Tag: outages

Power Outages

www.brexitsurvivaljournal.comPower Supplies Can Be Lost

Power supplies can go off at any time, not just because of Brexit. They can happen during a storm, with high winds, or because an electricity substation blows up, because a tree falls or can even be known in advance, when the electricity company needs to carry out planned maintenance on the system.

Did You Know?
In 1859, a solar storm, known as the Carrington event after one of the astronomers who recorded it, hit earth and caused a magnetic storm. In those days, the only electrical appliances were probably telegraph systems for long distance communication and these were badly affected, with sparks flying from them and starting fires. If a similar event happened nowadays, most of the planet would suffer electrical blackouts and widespread disruption, possibly lasting days or even years, until the damage could be repaired.

Effects Of No Power

If another Carrington-type event hit us, one of the most amazing effects would be powerful auras, lighting up the skies. At the same time, though, satellites would be destroyed and electricity grids would go out, leaving whole countries with no power and enormous amounts of damage that could take months, if not years, to repair.

Not As Severe

Hopefully, any power disruption from Brexit, or any other cause, would be on a much smaller scale that this, possibly only in local areas, but in those areas, the loss of electricity would mean:

    • No ATMs working,
    • Fuel stations not operating
    • Shops with electronic tills and barcode scanners would have to revert to manual operation.
    • Credit and debit cards would not work, cash only.
    • No computers or TV;
    • Data can be lost resulting in errors in bank accounts and other electronic information;
Did You Know? In July 1977 the city of New York was blacked out after lightning hit a substation and then power lines. The city remained blacked out until the next day. The city was in the middle of a heat wave, so all the air conditioning went off, people were stuck in lifts, TV went off, there was widespread looting and vandalism, the airports were closed, road tunnels were shut down because there was no ventilation and passengers had to be evacuated from the subway. Sports stadiums had to be closed and spectators sent home
  • Mobile phones, tablets and other mobile electronic devices could not be charged,
  • Electric cookers would not work – no cooking;
  • Your heating system might not work, as water is pumped around the system by electricity if you use an oil fired boiler;
  • Fast food shops would mostly be unable to operate;
  • Refrigeration systems would heat up, losing frozen and chilled food;
  • Businesses would have to shut before dark;
  • No street lights;
  • Public transport would stop when vehicles couldn’t have fuel pumped in;
  • Ambulances, fire engines and police vehicles might not be able to operate at full strength;
  • Electric trains and trams would just stop;
  • Escalators and lifts would stop, possibly trapping some people;
  • Store deliveries would stop if lorries could not get fuel;
  • The subway would stop, possibly trapping some people underground;
  • Medical equipment may stop operating unless it has a backup;
  • Medical records can be lost or be unreachable when needed for medical emergencies.

What Can Be Done At Home

There’s not a lot that individuals can do to prevent the mains electricity going off, however, it is certainly possible to make preparations that can make life a lot easier until the electricity comes back on again. And it’s always the worst time that it goes off – in the middle of a cold storm, in the middle of the night, when you’re cooking dinner ….

The Most Important Areas

Cooking: Do you depend on electricity for cooking?

Heating: Do you depend on electricity for heating?

These are the two critical areas. If Brexit happens at a cold time of the year, it will be vital to have some warmth and to be able to cook a hot meal. If your only source of heat and cooking is mains supply electricity, you may go cold and possibly hungry until power is restored, unless you have your own solar panels or wind turbine producing electricity for you. And if the power is off in a widespread area, then fast food shops will have to close too.


Of course, apart from having your own solar cells or wind turbine producing electricity, the big hitter to have in a power outage is your own generator. It may not be possible to run a normal electric cooker from one of these but it would certainly be sufficient for a microwave or slow cooker or anything that runs from a normal 13 amp plug (does not apply to electric cookers). There are also power generators that are specially designed for running home electronics, like computers.

If you don’t want to go to the expense or storage requirements for a home generator, you might consider getting a camping stove, that runs on gas cylinders and for light, you can get emergency lanterns that remain plugged in while the power is on and that turn on when power stops. Remember to check that you have all the parts you need if buying any of these and that you have a storage can for the correct fuel if getting a generator.

If you have any other source of heat, such as gas cylinders or coal, then check your supplies and keep them topped up as Brexit looms closer. And it’s also useful to add some blankets and extra layers to your bedding or clothing supplies, to ensure you do not lose body heat.

 

Brexit Survival

Surviving A Short Term Emergency With Brexit

● No matter whether you voted leave or remain;
● No matter whether you want “Leave Means Leave;
● No matter whether you want a second referendum; or
● Leave now without a deal

You Need To Prepare!

