• Home
  • Houses
    • Outside
    • Celeb, Show & Historic Houses
    • Our Houses
  • Kitchens
    • Blk&Wht Kitchen
    • Blue Kitchen
    • Gray & Neutral Kitchens
    • Green Kitchen
    • Red, Orange, Purple Kitchen
    • White Kitchen
    • Yellow Kitchen
    • Rustic Kitchen
    • Wood Kitchen
    • Modern Kitchen
    • Kitchen & Cabinet Features
    • Sinks & Faucets
  • Decor
    • Accessories
    • Collecting
    • Color
    • Domestic Details
    • Holiday
    • For Kids
    • Laundry-Utility-Mudrooms
    • For Pets
    • Picture Walls & Windows
    • Rooms
    • Rugs
  • Bathrooms
    • Cottage Bath
    • Eclectic Bath
    • Modern Bath
    • Traditional Bath
    • Powder Room
    • Bath Features
  • Cooking
  • Press
  • About
  • Contact

Atticmag

Home Décor & Home Cooking

  • Home
  • Houses
    • Outside
    • Celeb, Show & Historic Houses
    • Our Houses
  • Kitchens
    • Blk&Wht Kitchen
    • Blue Kitchen
    • Gray & Neutral Kitchens
    • Green Kitchen
    • Red, Orange, Purple Kitchen
    • White Kitchen
    • Yellow Kitchen
    • Rustic Kitchen
    • Wood Kitchen
    • Modern Kitchen
    • Kitchen & Cabinet Features
    • Sinks & Faucets
  • Decor
    • Accessories
    • Collecting
    • Color
    • Domestic Details
    • Holiday
    • For Kids
    • Laundry-Utility-Mudrooms
    • For Pets
    • Picture Walls & Windows
    • Rooms
    • Rugs
  • Bathrooms
    • Cottage Bath
    • Eclectic Bath
    • Modern Bath
    • Traditional Bath
    • Powder Room
    • Bath Features
  • Cooking
  • Press
  • About
  • Contact
You are here: Home / Houses / Our Houses / Home Without Power

Home Without Power

September 4, 2011 by Jane F 10 Comments

power outage - tall trees surrounding our house ahead of Hurricane Irene - Atticmag

When a major power outage struck, my checklist for emergency conditions helped me weather two storms.

Update, Oct. 31, 2012 – Hurricane Sandy: The power went out on Monday, October 29, at  8:30 p.m., following high winds. While our generator was working, and provided basics, there was no phone or internet. Tuesday morning, I got up and looked around the property but saw little damage. I’ve learned to always walk down our driveway and see what is happening on the road as well. There, I found the downed power line — one that had fallen across our driveway and basically trapped us in our house.

power outage - my driveway taped off for protection against a downed power line - AtticmagFor safety, the power company had taped off our driveway. We were stuck for 24 hours. Then early this morning I caught a glimpse of a repair crew that had come in from Iowa to help out. Within an hour, the high voltage wires were back in their place, the danger was  gone and power restored.

power outage - base of a broken oak tree that took down a power line on our street - Atticmag
An ancient oak tree, about 1-foot in diameter at the base, had been brought down by high winds from Hurricane Sandy.

storm damaged tree that brought down a power lineThe wind blew so hard from the east, the oak landed like a compass pointing due west. The crew cut up the tree and left it on the road.  Fortunately, nothing was damaged around the house but I had already upgraded my insurance.

The checklist I developed last year worked really well for me again,  However, after Irene I purchased four 5-gallon kerosene cans, which I filled with water ahead of the storm — just in case. I also filled 2-litre soda bottles waiting for recycling with filtered drinking water. My 6-quart dough-rising container can serve as a sink, if necessary. Our generator’s been repaired and the twin trees (in the photo below) have been taken down.  I had cooked ahead — carrot soup, roast chicken, and pasta with broccoli — with things that can be easily heated in the microwave. In case we have a prolonged power outage there is plenty of peanut butter, bread and jelly. My fingers are crossed but the high wind advisory lasts more than 24 hours.

