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 Creating
An Emergency Plan
American Red Cross Family Weather Emergency Plan
Tips for conserving water: • Do not water lawns, wash cars, or fill swimming pools • Don't allow children to play with the hose or sprinklers, just for fun • Use a broom instead of water to clean outdoors • Check faucets and pipes for leaks • Turn off the water while shaving or brushing your teeth • Take shorter showers, or better yet, take baths • Run dishwashers and washing machines only when full • When washing dishes by hand, fill the rinse sink, rather than allowing water to flow over cleaned dishes • Store a bottle of drinking water in the fridge • Rinse fruits and vegetables in bowl or sink full of water From: Illinois American Water Company Tips for food safety during a power outage: • If the power is out for less than 2 hours, then the food in your refrigerator and freezer will be safe to consume. • While the power is out, keep the refrigerator and freezer doors closed as much as possible to keep food cold for longer. If the power is out for longer than 2 hours • A freezer that is half full will hold food safely for up to 24 hours. A full freezer will hold food safely for 48 hours. Do not open the freezer door if you can avoid it. • Refrigerator: Pack milk, other dairy products, meat, fish, eggs, gravy, and spoilable leftovers into a cooler surrounded by ice. Inexpensive Styrofoam coolers are fine for this purpose. • Use a digital quick-response thermometer to check the temperature of your food right before you cook or eat it. Throw away any food that has a temperature of more than 40 degrees Fahrenheit. For guidelines on refreezing food when the power comes back on, visit the Food Safety and Inspection Service's page on Food Safety in an Emergency. Discard: The following foods should be discarded if kept over two hours at above 40 °F. • Meat, poultry, fish, eggs and egg substitutes — raw or cooked Save: The following foods should keep at room temperature a few days. Still, discard anything that turns moldy or has an unusual odor. • Butter or margarine Refreeze: Thawed foods that still contain ice crystals may be refrozen. Thawed foods that do not contain ice crystals but you are certain have been kept at 40 °F or below for no more than 1 to 2 days, may be cooked, then refrozen or canned. Safe Drinking Water When power goes out, water purification systems may not be functioning fully. Safe water for drinking, cooking, and personal hygiene includes bottled, boiled, or treated water. Your state or local health department can make specific recommendations for boiling or treating water in your area. • Do not use contaminated water to wash dishes, brush your teeth, wash and prepare food, wash your hands, make ice, or make baby formula. If possible, use baby formula that does not need to have water added. You can use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer to wash your hands. • Boiling water, when practical, is the preferred way to kill harmful bacteria and parasites. Bringing water to a rolling boil for 1 minute will kill most organisms. • When boiling water is not practical, you can treat water with chlorine tablets, iodine tablets, or unscented household chlorine bleach (5.25% sodium hypochlorite):
Power outage tips from the Centers for Disease Control: What You Need to Know When the Power Goes Out Unexpectedly |
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