What to do When the Power Goes Out

• Flashlights, extra batteries, and matches. Keep them where you can find them in the dark.
• Battery-powered radio.
• Battery-powered or wind-up clock.
• Canned or dried non-perishable foods, and a manual can opener.
• A safe alternate source of heat and extra fuel (wood, kerosene).
• Extra blankets and warm clothes.
• One gallon of bottled drinking water per person per day.
• A gallon of liquid chlorine bleach for sanitizing utensils and dishes.
• A regular (not cordless) phone.

Yes. Talk to your doctor about an emergency supply of prescription medicine. Keep a 30 day supply in your emergency kit. Be aware of the expiration date on the medication and rotate a fresh supply into the kit on a regular basis. If you are on life support, please fill out UEC’s Life Support Notification Form, and have a backup power supply on hand.

Operate the door by hand. Read the owner’s manual or call the manufacturer.

If the water from your tap is clear:

• Boil it for 3 minutes. This kills disease-causing bacteria and parasites.

OR

• Add 1/8 teaspoon household bleach per gallon of water. Let it sit for 1/2 hour.

If water is cloudy:

• Pour it through a coffee filter and boil it for 3 minutes.
• If you cant boil it, filter it and add 1/4 teaspoon of bleach per gallon. Let it sit for 1 hour.

• Use foods that spoil rapidly first.
• Keep cold food cold. Use dry ice or an ice chest. In winter, store food outside.
• Keep refrigerator and freezer doors closed to conserve cold air.
• If food is cold to touch, it is probably safe to keep, use, or refreeze.
• Discard meat, seafood, dairy products, and cooked food that are not cold to touch.
• Fruits, vegetables, and food in undamaged cans are safe.
• Food that needs no refrigeration: jelly, butter, margarine, ketchup, mustard, pickles, relish.
• If in doubt, throw it out.
• For information on food safety, call your health department or cooperative extension service.

For More Information Visit FoodSafety.gov

Use generators only as independent power sources. Keep them outside and run a cord inside. Don’t connect generators to main service panels. This could injure or kill utility workers trying to restore power.

• Do not burn anything inside your home without adequate ventilation to the outdoors.
• Have enough fuel available for alternate heat sources, such as wood for a wood stove.
• Never use gas ovens, gas ranges, barbecues, and most portable or propane heaters for indoor heating. These units use oxygen and create carbon monoxide that can cause suffocation.
• Before using an alternate heat source, read the manufacturer’s instructions.
• Have firefighting materials: dry powder, fire extinguisher, heavy tarp or blanket, and water available.

• Wear extra layers of clothes and use several layers of blankets.
• Do not get wet if there is no way to get dry.
• Drink and eat enough to preserve health.
• Close off all rooms that are not in use and do not need to be heated.
• To keep rooms warm, close curtains, shades, or drapes. Cover doors and windows.

No. Thermostats, furnace fans, and blowers all run on electricity.

• Don’t touch or get near any fallen lines.
• Stay away from objects or puddles in contact with downed power lines.
• Notify the utility company.