866.229.0927 
866.229.0927 Survival Scout Tips
How People Got Creative with the PG&E Blackouts
The devastating California wildfires in 2018 left communities reeling, hundreds homeless, and dozens dead. Although natural weather factors were certainly a factor, downed power lines operated by utility companies like Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) were partly to blame. In fact, PG&E has said that one of its transmission lines...
Survival Cooking When the Power Is Out
When it comes to disaster planning, knowing how to cook your food is an important piece of the puzzle. If disaster strikes, you will likely have to adapt your methods used for meal preparation--and cooking is one of them. Being able to feed your family will ensure that you stay...
5 Reasons Why Solar Energy Is an Ideal BackUp Power Source
Those who are truly prepared understand that, although it may not appear likely, we’re always at risk for worst-case scenarios. A quick look back at recent natural disasters and terrorist attacks shows us how individuals, families, and communities can be put at risk and thrown off track in an instant. Oftentimes...
The Coming Blackout: What You Need to Know
On Saturday, July 13, a large area of New York City plunged into a state of darkness. The blackout lasted for five hours and affected the west side of Manhattan. When 26 theaters were suddenly without power, social media channels were abuzz with videos of various Broadway productions continuing their...
From Belgium to Japan: Nuclear Blackouts
A lot of times, when we talk about issues surrounding nuclear energy, the first worries are typically radioactivity and the threat of nuclear weapons. This is totally understandable--these are very real and intimidating threats to our survival and well-being. However, another topic I’d like to cover today is what happens...
Planned Power Outages: What You Need to Know
We’ve written a lot about the devastating outcomes of the recent California wildfires and the choking smoke those events created across many states. For example, there was a wildfire breakout in 2017 when trees hit PG&E power lines around the Napa area. It burned over 100,000 acres and 1,475 structures....
Living Through the Venezuelan Blackout: One Resident’s Account
Last week, we covered the devastating reality of life in Venezuela while the country suffered through the largest power outage in the country’s history (see that Survival Scout, Surviving Venezuela: Lessons From a Country in Chaos). Looters filled the streets, ATMs were down, and many citizens resorted to drinking polluted...
Surviving Venezuela: Lessons from a Country in Crisis
Imagine your power goes out indefinitely for a week. Maybe longer, with no end in sight. Now, imagine that happening to virtually everyone living in your country. While this may have been a mere nightmare in the past, this was the recent reality in Venezuela. Venezuela lost power around 5...
Learning from the Past: Haiti, Mexico City, and Alaska
American journalist Charles Kuralt once said, “It takes an earthquake to remind us that we walk on the crust of an unfinished earth.” The surface of our planet has 20 plates that are constantly moving--and inevitably, the resulting pressure from these shifting plates causes the crust to break. But when...
3 Major Nor'easters & What We Can Learn
If you live on the East Coast of the United States, you’re probably familiar with nor’easters. You know that contrary to what it might sound like, it’s not just a funny way of referring to people from the East Coast. A nor’easter is a storm that usually develops in the...
Lessons from the Northeast Blackout of 2003
Sometimes, the smallest of actions can create a ripple affecting an extremely large system. That’s exactly what happened in 2003 when the northeastern United States was hit with a major power outage. What became known as the Northeast Blackout of 2003 was the largest blackout in North American history to...
5 Hurricane Preparedness Lessons from History
Carolinas Face Flooding After Hurricane Florence Lumbers Through States (Photo by U.S. Air Force via Getty Images) As Hurricane Florence made landfall on the east coast of the United States, we’ve been reminded that hurricane preparedness is a must. On average, about five hurricanes strike the United States coastline every...
