Things you need to prepare in order to deal with blackouts and emergencies

Published

1 year ago

December 12, 2023

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Here aresome things that you need to preparetodeal with blackouts and emergencies. Family power outage plan

Strategically store rechargeable-battery flashlights, camping lanterns and other alternative light sources, such as glowsticks, throughout your house so everyone has immediate access to light when the power goes out. (Related: LIGHTS OUT: 20 Things you need to do during a power outage.)

If you have younger children, store glowsticks near their beds. Teach them not to be afraid of the sudden darkness; tell them where they can access their glowsticks and show them how to activate them. Finally, instruct them to stay in their rooms until you can come and get them.

Give older children a fully-charged headlamp to keep their hands free and reduce their risk of tripping, falling or running into something in the dark on their way to meet up with other household members. This way, you’ll know where everyone is. Water

Determine each household member’s daily water requirements, including your pet’s, so you can stock ample amounts of waterfor hydration and hygienebefore SHTF. Include supplemental water requirements in your calculation so you can cook food, wash clothes and other personal items, clean your home and water your garden.

Emergency water storage must be a part of every household; include varied filtration options for emergencies. Food

Stock up food for daily use or emergencies and disasters. Determine your family’s dietary preferences and nutritional requirements and make sure you have enough storage space for your food stockpile. (Related: Prepper projects: Building a root cellar for food storage.)

Learn ways to stretch your food budget, like growing your own food, foraging for wild edibles and planning your meals.Explore ways to have hot mealseven when the power goes out. Back-up power

Follow three simple rules for your backup system: Keep your backup system small and simple (e.g., battery banks), portable (e.g., uninterruptible power supply or UPS) and prioritize your NEEDS vs WANTS. (Related: SHTF essentials: 7 Alternate power sources for emergencies.)

Learn more about backup power systems, batteries, inverters and powering your load requirements. You may also want to check out lessons from Venezuela about going stealth when using generators. First aid

Keep a well-stocked first aid kit. Research what plants you can grow indoors or in small apartment spaces that both serve as survival food and medicine.Learn how to use these as home remedies. (Related: 8 Natural ways to keep mosquitoes at bay.)

Keep an eye out for opportunities that offer training on how to handle basic emergencies. Build a library of reference materials, such as books or handy pocket manuals on first aid fundamentals for survival that cover everything from minor bumps and scrapes to full-blown emergency or disaster response.

Those that provide you with clear, concise but detailed instructions and tips for improvising emergency solutions with common household items would be a great and invaluable find. Blackout box

Also referred to as a power outage kit, a blackout box is a separate waterproof container of supplies, small tools and equipment that youcan use to illuminate your home in the event of a short-duration power outage or a long-duration blackout.

It’s also a good idea to prepare a power outage kit for your vehicle and your work office.

Learning about power outage kits and what should be in themas well as how to store batteries for the long term will come in handy. Lights

Strategically pre-place candles, oil or rechargeable lamps and other alternative light sources in areas where you want to use them. Invest in a few solar-powered torches, position them outside your home and make sure all your alternative light sources are in good working condition. Communications

Hand-cranked and rechargeable battery-operated radios areusefulitems tohave when regular communications fail during emergency situations.

If you want to communicate back and forth, consider a handheld transceiver radio. But you’ll need to get a ham and/or GMRS licenseto legally operate one. Manual tools

Make sure you have an inventory of manual tools for kitchen use, (e.g., can opener, knives, sharpening tools), home repair, plumbing and rescue (e.g., ax, bolt cutters, crowbar, pliers, screwdrivers, sledgehammer, wrenches and so on). Cash

Always keep a containerwithcash ready for when you need to venture out and there are stores still open where you can replenish yoursupplies.

Visit Preparedness.news for more stories like this.

Watch the following video to learn how to prepare for power outages and imminent blackouts.

This video is from the Daily Videos channel on Brighteon,com. More related stories:

Survival tips: Alternate power sources for your homestead.

Emergency preparedness: How to survive a power outage.

Prepper must-haves: What to stock up on before a summer or winter power outage.

Sources include:

SurvivalSullivan.com

CommonSenseHome.com 1

CommonSenseHome.com 2

CommonSenseHome.com 3

CommonSenseHome.com 4

TheOrganicPrepper.com

BackdoorSurvival.com 1

TheMicroGardener.com

PrepperSurvive.com

BackdoorSurvival.com 2

UrbanSurvivalSite.com

ARRL.org

Brighteon.com
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Sports

Jets’ Scheifele misses G7 because of injury

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53 mins ago

May 5, 2025

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Jets' Scheifele misses G7 because of injury

Kristen ShiltonMay 4, 2025, 12:16 PM ET
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Winnipeg forward Mark Scheifele did not play in Game 7 of the Jets’ first-round Stanley Cup playoff series against the St. Louis Blues on Sunday due to an undisclosed injury, coach Scott Arniel said.

