Light and communication

Light

• Headlamps beat flashlights because your hands stay free. One per person. See headlamps on Amazon.
• An LED lantern lights a whole room for days on one set of batteries. See LED lanterns on Amazon.
• Keep spare batteries in the sizes your lights use. Lights that take ordinary AA or AAA cells are easier to keep going than ones with built-in batteries.
• Avoid candles. They start house fires in every long outage and give poor light. If you must use them, never leave one burning unattended or while you sleep.
• Put a light where you can find it in the dark: by each bed and by the main door.

In the cold, batteries drain faster. Keep spares in the room you are living in, not in the garage.

News without the internet

When the power fails across a region, cell towers and internet equipment switch to backup batteries and generators. Some last hours, some days. A radio needs none of it.

• In the United States, NOAA Weather Radio broadcasts warnings and emergency information around the clock on seven dedicated frequencies.
• In Canada, Environment Canada's Weatheradio uses the same frequencies, and local AM and FM stations carry emergency bulletins.
• Your car radio works too.

The emergency radio guide covers what to buy. Write the frequencies of two local stations on paper and tape it to the radio.

Make the phone last

• Turn on low power mode and turn the screen brightness down.
• Turn off Wi-Fi and Bluetooth if you are not using them. A phone hunting for a weak signal drains fast, so use airplane mode between check-ins.
• Text, do not call. Texts use far less network capacity and battery.
• Keep the phone warm. A cold battery can shut down at half charge. An inside pocket is enough.
• A small power bank recharges a phone several times. A power station does it for weeks.

A plan for staying in touch

1. Choose one contact outside your region. Long-distance messages often get through when local ones do not. Everyone reports to that person.
2. Set check-in times, for example 9 am and 6 pm, and keep phones off in between.
3. Send messages someone can act on: "All four of us are at home. Warm enough. Next message at 6." A missed check-in is information, not a verdict.
4. Agree on a meeting place in case phones do not work at all.
5. Write numbers on paper. Most people cannot recite a single number stored in their phone.

Your home phone probably needs power

Most home phones now run over the internet or fibre and stop when the modem loses power. Only an old copper landline with a corded phone works on its own. Ask your provider which one you have.

Calling for help

If a 911 call will not connect, try again, try a text to 911 where it is offered, try another phone or network, and send someone to the nearest fire station or neighbour with a working phone. Have your address written down for whoever makes the call.

Rumours

Long outages breed rumours. Before you act on something or pass it on, ask who said it and how they know. Official sources and your own radio beat a neighbour's cousin's post.

Sources

Official guidance this page was checked against. If your local authority says something different, follow them.

• NOAA Weather Radio (US National Weather Service)
• Ready.gov (US): Power Outages
• Ready.gov (US): Make a Plan
• Get Prepared (Government of Canada)
• American Red Cross: Power Outage Safety