How to prepare for a power outage ahead of strong storm

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - A large storm with extreme winds is forecasted to move into Southcentral over the weekend.

Alaska’s News Source spoke with Jeremy Zidek with the State of Alaska, Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, about preparations that can be made right now in the event you lose power over the weekend.

“One of the key things for any type of disaster event is having an emergency kit in your home. We recommend you have up to two weeks of supplies, but if you can only have a few days, that’s a good place to start,” Zidek said.

There are a few recommendations to keep in mind if you do lose power. The first, of course, is to keep warm and safe — grab extra clothes and blankets; and shut doors to rooms so the main area of the home can stay warm.

Know ahead of time where your flashlights are and make sure the batteries are fresh.

“We don’t recommend candles. Those are open flame sources, and occasionally when we have blackouts, we see fires from some of these candles,” Zidek said.

Make sure your phone is charged and if you have backup power supplies, make sure those are also charged.

If the power does go out keep the refrigerator and freezer doors closed. The FDA says a refrigerator will keep food cold for around four hours if the door remains closed. A full freezer should be good for up to 48 hours. So, have food available that does not require heat to prepare.

A trick to see if your freezer has thawed during a power outage is to freeze a bowl with water then set a coin on top and put it back in the freezer. After the power has come back on, if the coin sank in the water, it means your freezer defrosted during the outage.

Turn off your electrical devices but make sure one light is on, so you’ll know when the power comes back on.

“When the power companies do start to re-energize the system, the more load that’s on the system, the more difficult it can be for them to restore power,” Zidek said. “You can help the power utility by turning off your unneeded appliances and things and leave a light on so when the power does come back on you, you know that it’s on and you can go through and slowly turn things back on one by one.”

It’s also a good idea to unplug TVs and computers in case there’s a power surge when the power comes back on.

Stay tuned to Alaska’s News Source for the latest information on the storm and download the Alaska’s Weather Source app for the very latest.

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