Power Outage
What To Do When The Power Goes Out Unexpectedly
A power outage can occur for any number of reasons:
- A lightning storm can zap a transformer and put the whole neighborhood or an entire city in the dark.
- A car accident where one vehicle hit a power pole.
- An unexplained power outage (the power company won't tell you the reason but it's on their end).
- An earthquake, tornado, hurricane or other natural disaster occurred.
- Man-made disasters such as war and bombings.
When the power goes out in your home, for whatever reason, keeping your refrigerated and frozen foods cold is the most important factor. The next in importance is keeping your family warm, if it's winter, or cool, if it's summer. And thirdly, you will need lights of some kind if the power outage extend into the night.
Keeping Food Cold and Safe to Eat
If the power is out for less than 2 hours, then the food in your refrigerator and freezer will be safe to consume.
If the power is out for longer than 2 hours, follow these guidelines:
- For the Freezer section: 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.
- For the Refrigerated section: 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 food 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.
Freezer foods may be refrozen if ice crystals are present. Exceptions include ice cream, pizza, and casseroles. If the frozen food has completely thawed but is cold, it must be cooked within a 24-hour period; or foods may be refrozen within 24 hours after thawing. However, quality may be diminished. If in doubt about when the food actually thawed in the freezer, discard the thawed food.
Dry ice may be used to keep frozen foods frozen and cold foods cold. Be careful not to handle dry ice with bare hands or breathe the vapors.
It's always a good idea to have some canned or freeze dried food on hand during a power outage, in case you have spoiled food or to keep from opening the refrigerator or freezer too often.
