I'm feeling really bad for the folks in the Great Plains and Appalachia who will probably be without power for a while. As much as I longed for air conditioner while waiting for Houston to be brought back to life, I can't imagine going through the same thing in the freezing cold. :-(
This post is inspired by worrying for those folks and by the realization that, despite our plans, Jas and I probably will still be in Houston for the next hurricane season.
Dearest flist, I don't care where you live, there is always a chance that something is going to kill your precious electric power. Nature has a myriad of ways of doing this, and unfortunantly, faulty technology or human stupidity can cut the supply as while. Normally, power outages aren't much of a big deal. On average the worst you're looking at is two or three days without the juice flowing into your home. Unfortunantly, we become so used to the quick fixes that we become placid and unprepared for something of a larger, longer scale. By the time your area is blacked out, it is too late to prepare yourself. Most stores will be closed and those that do remain open will be cleaned out of batteries, food, and water in a few hours. Any gas lines will require hours long wait and you may find cops turning you away if there are too many people. I'm not trying to be alarmist or scare anyone, but I really would like to see those I care about become a bit more survival-savvy. Just in case.
I'm not going to repeat the stuff that can be found on good websites or books. But I do want to alert you to one issue I've never seen brought up and a very good book.
I know that many folks here are environmentalist, and a few of ya'll are very anti-bottled water. Filtered tap water is indeed the way to go if you want to be green and save money. However, that totally bit Jas and me in the ass when Ike hit. By the time we knew we had to get water there was none to be had for miles around.
The solution to this is to buy a filtered *pitcher* rather than totally rely on the filters that are installed at the sink. These pitchers cost about twenty dollars but are worth every penny. Also, start a stash of gallons of bottled water. While I do agree with abstaining from bottled water in general, every now and then you should throw one of these gallon bottles into your shopping cart. Along with the pitcher, these gallons are to be your lifeline when needed rather than for everyday use. Right now Jas and I have a stash large enough to keep two humans and a cat watered for four days and we're hoping to increase it to a week's worth before fall.
Next I want to introduce you to a
delightful book titled
Apocalypse Chow: How to Eat Well When the Power Goes Out by Jon and Robin Robertson. The Robertsons are the authors of many cookbooks who found it absurd that they lived for a week on peanut butter sandwiches after their Virginia town was struck by a hurricane. The book is intended for folks who are stuck in the limbo of being just okay enough for power crews to pass over while they work on the worst of the disaster. (I don't blame the crews at all for this, but boy does it suck to be told your blacked out neighborhood is at the bottom of a list of tens of thousands to be fixed)
This book is very worth the purchace for its instructions on how and what to shop for and recipes that will keep you from banging your head against the wall as you choke down your twelth can of tuna in a row. An added bonus is that some of the items they recommend are products that most people wouldn't consider getting and thus are likely to be still in stock (couscous, bamboo shoots, canned coconut milk, artichoke hearts).
Apocalypse Chow would be of little use to those in higher level crisis, and the book admits this. However, if you find yourself stuck in limbo while the authorities are taking care of the people in hell, this book can go a long way to helping you stay sane and well fed.