POWER BLACKOUT TIPS

Challenge

There have been several power outages in the New York metro area over the last decade or two.

·     In 2003 power was out for over 24 hours in Manhattan

·     In 2006 power was out in much of Queens for 8 days.

·     In 2012 during Superstorm Sandy power was knocked out for about 2 million people, many of whom were left in the dark for days or weeks. Almost one-third of those affected were in Manhattan.  

·     In 2019 power was out on the upper west side for close to 6 hours.  

When a power grid goes down, lights go out everywhere. Trains stall and traffic lights don’t work. So, do your best to get home and shelter in place.   If you sign up for Notify NYC, you can get alerts, emails and/or phone calls letting you know about weather emergencies that can cause power outages.  But sometimes the city is unable to warn you because something unexpected happens.

So, you should always be ready to shelter in place for up to 2 months.

 Here are some tips on how to prepare:

1.  Make sure you have lots of flashlights and plenty of batteries. You can also use kerosene lamps with smokeless kerosene. Candles are not recommended because left unattended open flames can cause fires.

2. For heat you can use an indoor propane heater. Do not use your oven to heat your home or apartment because you can get carbon monoxide poisoning. 

3.  For food. Stock 2 month’s worth of non-perishable dry goods like tuna, sardines, nuts and beans. Cereal and milk that doesn’t need to be refrigerated until you open it is also a good option.

4. If you have food in your refrigerator and freezer, keep gel packs in the freezer for emergencies. Keep the doors closed and food in the refrigerator will last up to 4 hours. Food in the freezer will last for 24 hours.

5. After that put the food in a cooler with the gel packs. Some coolers can keep food cold for up to 8 days. 

6. Stock enough toilet paper and paper towels to last your household for at least 2 months.

7.  Your water will still run if the power goes out but it may be contaminated, so stock enough bottles of water for your household to last at least 2 months.     If it is in your budget, invest in a water filtration system for your house or water filters for your sinks and showers in your apartment.

8. Your cell phone will not work after several days of an outage. So, if you are lucky enough to have an old school land line phone- keep it. All the home phones installed today rely on the internet to work. When the power goes out, you will not have phone service.

9. If you can, get walkie talkies and give them to family members. If you are in the same neighborhood you can communicate with each other.

10.   Establish a day, time and place for your family and friends to meet in case you have to evacuate, remember you will not be able to reach each other by phone.

11.   Remember to have a go bag packed and ready to go.

Sign up to receive emergency alerts from Notify NYC by calling 212-639-9675 or at nyc.gov/notifynyc.

Stay safe!