Power Outages
Learn more about power outages, what to do and how to stay safe.
Your Impact
Action Steps & Tips
Introduction
Home power outages are some of the most common emergencies that can occur - they almost always happen unexpectedly and with little or no warning. While some areas are more at risk for losing power regularly, a power outage can happen anywhere - no matter where you live. There are several different reasons that a power outage may happen and outages can last for as little as a few minutes to as long as multiple days, depending on the cause of the outage.
In this action, we’ll look at important things to know about power outages, how to plan for them and lower your risks, and what to do during a power outage so that you and your loved ones can be prepared!
How to do this action:
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Read this action with your family or housemates to learn about power outages as part of the Make A Plan action!
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Add any items as needed to your Plan, Kit and Household Prep actions.
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Print out the FEMA Power Outage Information Sheet PDF with the list of reminders and keep it with your kit.
1Step 1: Learn About Power Outages
Power Outages:
A power outage is when you temporarily lose electricity for any reason. Power outages can be limited to a particular neighborhood or home, or they can be widespread affecting an entire community or region. These events can happen any time anywhere and for a variety of different reasons. The duration of a power outage will depend on what has caused the outage as well as how many electrical customers have been affected. Some of the most common causes of power outages include:
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Storms: Strong winds, snow, and ice, often causes the most widespread power outages.
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Trees: Often during or as a result of a storm or excess winds, trees and tree limbs that fall can come in contact with power lines, causing outages.
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Earthquakes: Quakes of all sizes can damage electrical facilities and power lines.
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Lightning: During storms, outages can also occur if lightning strikes electrical equipment, transmission towers, power lines, or poles.
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Animals: Occasionally damage can be caused to power lines and electricity equipment by small animals like squirrels.
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Vehicles: At times, a vehicle colliding with a utility pole may cause a power outage.
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Excavation: When digging into the ground for gardening or home improvement projects, if the location of underground cables is not known, the disturbance or striking of these cables can cause outages.
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High Power Demand: During times of abnormally high power demand, such as major heat waves, overtaxed electric cables, transformers, and other electrical equipment can melt and fail, causing outages.
2Step 2: Add to your Emergency Preparedness Kit and Plan
Add these items to your Kit for power outage preparedness:
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Back-up power sources - take an inventory of your electrical needs and identify back-up power sources (ie. batteries, charging sticks, or gas/propane) for any needed electrical devices, including lighting, phone, cooking, and medical devices.
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One flashlight per person in your household - always plan to use flashlights when the power is out, not candles.
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Additional non-perishable food and water supplies to support your entire household for up to two weeks.
Add these steps to your Plan for power outage preparedness:
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Stay safe when using non-electric fuel sources: generators, camp stoves or charcoal grills should only be used outdoors at least 20 feet away from your home and any windows.
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Never use a gas stove or oven to heat your home.
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Turn off or disconnect electrical appliances, equipment, or electronics when an outage occurs. Power can return at any moment with surges or spikes that can cause damage to your appliances.
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Electric company contact information: Research and note the contact information (phone number and website to report outages) for your electric company so that you can report a power outage to them as soon as it happens.
3Step 3: Add to your household prep plans
In preparation for the potentiality of a power outage, there are a few major ways you can make your home more prepared!
Add these steps to your household prep plan:
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Plan for a non-electric back-up option for heating or cooling your home. If your home utilizes electric heating or cooling, it is best practice to have a back-up form of heating or cooling that does not use electricity as it’s power source. This might include a wood-burning stove or a gas or wood-burning fireplace.
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Consider a gas-powered generator. If power outages are common in your area (more than once per year) or if you have someone in your household who requires electricity to consistently run medical equipment, you may want to consider purchasing a gas-powered generator that can kick in to power a selection of electrical appliances in the event of a power outage. If you have solar panels on your home, you might also consider a battery back-up system that stores solar energy in a battery for use in the event of an outage or when the sun isn’t shining.
