Storm outages often last longer than the phone battery. A useful backup plan covers light, a way to get warnings, and power for anything medical, in that order.

Light first

Put a flashlight and spare batteries in the bedroom, the kitchen, and the go-bag. Headlamps leave both hands free. Choose LED lights over candles. Candles start house fires at the exact moment the fire department is already busy.

A box of the battery sizes your lights actually use is better than a drawer of random cells. Check them at the same time you rotate the water.

Phones and small devices

A charged power bank will run a phone for warnings and messages. Keep it topped up during storm season, not the hour the lights flicker. A larger portable power station can run a phone, a radio, a CPAP, or a small fan, if you size it for the device. Read the watt rating of the medical device before you buy.

Generators and carbon monoxide

A generator can keep a refrigerator and a few lights going. It can also kill people if it runs in a garage, a basement, a hallway, or too close to a window. Run it outdoors, pointed away from the house, and install a battery-powered carbon monoxide alarm on each sleeping level.

• Store fuel in approved containers, outside the house, and away from the generator while it is running.
• Let the generator cool before refueling.
• Do not plug a generator into a wall outlet. That can energize lines and injure utility workers. Use an outdoor-rated cord, or a transfer switch installed by an electrician.