Arniel ruled out Scheifele following the team’s morning skate. He was hurt in Game 5 — playing only 8:05 in the first period before exiting — and then did not travel with the Jets to St. Louis for Game 6. Arniel previously had said Scheifele was a game-time decision for Game 7.

Scheifele, 32, skated in a track suit Saturday, and Arniel told reporters the veteran was feeling better than he had the day before. Scheifele, however, was not able to participate in the Jets’ on-ice session by Sunday, quickly indicating he would not be available for the game.

Winnipeg held a 2-0 lead in the series over St. Louis before the Blues stormed back with a pair of wins to tie it, 2-2. The home team has won each game in the best-of-seven series so far.

The Jets’ challenge in closing out St. Louis only increases without Scheifele. Winnipeg already has been dealing with the uneven play of goaltender Connor Hellebuyck, a significant storyline in the series to date. Hellebuyck was pulled in all three of his starts at St. Louis while giving up a combined 16 goals on 66 shots (.758 SV%). In Game 6, Hellebuyck allowed four goals in only 5 minutes, 23 seconds of the second period.

Hellebuyck was Winnipeg’s backbone during the regular season, earning a Hart Trophy and Vezina Trophy nomination for his impeccable year (.925 SV%, 2.00 GAA).

Sports

Stars expect Robertson, Heiskanen back in semis

Published

53 mins ago

May 5, 2025

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Stars expect Robertson, Heiskanen back in semis

Field Level Media

May 4, 2025, 02:36 PM ET

Stars coach Pete DeBoer expects to have leading goal scorer Jason Robertson and standout defenseman Miro Heiskanen available in the Western Conference semifinals after both missed Dallas’ first-round series win over the Colorado Avalanche.

Following their thrilling Game 7 comeback victory over the Avalanche on Saturday night, the Stars await the winner of Sunday night’s Game 7 between the Winnipeg Jets and St. Louis Blues. If the Blues win, the Stars will have home-ice advantage in the best-of-seven series.

“I believe you’re going to see them both play in the second round, but I don’t know if it’s going to be Game 1 or Game 3 or Game 5,” DeBoer said after Saturday’s series clincher. “I consider them both day-to-day now, but there’s still some hurdles. It depends on when we start the series, how much time we have between now and Game 1. We’ll have a little better idea as we get closer.”

Robertson, 25, who posted 80 points (35 goals, 45 assists) in 82 games this season, suffered a lower-body injury in the regular-season finale April 16 and was considered week-to-week at the time.

Heiskanen hasn’t played since injuring his left knee in a Jan. 28 collision with Vegas Golden Knights forward Mark Stone. Initially expected to miss three to four months, the 25-year-old defenseman had surgery Feb. 4 and sat out the final 32 games of the regular season. In 50 games, he collected 25 points (five goals, 20 assists) and averaged 25:10 of ice time, which ranked fifth among NHL blueliners.

Environment

U.S. crude oil prices fall more than 4% after OPEC+ agrees to surge production in June

Published

3 hours ago

May 4, 2025

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U.S. crude oil prices fall more than 4% after OPEC+ agrees to surge production in June

Logo of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)

Andrey Rudakov | Bloomberg | Getty Images

U.S. crude oil futures fell more than 4% on Sunday, after OPEC+ agreed to surge production for a second month.

U.S. crude was down $2.49, or 4.27%, to $55.80 a barrel shortly after trading opened. Global benchmark Brent fell $2.39, or 3.9%, to $58.90 per barrel. Oil prices have fallen more than 20% this year.

The eight producers in the group, led by Saudi Arabia, agreed on Saturday to increase output by another 411,000 barrels per day in June. The decision comes a month after OPEC+ surprised the market by agreeing to surge production in May by the same amount.

The June production hike is nearly triple the 140,000 bpd that Goldman Sachs had originally forecast. OPEC+ is bringing more than 800,000 bpd of additional supply to the market over the course of two months.

Oil prices in April posted the biggest monthly loss since 2021, as U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs have raised fears of a recession that will slow demand at the same time that OPEC+ is quickly increasing supply.

Oilfield service firms such as Baker Hughes and SLB are expecting investment in exploration and production to decline this year due to the weak price environment.

“The prospects of an oversupplied oil market, rising tariffs, uncertainty in Mexico and activity weakness in Saudi Arabia are collectively constraining international upstream spending levels,” Baker Hughes CEO Lorenzo Simonelli said on the company’s first-quarter earnings call on April 25.

Oil majors Chevron and Exxon reported first-quarter earnings last week that fell compared to the same period in 2024 due to lower oil prices.

Goldman is forecasting that U.S. crude and Brent prices will average $59 and $63 per barrel, respectively, this year.