Power outages can happen any time of year. During summer, storms or rolling blackouts or brownouts caused by stress on the power grid can result in power outages. While most Texas families are used to power outages that last only a few hours, an outage that continues for days can put unnecessary stress on your family or even put you at greater risk of illness or injury.
Experienced Texas personal injury attorneys recommend that families prepare for longer power outages in order to prevent injury and protect their health. Here are four things to consider when preparing your household:
- Refrigerated medications will last a few hours, but they may become dangerous to take if they warm to room temperature. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration offer information on how to handle your need for refrigerated medications during a power outage.
- Filling any extra space in your refrigerator and freezer with jugs of water help the refrigerator run more efficiently when power is on and keep the contents cold for longer when the power is out. This can help reduce the risk of foodborne illness when the power is out.
- If you buy a generator, never run it indoors. Make sure the outdoor generator has sufficient ventilation, and follow all instructions carefully to reduce the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning, electrical injury, or mechanical injury.
- Keep a battery-powered emergency radio and fresh batteries on hand. Some crank-powered radios also offer charging ports for cell phones and other devices; consider purchasing one of these so you can keep your cell phone charged even when you can’t find working electricity or charging the phone in a vehicle is not an option.
Follow these guidelines to avoid any unfortunate incidents and make this summer a good one.