Most power outages last a few hours, but even a short one can spoil food, knock out heating or cooling, and cut you off from emergency information. A longer outage, lasting days or more, introduces real risks to your health and safety. The key to getting through one comfortably is knowing exactly what to prioritize and in what order.
Keep Your Food Safe
Your refrigerator holds its temperature for about 4 hours with the door closed. Every time you open it, that window shrinks. A full freezer stays cold enough to keep food safe for roughly 48 hours; a half-full freezer drops to about 24 hours. The single most effective thing you can do for your food supply is resist the urge to check on it.
Plan meals around what’s in the fridge first, since those items will go bad soonest. Eat perishables like dairy, meat, and leftovers before moving to pantry staples. If the power has been out longer than 4 hours, discard any refrigerated perishable food that’s risen above 40°F. Frozen items that still have ice crystals can safely be refrozen once power returns, but anything that’s fully thawed and been sitting above 40°F for more than two hours should go.
If you know an outage is coming (a forecast hurricane, for example), fill plastic bags with water and freeze them ahead of time. You can transfer these to the fridge once the power goes out to buy yourself extra cold hours, and the melted water doubles as drinking water later.
Water: How Much You Need and How to Purify It
Store at least 1 gallon of water per person per day, and aim for a minimum three-day supply. That gallon covers drinking, cooking, and basic hygiene like brushing teeth. If you’re pregnant, sick, caring for pets, or living in a hot climate, store more. A two-week supply is the ideal target if you have the space.
If your stored water runs out and you’re unsure about the safety of your tap or a natural source, you have two reliable options. Boiling is the simplest: bring clear water to a rolling boil for 1 minute. If you live above 6,500 feet in elevation, boil for 3 minutes. If you can’t boil water, household bleach works. Use unscented liquid bleach with a sodium hypochlorite concentration between 5% and 9%. For 1 gallon of clear water, add 8 drops of bleach (or just under ⅛ teaspoon). Stir it well and let it stand for at least 30 minutes before drinking. If the water is cloudy or very cold, double the bleach amount.
Staying Warm or Cool Without Electricity
In winter, your biggest risk is hypothermia inside your own home. Layer clothing, focusing on wool or synthetic fabrics that retain warmth when damp. Confine your household to one room with the door closed, ideally an interior room with few windows, and use blankets or sleeping bags to trap body heat in a smaller space. If you have a working fireplace, make sure the chimney and flue have been inspected recently for blockages. Open the damper before lighting a fire and keep it open until the ashes are completely cool.
What you should never do: heat your home with a gas stove, oven, barbecue grill, or gas dryer. These produce carbon monoxide, an odorless gas that can kill in an enclosed space. The same goes for any unvented combustion heater used in a closed room or a room where people are sleeping.
In summer, move to the lowest floor of your home, since heat rises. Hang damp towels or sheets over open windows to create a basic evaporative cooling effect when there’s a breeze. Drink water frequently even if you don’t feel thirsty, and apply cool, wet cloths to your wrists, neck, and temples, where blood vessels sit close to the skin.
Generator Safety
Portable generators cause more deaths during outages than storms themselves, almost always from carbon monoxide poisoning. Place your generator at least 20 feet from any door, window, or vent, and make sure the area is well-ventilated. Never run one in a garage, even with the door open.
Carbon monoxide symptoms include headache, dizziness, nausea, weakness, and shortness of breath. Because the gas is invisible and odorless, a battery-operated carbon monoxide detector is essential if you’re using any fuel-burning equipment. If anyone in the household develops those symptoms during an outage, get everyone outside into fresh air immediately.
Protect Your Electronics
When the power comes back on, it often arrives as a surge that can fry sensitive electronics. Unplug televisions, computers, game consoles, fans, and lights, especially if they were running when the outage hit. Leave your refrigerator plugged in since it’s designed to handle startup surges and you want it cooling again as soon as possible. Once power is restored and stable for a few minutes, plug other devices back in one at a time. Whole-house surge protectors and quality power strips with surge protection are worth the investment if you live in an area with frequent outages.
Managing Medications
Insulin and other refrigerated medications are vulnerable during outages. Keep insulin cool but never frozen. Frozen insulin breaks down and becomes less effective. Store it away from direct sunlight and direct heat. Realistically, if temperatures climb above 86°F, you may still need to use it. Monitor your blood sugar more frequently and discard any insulin that was stored at extreme temperatures once you’re back to normal.
If you rely on electrically powered medical equipment like a CPAP, nebulizer, or oxygen concentrator, have a backup plan in place before an outage happens. That might mean a battery backup unit, registering with your utility company as a medical-priority customer, or identifying a nearby facility with power where you can go.
Sanitation When the Toilet Won’t Flush
Extended outages can knock out water pumps and sewage lift stations, leaving your toilet useless. The two-bucket method is a simple, inexpensive backup. You need two large buckets, heavy-duty 13-gallon garbage bags (0.9 mil thickness or thicker), toilet paper, and a layering material like sawdust, bark chips, or dry leaves.
Use the first bucket for urine only. Dilute it with water when possible, and pour it onto dirt or a lawn to dispose of it. Line the second bucket with a garbage bag and use it for solid waste. After each use, cover with a layer of sawdust or leaves to absorb moisture, reduce odor, and keep flies away. When the bag is half full, tie it off, double-bag it, and store it well away from food, water, and pets. An optional toilet seat that fits over the bucket makes the whole setup considerably more tolerable.
Staying Informed Without the Internet
A hand-crank or battery-powered NOAA weather radio is the most reliable communication tool during an extended outage. NOAA Weather Radio broadcasts continuously on seven frequencies between 162.400 and 162.550 MHz, delivering weather alerts, emergency instructions, and updates even when cell towers are overloaded or down. Most dedicated weather radios scan these frequencies automatically.
Conserve your phone battery by switching to airplane mode when you’re not actively sending messages. Lower the screen brightness, close background apps, and use texting instead of voice calls, since texts require less power and are more likely to get through on a congested network. A portable power bank or a car charger can extend your phone’s life significantly. Keep your car’s gas tank at least half full so you can charge devices and, if necessary, run the heater or air conditioner for short periods.
What to Have Ready Before It Happens
The best time to prepare for an outage is well before one starts. A basic kit should include:
- Water: 1 gallon per person per day, minimum three-day supply
- Food: canned goods, peanut butter, crackers, dried fruit, and a manual can opener
- Light: flashlights with extra batteries, or battery-powered lanterns (safer than candles)
- Communication: NOAA weather radio, portable power bank, car charger
- First aid kit and a week’s supply of essential medications
- Sanitation: two buckets, heavy-duty garbage bags, sawdust or kitty litter
- Cash: ATMs and card readers go down with the power
Keep important documents in a waterproof bag and store the whole kit somewhere accessible, not buried in the back of a closet. Check batteries and expiration dates every six months. A little preparation turns a stressful outage into a manageable inconvenience.