Preparing for Outages

Make a safety kit.
Gather these supplies and put them somewhere that's easy to find in the dark:

• Flashlights
• Battery-powered radio
• Extra batteries for flashlights and radio
• A 3-day supply of nonperishable food and water for everyone in your household
• Manual can opener
• Blankets and warm sweaters
• First-aid supplies
• Extra cash (in case local ATMs are down)
• Corded phone (cordless phones do not work during outages)
• Outage Safety Checklist. Click here to open up a printable PDF version of the checklist. If you don't have Acrobat Reader, click here for a regular graphic version.

Plan ahead with your family.
Make sure everyone in your family knows where the safety kit is stored. Review with children what to do if an outage happens while they are with a sitter or home alone.

Make arrangements for medical equipment.
If you or someone in your care has a condition that requires continuous or special medication or life support systems, or if your medications require constant refrigeration, contact your doctor about how to prepare for power outages.

Flashlights and emergency supplies will make it easier to cope in a power outage.