Blackouts can cause a number of severe consequences, many of which we fail to consider when prepping for it. Below are the things you need to keep in mind when preparing for such an event as well as ways to increase your survival and safety. You don't need to feel overwhelmed by the potential dangers that a blackout brings. Some of these things might change based on your location, but they'll ensure you've thought everything through.
1. The Means to Create Light
The first thing that people will notice is also one of the hardest to hide… light. That’s the first thing that anyone is going to turn on, when the power goes out.
The problem is, their light will go out after a short time, perhaps a day or two. After that, any light you have will be extremely conspicuous.
If the windows of every house on your street are dark and even a little light is coming out of yours, your house will seem like a lighthouse to those around.
Extreme light discipline will have to be the order of the day. You’re going to have to hide your light, and avoid using it in places where they can see. One key component of this will have to be blackout curtains on over all your windows.
2. Power Generation
Many of us have invested in either solar power or wind power, both to augment the electrical power we buy from our local utility company and as a means of producing power in a blackout.
But a roof full of solar panels or a wind turbine sticking 30 feet up in the air in your backyard are easy to see, letting everyone know that you have power, when they don’t.
That’s going to attract people like moths to an open flame. About the only thing that could be worse is a gas powered generator.
While I wouldn’t want to dissuade you from investing in solar or wind power, in the midst of a blackout you’ll actually be better off with something stealthy. A portable system, with the solar panels at ground level would fit that bill, as a fenced backyard would hide it pretty well.
3. Solar Powered Anything
Speaking of solar power, pretty much anything that is solar powered is going to be in high demand. Even if all you have is a solar charger for your phone, you can count on everyone around you wanting to use it. More major solar powered devices, such as a solar oven, will become very high on the list of things that people will want to steal.
4. Food and the Ability to Cook that Food
Most preppers believe that people will turn to attacking one another and raiding other’s homes in search of food at this time.
Not only will they be searching for food, but for the ability to cook that food.
But cooking in modern times is done with electricity or natural gas, both of which will be conspicuous by their absence. Barbecue grills will become the number one means of cooking… at least until people run out of propane or charcoal.
That’s when the solar oven is going to become popular.
One of the problems with hiding your food is that cooking creates odors which will attract attention.
Meats are the worst for this, as they produce the most odor when cooking. But by cooking them in soups, you reduce the odor that passes through the air.
5. Water and the Means to Pump it Out of the Ground
If you’ve got a river, lake or canal near enough to draw water out of, you’ll probably be safe. But if not, and people find out you have a well, they’ll be knocking on your door.
Sharing water might be great for public relations, but there’s a danger there too. Some will thank you, while others might see it as an opportunity to take over your well.
6. Heat for Your Home
When the power is out and people get cold, there’s a natural tendency to gather together, seeking to share whatever heat they have, even if it’s only body heat. That means that they’ll come knocking on your door, if they think you have heat.
Burning wood, which is what most of us are planning to do, produces smoke, as well as the smell of burning wood.
One thing you can do to help alleviate this is to buy firewood that produces little smoke and odor. Different woods burn differently, producing different amounts of heat, as well as smelling differently.
7. Fuel for Your Car
The lack of news about what is happening elsewhere will cause people to wonder if things would be better, if they could just get out of the area where the blackout is. So, some will leave, trying to find a better place.
But without the gas pumps working, that’s going to be hard to do.
Some will siphon it out of gas tanks and others will try to pump it out of the gas station’s tanks with a manual pump.
The best thing you can do to keep from losing your gas and even your car is to hide them. If you don’t have room in your garage, then put them in the backyard.
If you can’t do that, then drain out the gas yourself and disable the car. Removing a tire and the battery, as well as allowing the car to get covered with a layer of dust, will go a long way towards making it look unusable.
8. Guns & Ammo
Finally, it would be a good idea to keep your guns and ammo out of sight. Some might think that being obviously armed would be a deterrent to attack.
That doesn’t mean that you should be unarmed, merely that you shouldn’t advertise the fact. Those will be dangerous times and you may very well need your guns to protect yourself.
Most people who carry concealed are actually against open carry of firearms. That’s not because they don’t agree with the implied right under the Second Amendment, but rather that they want the element of surprise.
If someone doesn’t know what you’re carrying, they can’t prepare effectively to counter it. That gives you a huge tactical advantage, when the time comes and you bring your guns out of hiding.
As a survivalist, do you have any other things you would advise hiding during a blackout?
Article Source: Survivopedia
