Power outages are one of the most common ways severe weather disrupts daily life. Even when a storm does not cause major structural damage, it can leave households without lighting, refrigeration, phone charging, medical equipment or reliable information.
Ready.gov advises people to inventory items that depend on electricity and plan for batteries or alternative power. That is especially important for families with refrigerated medicine, powered medical devices, infants, older adults or limited transportation.
A practical kit should include flashlights, batteries, bottled water, shelf-stable food, a first-aid kit, needed medications, charged power banks and a battery-powered or hand-crank radio. Candles can create fire risk, so battery lighting is safer.
Before storms arrive, secure loose outdoor items, charge devices, check on neighbors and know where to find official alerts. During an outage, keep refrigerator and freezer doors closed as much as possible and avoid using generators indoors or near windows.
Jessica Storm’s guidance is calm and simple: do the boring work before the warning. A little planning can make a dark house safer, quieter and easier to manage.
Additional Reporting By: Ready.gov; National Weather Service; NOAA; Indiana Department of Transportation