September 2011 – Hurricane Irene – That old witch visited millions of us on the East Coast but, of course, we knew she was coming. For a couple of life-long apartment dwellers, this was an initiation to country life a mere two months after the move. So I dutifully scanned the be-prepared lists online, stocked up on batteries and picked up a small transistor radio. I almost didn’t buy the radio figuring it would sit in a drawer unused like our old tape recorders, film cameras and jogging headsets until it became obsolete and had to be schlepped to the dump. Our house has a backup generator which saved us a few years ago when the main electrical line ruptured. The genny was serviced in July and the battery replaced. Still, I was anxious.

power outage - huge old trees in the backyard that were worrisome during hurricane Irene - AtticmagThe ancient trees on our property were my main concern. Some are 80-feet tall and several too close to the house for comfort with the storm heading straight up the Hudson River, effectively, into our backyard.

Here’s a checklist of what I had on hand in preparation:

  • 2 flashlights with extra D batteries
  • $300 in cash
  • Full tank of gas
  • Grundig transistor radio
  • 2 jars peanut butter, a jar raspberry jam and assorted canned fruit, whole grain bread
  • About 6 gallons of water plus a 24-case of individual bottles for drinking
  • Candles
  • 2 medium-size insulated coolers
  • 7 solidly frozen freezer-pak to keep food cold if necessary
  • Ample daily medicine
  • Cell phone charger
  • Food cooked ahead including spaghetti & meat balls, steamed asparagus and washed salad greens

I didn’t do a ‘go bag” since the storm was scheduled to arrive sometime on Saturday night and be over by Sunday evening. The closest town has only a few motels, which surely would be booked.

By Sunday morning we were on backup power but without TV, internet or landline phones. Yay genny! By the time the storm intensified in the early afternoon cell service was out, too. Our sole source of information was that little transistor radio but only the FM band worked.

power outage - a lake that formed in a ravine near the driveway after the storm - AtticmagLate on Sunday afternoon, the storm let up. We headed outside for an inspection tour and found two lakes created in the woods on both sides of the house – though well below our lawn level and nowhere the basement windows.

power outage- a small amount of debris from trees that fell on the driveway after the storm - AtticmagWe quickly realized how fortunate we were to have no downed trees, though plenty of branches and leaves were scattered everywhere.

Early Monday morning I headed into town in search of a cell-phone signal. After two hours in the Dunkin Donuts parking lot, I had answered all the concerned phone calls, returned emails and made contact with the bank about our mortgage refinancing, tentatively scheduled later that day. By the time I got back home, the cell service had been restored and the radio (FM is not the place to find emergency news) revealed that our county had been hard hit. I figured full power might be 24 to 48 hours away.

power outage - our generator that ran out of propane creating our power outage during hurricane Irene - AtticmagTuesday morning at 5:45 we were awakened by beeping from the iMac backup battery.  When that beeps, there’s real trouble. Jumping into my jeans, I raced outside to find the  generator still hot, but not running. I turned it off and switched it back on. It started, sputtered and died. Unable to reach the repairs guys by phone, I decided to head over to their office, nearby. I was able to manually open the garage door but had to roust Mr. AM to hold it up so I could get the car out. But flooded roads along the nearby river left me unable to reach the generator repair office just 2 miles away. I set up outdoor potty facilities (don’t ask) and kept calling. Somehow, I managed to throw the freezer paks and the important cooked food into the insulated food carriers since now all the power and the water was gone.

Meanwhile, the bank’s attorney was set to arrive to close on the new mortgage that afternoon. He ran late and got lost. By 6 in the evening, I realized there wasn’t enough water on hand to get us through the night and was lucky to find a motel room in town, where power had returned.

I threw my go-bag together  quickly, grabbed the food coolers, dropped frozen shrimp and chicken breasts off at the neighbors, and made it to the motel in time for Mr. AM to see the start of the Yankees-Red Sox game. (It’s good to know what’s really important when the power goes out). Wednesday morning the electricity was back, along with TV and the internet. Telephones followed, which made us feel very blessed when we turned on the tube to see saw people losing their homes to floodwaters in neighboring states.

So here’s what I learned:  I needed every single thing on the “be prepared” list and more. The next day I purchased two brand new 5-gallon gasoline cans which I hope to never fill with water for emergency use. But if necessary, I’m all set.  Meanwhile, genny may be dead, which means a huge unforeseen expense to replace her. It’s a must-do. The first snowstorm, and next probable power outage, is only a few months away.

Copy and Paste the Link to Quick-Share this Post: http://bit.ly/xxs8xg

Filed Under: Our Houses Tagged With: Atticmag, disaster checklist, Hurricane Irene, Hurricane Sandy, power outage, preparing for a disaster, storm preparation

Comments

  1. Beth says

    September 4, 2011 at 10:04 pm

    Glad you made the preparations you did and that you know what you need next time! Glad you are safe too!

