We survived two hurricanes in Florida. Hurricane number one, we had no power for two days. Number two, we were without power for 8 days.
Our emergency survivor kit consisted of bottled water, candles, flashlights, batteries, radios and bags of non refrigerated food. The bath tub is filled with water also.
The first survival tip? Dip wash cloths in the water,and put one around your head, because the house will get very very hot in a hurry with no air conditioning.
Next, keep hydrated, and drink lots of water. Since we had no electric we had no running appliances, and I could just imagine all of the spoiled food in the refrigerator when it came back on. We kept the door shut to the freezer, hoping that would help. It did.
We were lucky with the first hurricane. Our power came on in two days, and nothing was destroyed except our egos for not preparing better.
The next hurricane, our power was out for eight days, but we were prepared. We bought a generator after the first storm, and put it in the shed. The money that we spent on the generator was worth it, because we got another refrigerator the following year.
We tracked the storm, and got the generator out, and placed it in a safe place. Sure enough we lost all power. We were better prepared this time.
We kept the refrigerator on, and ran one small TV and radio. The outside world was at our touch this time.
Our tricks to get through the power outage? We played cards, board games, reflected on life, etc. After a while, the hum of the generator didn’t even affect us.
The neighborhood pulled together. One neighbor would buy gas for the generators, and another groceries to tide us over. We laughed with each other, and told stories about our experiences during the storms.
We did move the following year back to the Midwest. Being without power for a few hours here is very different than for days at a time.
Survival is a funny thing. You can get through it together, and come out on the other side a winner. In the process, we can give a part of ourselves.
Power outages are an inconvenience, but not the end of the world.