How to Survive a Long-Term Power Outage: A Week-by-Week Plan

What really happens when the power stays off

A short outage is a nuisance. A long one changes everything that runs on electricity, and almost everything does. These are real events, not guesses:

• It can last a week or more. In Oklahoma's December 2007 ice storm, more than 641,000 electric customers lost power at the peak, and more than 150,000 were still without it a week later (NWS Norman). In February 2021, more than 4.5 million people in Texas lost power, some for as long as four days (FERC). After Hurricane Maria in 2017, it took nearly 11 months to restore power to all of Puerto Rico.
• The water can stop. Water and sewage plants need power to pump. In the 2007 ice storm, some Oklahoma city plants couldn't pump water for a short time. During the 2021 Texas storm, about 7 million people were told to boil their water after treatment plants lost power and pressure dropped.
• The cold kills, and so does heating the wrong way. Texas counted 246 deaths from the 2021 storm. Most victims died of hypothermia, and at least 19 died of carbon monoxide poisoning. The 2007 Oklahoma storm's deaths included carbon monoxide poisoning, and portable heating sources started house fires.
• Phones go quiet. Two days after Maria made landfall, the FCC reported that 95.6% of cell sites in Puerto Rico were out of service.
• Fuel gets hard to find. Days after Hurricane Sandy in 2012, the U.S. Energy Information Administration estimated that two-thirds of gas stations in the New York City area had no gasoline to sell.
• Cards and pharmacies stall. Card readers, ATMs and pharmacy systems run on power too. Cash and a spare supply of prescriptions buy you time.

You can't control any of that. You can control what's already in your house when it starts.

The week-by-week plan

Before it hits

Ice storms and hurricanes usually come with a day or more of warning. Use every hour of it:

• Fill the car's gas tank. Ready.gov says to keep car and generator tanks full.
• Charge every phone, power bank, headlamp and radio
• Fill clean containers with drinking water, and fill a bathtub for flushing toilets
• Refill prescriptions and ask your pharmacist how long each one keeps without refrigeration
• Get cash in small bills
• Test your carbon monoxide and smoke alarms
• Write down your electric provider's outage number and your county emergency manager's page

The first 72 hours: stay safe, stay put

1. Report the outage and leave one lamp switched on so you'll know when power returns. Unplug electronics.
2. Keep the fridge and freezer shut. The fridge keeps food cold about 4 hours; a full freezer holds about 48 hours, 24 if half full (FoodSafety.gov). Eat from the fridge first.
3. Pick one room to keep warm, close off the rest of the house, and get everyone in it. Details in our guide to heating your home safely without power.
4. Lights, not candles. One headlamp or flashlight per person.
5. Get information that doesn't depend on the grid: a battery, crank or solar radio, and phone emergency alerts turned on. Save phone battery for calls and texts.
6. Check on neighbors, especially older adults and anyone with young kids. Ready.gov notes they're the most vulnerable to extreme temperatures.

Days 4 to 7: settle into a routine

By now the fridge food is used up or gone, and the house is as cold (or hot) as it's going to get. This is where people make the dangerous choices: the gas oven for heat, the generator in the garage, the grill in the kitchen. Don't. Those are how carbon monoxide kills families in long outages.

• Water routine: drink what you need; FEMA and the Red Cross say never ration water. Track how many gallons are left each morning. If the taps still run, follow any boil-water notice. Safe backup sources inside the house include your water heater tank, pipes and ice cubes (FEMA and Red Cross).
• Freezer, then pantry: once the freezer warms, cook what's thawed or throw it out. Never taste food to decide if it's safe.
• Cook outside only. Grills and camp stoves stay outdoors and at least 20 feet from windows (Ready.gov).
• Sanitation: use the bathtub water to flush. If water stops entirely, line the toilet with a heavy trash bag, keep wipes and hand sanitizer by it, and seal and store bags outside.
• Power budget: one light per room, headlamps for tasks, a hand-crank or solar radio to top up a phone. If you have a generator, it runs outside, at least 20 feet from the house, exhaust pointed away (CPSC).
• Daily rhythm: keep meals, chores and sleep on a schedule, especially with kids. Routine keeps people steady.

Week 2: stretch supplies, protect health

• Count what's left. Water, food, medicine, fuel and batteries, in days. If water or medicine won't last the week, make the leave-or-resupply decision now, not when it runs out.
• Make more water safe. Boil it (a rolling boil for 1 minute, per EPA) or use unscented household bleach per EPA directions. A filter straw handles fresh water sources but isn't a substitute for treatment; see filter straws vs. tablets.
• Medicine: if power has been out more than a day, Ready.gov says to throw out medicine that needs refrigeration unless its label says otherwise and get a new supply from your doctor or pharmacist. Insulin is an exception to know: FDA says vials and pens may be kept unrefrigerated between 59°F and 86°F for up to 28 days. Keep it out of direct heat and don't let it freeze.
• Watch for hypothermia in older family members and babies: shivering, exhaustion, confusion, fumbling hands, slurred speech, drowsiness; in babies, bright red, cold skin and very low energy (CDC). A body temperature below 95°F is an emergency.
• Use the help that exists. Ready.gov says to go to a community location with power if heat or cold is extreme. Dial 211, or follow your county emergency manager, for warming centers, water distribution and shelters.

30 days and past: decide whether to stay

Few families can stay in a powerless house for a month in winter, and nobody should try to prove they can. Past two weeks, the right move for most households is to relocate, at least the most vulnerable people, while roads and fuel allow it. That's what the go-bag is for: medicine, documents, water, food, light and a radio you can carry out the door.

When to leave

Gear for a long outage

Our kits cover the parts of a long outage that are hardest to improvise: light, information, warmth and a backup for water. They don't replace stored water, pantry food, medicine or a safe way to heat. Here's exactly what each one is.

More: the 72-hour kit checklist covers the first three days, the ice storm outage guide covers the first hours in the dark, and the printable checklist has a fridge-door outage plan.

Sources

1. NWS Norman: The December 8-11, 2007 Ice Storm in Oklahoma
2. FERC: Final Report on February 2021 Freeze Underscores Winterization Recommendations
3. NPR via GPB: Texas officials put the final death toll from last year's winter storm at 246 (Jan. 3, 2022)
4. NPR: Millions in Texas Under Boil-Water Notices Because of Winter Storm (Feb. 17, 2021)
5. NPR via WUNC: 11 Months After Hurricane Maria Hit Puerto Rico, Officials Say All Power Is Restored (Aug. 15, 2018)
6. FCC: Communications Status Report for Areas Impacted by Hurricane Maria (Sept. 23, 2017, PDF)
7. U.S. Energy Information Administration: gasoline availability in the New York City area after Hurricane Sandy (Nov. 2012)
8. Ready.gov: Power Outages
9. Ready.gov: Power Outages (archived December 2020 copy, includes medicine guidance)
10. CDC: How to Create an Emergency Water Supply
11. American Red Cross: Be Red Cross Ready (PDF)
12. FEMA and American Red Cross: Food and Water in an Emergency (archived copy)
13. FoodSafety.gov: Three Ways to Keep Food Safe When You Lose Power
14. EPA: Emergency Disinfection of Drinking Water
15. FDA: Insulin Storage and Switching Between Products in an Emergency
16. CDC: Safety Guidelines During and After a Winter Storm
17. CPSC: New Report on Carbon Monoxide Fatalities, Urges Generator Safety (2022)