    Reply
  2. Pam @ diy Design Fanatic says

    September 4, 2011 at 10:52 pm

    So glad you and yours are ok. Having lived in SoCal where “the big one” could happen any time, we always kept a 72 hour emergency kit. We still keep one and a go bag, because you just never know! Better to have it and not need it then not have it and need it!

    Reply
  3. RHome410 says

    September 4, 2011 at 11:54 pm

    Quite an adventure! I’m glad you suffered no real damage…and thanks for sharing what you needed and how you fared.

    Reply
  4. Bolso.me says

    September 5, 2011 at 5:22 am

    Prevention is the best weapon. It is hard to believe these situations from Europe where we don’t really know what a tornado or a proper storm is (except on the wild coastal areas).
    I’m glad that everything was ok at the end.
    Regards

    PS: Great blog. I follow you for long.

    Reply
  5. Vickie says

    September 5, 2011 at 8:04 am

    I am glad you were prepared and that you came out o.k. We are flooding at the moment from tropical storm Lee. My basement has about 2 feet of water and my neighbors homes are flooded. I have a really high foundation-just hope the house doesn’t fall off of it! I am trying to keep my mind away from what is happening outside-there is nothing I can do about it!-Except pray.

    Reply
  6. Jane F says

    September 5, 2011 at 9:07 am

    Pam, you’re so right about the “go bag.” I’ll have one ready at all times from now on.

    Bolso, it’s hard to believe these situations when you’re in them. I’m afraid Vickie has it worse that we did. I think the water is as scary as the wind. And the realization that there is no action that can be taken to stop it is both terrifying and humbling.

    Vickie, with you girl and pulling for you to come through this in the best possible way.

    Reply
  7. Allison says

    September 6, 2011 at 1:23 pm

    It’s my turn to be without power (and internet/phone) due to storm spin off from Lee, but our generator is working thanks to repairs made two months ago. Glad DD2 lives close by so I can borrow her internet while visiting.

    Reply
  8. Nclakehouse says

    September 6, 2011 at 6:47 pm

    My generator is my BFF. I do whatever is needed to keep her happy and running.
    We live in Atlanta and remote western NC where we seem to get raked every year by hurricanes (fall), ice storms (winter), or tornados (spring) that cause power outages that last anywhere from a few hours to a week or more. Sorry to hear of what you have been through – I know how hard it can be. You don’t realize what you are taking for granted until you don’t have it any more.
    If you have to get a new generator, check out Kohler. I have been told they make the best residential standby generators.

    Reply
  9. soofriver says

    October 29, 2012 at 8:42 am

    Stay safe, Jane!! We are only getting rain so far.

    Reply
  10. Jane F @ Atticmag says

    October 29, 2012 at 10:39 am

    You, as well Marsha! Nothing is happening at all here yet. No rain and only normal wind. Now they are saying it will peak between 4 p.m. and midnight. But I cannot imagine we will have full power through this. The Hudson is only 1 foot from flood stage just across the river.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This blog is kept spam free by WP-SpamFree.

Home Decor

mini two-compartment architectural planter by Vagabond Vintage - via Atticmag

Mini Architectural Planters

September 5, 2018 By Jane F Leave a Comment

linen bed sheets - Italian linen triple hemstich linen bed sheets -Cuddledown via Atticmag

Making Sense of Linen Bed Sheets

May 30, 2018 By Jane F 2 Comments

ready made curtain hack for store bought linen panels - aticmag

Ready-Made Curtain Panels Hack

May 7, 2018 By Jane F 5 Comments

cobalt blue front door - Southern Living via Atticmag

Front Door Blues

May 14, 2017 By Jane F 2 Comments

peony pink - vase of pink peony flowers - Pinterest via Atticmag

Peony Pink Power

April 24, 2017 By Jane F 1 Comment

Recent Comments

  • justin leon on Kitchen Cabinet Pull-Out Ideas
  • Jane on Making Sense of Linen Bed Sheets
  • Sherrie on Unfitted English Kitchens
  • Marilyn on Whimsical Bicycle Vanity
  • ann rattay on Vintage Limoges & Silver Table
Tweets by atticmag

Copyright © 2023 · Magazine Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in