  FEMA no longer delivers ice, fyi.  And it was hotter than the hinges on the gates of Hell.  Even if you had a generator, there was no gasoline available and no power at the gas stations to pump the gasoline anyway.

Telephone down for a week, cell phone towers also down, so no service.  

FPL got service back on to the wealthy gated communities first (I live in a very old, poor subdivision).  I feared for my husband's life as he was terminally ill with leukemia.  I called up FPL and they got an earful, let me tell you!

Many old people in nursing homes died from the heat because the facilities didn't have working generators, it was a disgrace.

[FranandZoe]

Four days in February of 2010.  Luckily we got by with our gas fireplace and gas cooktop.  And I have battery powered hurricane lamps.  I put stuff from the fridge and freezer outside in the frigid weather and snow.  We had 2 feet of snow and temps were in single digits.