 

www.brexitsurvivaljournal.comWhat Is Brexit

The United Kingdom split almost 50:50 in the 2016 referendum on whether the UK should leave the European Union or stay. There was a small majority in favour of leaving. There has also been a lot of acrimonious debate since. That means that whatever happens with Brexit, almost half the country is going to be disappointed with what happens, whatever it is. There is a brexit timeline available to check if you want.

What Does Brexit Mean

BRitish EXIT: the term Brexit has been coined to stand for BRitish EXIt from the European Union, the community it has been a part of for 47 years.

www.brexitsurvivaljournal.comWhile the government is putting billions of pounds into preparing for Brexit, it is possible that not everything will be covered, especially if the exit is a no-deal scenario. There will be people upset with the situation, whatever happens on 31st October 2019, the Prime Minister’s proposed EU departure date, When people are upset with politics, difficulties and commotion can happen and that can lead to shortages of food, medications and fuel, political disturbances and power cuts even if only in small areas. If you are in one of those areas, life may become uncomfortable for a while. Economically, financial exchange rates can also change, affecting the prices of imported goods, especially oil.

This site is NOT about the Brexit debate. It is not taking sides one way or the other. It provides good plain commonsense on making preparations for keeping yourself and your family fed, warm and sheltered for a short period after any final Brexit decision (one way or the other). Whether the UK leaves or stays in the EU, there may be some upheavals in some areas. If it leaves, there may be shortages of items that are imported or that need to be moved around the country.

Emergencies

Emergencies can happen anywhere, anytime – a power station going down, a flood, a storm, blizzard, wildfire. Any or all of these might make life hard for a while.

Even if you live in the calmest, safest part of the world, a tree can fall, lightning can strike, your electrical power can go down, such as the huge power outages in England and Wales on 9 August 2019, when two power suppliers lost power simultaneously, a strike or a problem elsewhere can affect supplies to your local shops. It doesn’t have to be Brexit related. Life is a risk. In August 2019 a dam threatened to burst in the Midlands area of the UK and many residents had to be evacuated from their homes at very short notice.
Even without Brexit, it’s important to plan to make yourself and your family self-reliant in the event of a major disaster. In a time of crisis, you don’t want to have to go cold, go hungry, scramble to stay alive, have to make do without your medications, or to have to depend on others to help you out.

www.brexitsurvivaljournal.comDisaster Announced

When disasters occur, normal routine is totally thrown out even if only in a small area. If that area is where you live, then there may be widespread shortages. Not just food but also power, water and medication.

Before a disaster strikes, such as a storm or hurricane, there may be news flashes to let people know it’s coming. Then you’ll see pictures of empty shelves in the shops because people who didn’t plan ahead rush out in an effort to take care of themselves and their loved ones. If imports and transport of goods are limited, then what is sent to the shops my be prioritised, for instance food may be seen as more important than cleaning items.

That mad rush will only result in a few days’ worth of supplies and these may not stay fresh. And long term power outages ( like after major hurricanes), or storm damage can make it difficult for people and supplies to get out or in to affected areas.

Short Term Emergency

A short-term emergency disrupts normal life temporarily. It could be a flash flood, a storm, a forest fire, or an uncertain political situation. Any of these could lead to food shortages, maybe a need for shelter and a lack of other necessities, such as clean water, warmth and electricity.

Any of these could happen at any time and if you want to survive as comfortably as possible, you need to know exactly what to do if disaster hits and where to go if your home isn’t safe or habitable. It’s always useful to be ready for whatever happens.

You can prepare for a bad few days or weeks by making sure you have emergency food and household supplies, such as cleaning items, available in your home in case supply lines are disrupted. You could also have emergency bags ready and waiting with at least three days’ worth of food, water, clothing and the means to provide or make a temporary shelter, in case you need to leave temporarily.

Not For Preppers

This is NOT a prepper’s site, as is normally thought of; it is NOT helping you prepare for the complete end of civilisation as we know it, however, it is certainly a preparation site, getting ready for disruption. There is a workbook available, related to this site, that will help you prepare for a short disruption where things will eventually get back to normal. It contains lists of items you may wish to stock up on plus space for you to add your own items to obtain. It also contains some easy emergency recipes and about 20 pages for you to add in your own easy cook / no cook recipes. The journal also prompts you to consider your options for cooking, warmth and fuel. Preparing ahead of time can help you survive more comfortably and means you should not need to go outside at times when things may be disturbed. Most emergencies arrive quickly but they also don’t happen that often, so you get time to prepare for something happening (even if you won’t always know what).. Let’s get started.

TinsTuesday

Try buying a few extra tins of stuff you would normally buy and stash them away in a spare cupboard somewhere. #TinsTuesday

#WashupWednesday

Make Wednesday a day for adding washing and cleaning items like soap, shapoo and toothpaste to your emergency stash. #WashupWednesday