Apocalypse Mode · Power Cut
The most likely emergency on this list, and the easiest one to prepare for properly.
A power cut is rarely dangerous and almost always miserable, and the misery is entirely optional. Light, a way to hear what is happening, and something hot to eat cover most of it.
Work through the list below and mark what you already own. Most households find they are two or three items away from a blackout being a quiet evening rather than a scramble.
Sort this first — everything else is easier with the lights on.
Hands-free light for a pre-dawn start, an unexpected late finish, or finding anything at all inside a tent.
Why you need it. Hands-free light for a pre-dawn start, an unexpected late finish, or finding anything at all inside a tent.
What to look for. A small lamp with a low mode for camp and a bright mode for walking, plus spare batteries or a charged battery pack.
Torches, radios and smoke alarms all fail in the same quiet way: the batteries were flat, and nobody knew.
Why you need it. Torches, radios and smoke alarms all fail in the same quiet way: the batteries were flat, and nobody knew.
What to look for. A sealed pack in each size your kit actually uses, stored away from heat. Rechargeables are excellent day to day and a poor sole plan for a power cut.
Light you cannot switch off by accident, and a way to start a flame that needs no charge. Keep them boring and keep them dry.
Why you need it. Light you cannot switch off by accident, and a way to start a flame that needs no charge. Keep them boring and keep them dry.
What to look for. Long-burning candles in stable holders, plus storm-proof matches or a lighter in a sealed bag. Candles near curtains cause more emergencies than they solve — use holders.
Keeps a phone, GPS watch or headlamp alive on long days, and cold weather drains batteries much faster than you expect.
Why you need it. Keeps a phone, GPS watch or headlamp alive on long days, and cold weather drains batteries much faster than you expect.
What to look for. A 10,000 mAh unit is a sensible balance of capacity and weight for most trips. Bring the right cable — the bank alone is useless.
A power bank runs out. A crank or solar charger keeps a phone alive for messages and maps for as long as you are willing to turn the handle.
Why you need it. A power bank runs out. A crank or solar charger keeps a phone alive for messages and maps for as long as you are willing to turn the handle.
What to look for. A crank or folding solar charger with a standard USB output, and a cable that fits your phone. Check the output is enough to charge, not merely to slow the drain.
Cooking and heating both assume electricity you no longer have.
Hot food and hot drinks change morale faster than anything else you can carry, and they stop being possible the moment the hob has no gas or power.
Why you need it. Hot food and hot drinks change morale faster than anything else you can carry, and they stop being possible the moment the hob has no gas or power.
What to look for. A single-burner gas or spirit stove with two spare canisters, used outdoors or in real ventilation. Test it once before you need it rather than reading the instructions by torchlight.
Three days of food that needs no fridge and little or no cooking removes the pressure to shop during exactly the week everyone else is shopping.
Why you need it. Three days of food that needs no fridge and little or no cooking removes the pressure to shop during exactly the week everyone else is shopping.
What to look for. Tins, dried pasta, rice, nut butter and long-life milk you actually like eating, so the stock quietly rotates through normal meals instead of expiring in a cupboard.
A cupboard of tins and no way into them is the most avoidable failure on this list, and electric openers are useless the moment the power goes.
Why you need it. A cupboard of tins and no way into them is the most avoidable failure on this list, and electric openers are useless the moment the power goes.
What to look for. A simple metal opener with a comfortable handle. Keep it in the same place as the emergency food, not in the general kitchen drawer where it wanders off.
If the heating stops in winter, the problem is not the cold outside but the heat leaving you. A foil blanket or two costs almost nothing and buys hours of warmth.
Why you need it. If the heating stops in winter, the problem is not the cold outside but the heat leaving you. A foil blanket or two costs almost nothing and buys hours of warmth.
What to look for. Foil survival blankets or bivvy bags, one per person, plus a proper wool or fleece blanket if you have the space for it.
Water is the first thing to run short and the hardest to improvise. Three litres per person per day covers drinking and basic cooking, and having it already in the house means you never join the queue for it.
Why you need it. Water is the first thing to run short and the hardest to improvise. Three litres per person per day covers drinking and basic cooking, and having it already in the house means you never join the queue for it.
What to look for. Sealed bottles or food-grade containers holding three days' worth per person, kept somewhere cool and dark. Write the date on them and swap the stock out twice a year.
Your phone is a poor sole source of information during an outage.
When the mobile network is congested or down, local radio is still telling you which roads are closed and where to go. It is the one information source that does not depend on your phone.
Why you need it. When the mobile network is congested or down, local radio is still telling you which roads are closed and where to go. It is the one information source that does not depend on your phone.
What to look for. A wind-up or battery radio with FM and, ideally, weather or emergency bands. A model that also charges a phone earns its shelf space.
Card terminals and cash machines are the first things to stop working in a power cut, and small notes still buy fuel, food and a taxi.
Why you need it. Card terminals and cash machines are the first things to stop working in a power cut, and small notes still buy fuel, food and a taxi.
What to look for. Enough small notes and coins for a couple of days of essentials, stored with your documents rather than in a wallet you carry.
Knowing where your water stopcock, gas valve and fuse box are — and being able to reach them in the dark — prevents a bad day from becoming a flooded or burning one.
Why you need it. Knowing where your water stopcock, gas valve and fuse box are — and being able to reach them in the dark — prevents a bad day from becoming a flooded or burning one.
What to look for. The right spanner beside the valve, a label on the fuse box, and a photo of each one on your phone. Practise finding them with the lights off.
The part people skip and later wish they had not: who collects whom, where you meet if you cannot get home, and which out-of-area contact everyone calls.
Why you need it. The part people skip and later wish they had not: who collects whom, where you meet if you cannot get home, and which out-of-area contact everyone calls.
What to look for. One page, printed, in every bag and on the fridge. Agree it out loud with everyone, including the children, and revisit it once a year.
