I believe that observations and after action reports are important to us. I
think Jerry's remarks are worth our reading.

73 Lyle AB8CB

----- Original Message -----
From: Jerry Reimer
To: wl2kemcomm@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Saturday, October 11, 2008 8:55 AM
Subject: [wl2kemcomm] Surviving a Long Term Power Outage - Hurricane Ike



Post by KK5CA



Surviving a Long Term Power Outage - Hurricane Ike



A fundamental principle of CERT training is to prepare individuals to be more
self-sufficient and less dependent upon the post-disaster responses.





Four weeks after Hurricane Ike made landfall, and two weeks after having
commercial power restored, I thought I would document what helped me make it
through this extended power outage. This was the largest power outage ever in
the state of Texas, affecting more than 2.5 million residential and commercial
customers, and perhaps as many as 4-5 million people. It was wide-spread and
profound. A CERT-trained power company employee said his employer was very
close to beginning the process of shutting down the entire SE Texas power grid
(whatever that means). We were fortunate to have mild weather following this
hurricane, with a few nights in the 50s and 60s, daytime highs barely above 80,
and low humidity.





I arrived home from an out-of-town trip about two days after Hurricane Ike. I
thought it too far after the event to spend time performing a neighborhood
disaster survey and reporting it to the county EOC.





POWER



Most neighbors were using gasoline, diesel, propane, or natural gas, generators
during some, if not all, hours of the day. I saw a few neighbors sharing their
power, evidenced by extension cords lying across streets. My 5 kW generator
hooks into the house circuit breaker box through a manual Connecticut Electric
transfer box. < www.connecticut-elecric.com > This provides generator power to
five pre-selected circuits: water-well pump (220V), kitchen, 2 bedrooms, and the
living room.



In anticipation of the storm, I topped off the 6-gallon generator fuel tank, and
filled two 5-gallon cans. An outboard motor type hand siphon bulb (Attwood,
from Bass Pro Shops) makes filling the tank easier than lifting the 40+ pound
gas can. 2-1/2 gallon cans might have been a better choice. I used about 30
gallons of gasoline total during the two weeks without power, at $3.50-4 per
gallon.



I ran the generator for only 3-4 hours in the evening to chill the refrigerator
and allow the water well pump to re-charge the storage tank. It did not seem
prudent to allow it to run all night long just to keep the bedroom ceiling fan
running while we slept. Several neighbors did run their generators all night,
perhaps even 24-hours a day.



I had several 7 and 11 AH gel cell batteries that were salvaged from non-working
UPS units. These powered a 12 VDC B&W analog television/AM-FM receiver,
allowing me to get the morning news without starting the generator. Running an
automotive 12 VDC fan (like used to be mounted on dashboards) drained these
batteries before the night was over. My 1 A gel cell charger was inadequate to
fully re-charge these during 8-10 hours at work. With just 8 V at the
terminals, the maximum charging current was 0.2 A, probably indicating the
internal resistance has increased and the batteries are beyond their useful
life.



A battery powered alarm clock (single AA cell) was useful. Many cell phones and
wrist watches also have an alarm feature.





WATER



All homes in our neighborhood are on at least two lots with individual water
wells. When necessary, a water hose with a female x female adapter allows one
neighbor's well to temporarily provide water to another. I did not observe this
practice this time, perhaps because so many residents had generators. Some
co-workers dipped water from their own or the neighborhood swimming pool to
flush solid waste out of toilets. A very quick cold shower every other day was
tolerable, barely. A heavy duty hook securely placed high up in the shower
would have allowed a solar shower bag to be used.





FOOD



I returned home 2-1/2 days after we lost power. I discarded everything in the
refrigerator and freezer, except bottled water, soft drinks and margarine. When
some commercial stores re-opened, I was able to avoid the urgent need to visit
them by eating food we already had. After a few days and the initial surge had
passed, I missed getting in the door by 15 minutes. My usually open 24-hours a
day store was only open 7A-7P. I tried again the following day. All frozen,
bakery, dairy, and fresh meat product shelves were completely empty. My
purchases focused on non-refrigerated food:





a.. tuna in water - 3 oz size cans
b.. low sodium Ritz crackers
c.. bananas, apples, oranges - fresh and dried
d.. Individual cartons of 2% white & chocolate milk; similar to juice boxes,
tastes better than powdered milk, and are available in 1% and 1% lactose free.
< www.farmlanddairies.com/Little%20Milk.htm >
e.. 8 oz Minute Maid orange juice
f.. granola bars
g.. almonds, walnuts, trail mix
h.. instant oatmeal
i.. instant coffee - Nescafe Tasters Choice - 2gm packet (also available with
cream and sugar; not tried)




Once opened, food that was not immediately consumed was kept in the freezer
section of the refrigerator, even if some of it occasionally became frozen.





