Preparedness month: power outages

In honor of September being National Preparedness Month, our focus for the last week of this month will be power outages. Power outages happen when an electricity network fails, and they can happen at any time. They typically occur during storms or heavy rain when electrical lines are vulnerable and exposed to damage. Read more about power outages here.

Though power outages may not cause immediate fatal harm, residents should still construct a plan with their family and loved ones in order to stay safe and develop a strategy on how everyone will communicate.

If they don’t already, advise residents to purchase a first aid kit with antibiotics, bandages, gauze, plastic gloves, and safety pins to assemble in case of an injury. Every household should have a first aid kit for any emergency, but with power outages, communication with medical personnel will be limited and a first aid kit carries much more value. Objects for light and warmth like ChemLights, matches, flashlights, batteries, lighters, lighter fluids, flares, and other materials should also be stashed away for power outage emergencies.

Make sure to remind them not to forget necessary individual items such as asthma inhalers, epi pens, diabetic medicine, and others. It would behoove households to also include extra items if they can, as power outages can last for months at a time.

Preparedness does not only rely on residents—it works both ways. Blackouts can sometimes be predicted based on the severity of an upcoming storm, and CodeRED is the perfect emergency notification system to keep your residents informed and prepared. Send out messages letting your residents know of the inclement weather and associated risks, such as power outages.

If you’d like to prepare your system for a power outage or need tips on assembling a power outage plan for your community, always remember you can contact us at (866)-939-0911 for assistance.