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Surge protection: Make sure that your home has current surge protectors for your household electronic devices
4Step 4: Learn what to do during a power outage
If a power outage happens at your home, don’t panic! You’ve already taken many steps to be prepared. Take a deep breath. You’ve got this. 3 Things to Remember:
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Safety First: Getting yourself and your loved ones to a safe spot during a disaster is most important. Everything else is secondary, only if you have time and it’s safe.
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Check in: Once you’re safe, check in with family, neighbors, and your out-of-town emergency contact. Phone lines are often overloaded during a disaster, so use text and social media when possible.
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Report the outage to your electric company: You may or may not know what has caused the power outage, and your electric company may or may not know that your home has been affected. Notify your electric company by calling them or recording your outage on their website (there is often a specific web form on their site where you can report that you are experiencing an outage).
In most power outage situations you will not need to evacuate, if you have planned ahead and have proper resources for non-electric heating/cooling as well as non-perishable food and water stores. However in some prolonged power outage situations or in cases of extreme heat or cold, you may want to evacuate to a nearby shelter or to the home of your emergency contact, particularly if your home becomes too hot, too cold, or if someone in your household requires electrical medical equipment. Communities often provide warming or cooling centers and power charging stations during emergencies including widespread power outages.
Preparing your home:
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Don’t use a gas stove to heat your home and do not use outdoor stoves inside. If you are using a generator, keep it outside in a well ventilated area away from windows.
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Unplug appliances and electronics to avoid power overloads or damage from power surges.
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Turn your refrigerators and freezers to their coldest settings and keep them closed, so they will stay cold as long as possible if the power goes out.
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If advised to do so by local authorities, shut off your utilities. Refer to the How to Turn Off Utilities action for how to do this.
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Fill bathtubs and sinks with water for flushing the toilet and sanitation.
Refer to the Food & Water Safety action for tips on how to safely manage and store food and water during a disaster.
5Step 5: Learn what to do right after a power outage
If you’ve had to evacuate, it may be just a few hours or many days before you can return home. When you do, remember it’s normal to feel anxiety or grief, so take care of yourself and your loved ones. The most important thing is that you and your loved ones are safe, and you’ve done what you could to lower your risks and protect your home.
Basic Necessities:
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Shelter: If your home isn’t safe or habitable and you can’t stay with neighbors or friends, find a local shelter near you. You can:
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text SHELTER and your zip code to 4FEMA (43362), e.g. SHELTER 01234.
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Search on the FEMA app or Red Cross app for open shelters.
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In the FEMA app, click “Disaster Resources” → “Shelters” → “Map View”
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In the Red Cross app, click the Maps icon on the bottom right.
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Food & Water: If you do not have access to food and water, or if you’re not certain your supplies are safe to consume, find a local food bank by contacting a shelter or through feedingamerica.org.
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First aid: If anyone is seriously sick or injured, call 911. If you are not sure if the injury warrants a trip to the hospital, err on the side of caution and go to the hospital or local urgent care. Here is a list of some of the signs that you should go to the emergency room. If the injury is minor, administer first aid if you are trained and contact your healthcare provider for instructions.
Once you know everyone is safe:
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Contact family and friends, including your out-of-area emergency contact. For non-emergencies, use text or social media to reduce the strain on phone systems. Check in on your neighbors - this is a time we need to lean on each other.
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Wait for authorities to confirm that it’s safe to return to your area. When you get home, enter carefully and be mindful of hazards.
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Keep away from any downed power lines you may come across as you return home. Stay at least 35 feet away from fallen power lines and anything they are touching. Call 911 and let them know.
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Run water from all of the faucets in your home for at least a few minutes before using the water, particularly if your home has a well.
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Avoid any flooded areas or standing water in or around your home as this can cause electrical shock if any electrical equipment or electronics have been submerged. Have a qualified electrical inspector check your electrical system to make sure it is safe.
Refer to the Recovery action for tips and resources on recovery after a power outage.