COOKING



When the generator was running, I had use of the microwave oven. Most often, I
cooked on the side-burner of the propane BBQ grill, on the patio, just outside
the kitchen door. I did not find it necessary to pull out the 2-burner propane
camping stove. One day, I grilled fresh chicken, and we ate that for two
consecutive meals, kept in the freezer from one meal to the next. Most of our
meals were eaten on paper plates and with plastic utensils.





LIGHTING



When all the lights are completely out and your eyes have adjusted to the
darkness, a very bright light isn't necessary, you just need a little more
light. I do not like any flashlight which requires two hands to turn on and off
(sorry Maglight). I found a 2 AA cell flashlight with a switch and on a neck
lanyard to be very useful. I purchased a Ray-o-Vac industrial model at Lowes
shortly before the storm. My old REI 2 AA cell headlamp was helpful when
cooking on the BBQ grill.



Single LED stick-up lights (3 AAA cells) can be found at CVS pharmacy, around
$10 for 3. Inverting a white paper or Styrofoam cup over these produces a nice
area glow that is less annoying. I found the white light from these to be more
useful for reading than other light.



In the bathroom, I found nothing better than a TapLight. These use 4 AA cells,
and are available at many stores (Target, CVS) for $10 ea. They can be found on
many internet stores at 6 for $20-30. Buy these before the power goes out,
because they can't be found on the shelves afterwards.





HOUSING



Not many modern houses are designed for temperature control without the central
heating or cooling system. Not many even have screened windows and doors.
Temporary screens can be added to doors, allowing them to be open while
excluding mosquitoes. Often called walk-through door screens, they can be
purchased from internet stores.

< www.ecobottoms.com/category/.1/ > Installing one on our double-wide French
door onto the patio allowed the cool night air to flow through our house. I
intend to purchase another one for the front door.





COMMUNICATIONS



This falls into two categories; getting information from commercial sources and
maintaining contact with family. I previously mentioned using a battery powered
analog TV and AM/FM radios. In February 2009, all non-digital over-the-air
television broadcasts will cease. Post storm, I found the equipment which might
allow my battery powered analog television to be usable in the digital broadcast
era.



< www.ezdigitaltv.com/Artec_T3A_Pro.html >

< www.winegarddirect.com/cview.asp?c=Digital%20Converter%20Boxes >



Our under-ground telephone lines continued to work uninterrupted, and generally
not overloaded. Cell phones were mostly usable, with text messaging more
reliable than making a voice call. Some people reported having to drive a few
miles to get a signal. My closest cell site had a generator for the duration of
the outage.



My cable television and internet service was completely out for the same period
that I was without commercial power. Being cable-based, they do not offer
dial-up service. Once power was restored to my employer, I could read my E-mail
there.



My HF and VHF/UHF equipment at home was unaffected. Not even the antennas were
damaged. This allowed voice and radio-based E-mail using the Winlink 2000
system. Having redundant VHF/UHF gateway stations in the area helped ensure at
least one of them survived the outage. I found several VHF 1200 bps usable
during the outage period, so it was not necessary to use Pactor 1 (200 bps) on
HF and go out of the area or to one of the in-area RMS Pactor gateway stations.
That was always an option if needed.





SUMMARY



Pre-disaster preparation can make a difference in the quality of life during the
recovery period. I did not find it necessary to purchase ice or water. I did
not need to stand in line at a POD. I did not eat MREs or other long-storage
(and very high sodium) food. I avoided the longest gasoline lines. I think the
dogma of preparing for 72-hours before help arrives is wishful thinking and the
barest minimum. Rational people should think about being prepared to be on
their own for at least a week after a wide spread incident. People in the
affected area are unable to do little more than help themselves. Assistance
must come from those who are unaffected or from outside the affected area; and
self-sufficient and organized teams are greatly preferred over individual
responders




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