Be prepared!

[Noseyoldcow]

I am not a prepper. But I have just read a disturbing report on Newzit from I think The Times, where Oliver Dowden is encouraging people to prepare for power and network outages. We are over reliant on digital phones and computers. So we should have torches/batteries/candles and battery operated FM radios to hand. There is, apparently, a government risk resilience strategy, and there will be a website pertaining to same next year.
If this shit show of a government is thinking about this, seeing as they do not appear to have thought about /prepared anything else save getting their greedy snouts in the trough, should I actually don my tin hat and start panic buying tinned food etc. They haven't been prepared for anything else, have they? So is something nasty around the corner?

Just sen it and think the same

Surely everyone should prep a bit for winter weather and conditions. We were without power for 3 days over Christmas around 10 years ago. I have a small camping stove so we can have hot drinks and food, try and keep up to date with any housework needing power, clothes washing, dishwasher, hoovering, keep an emergency pack in the car and don’t go below half a tank of petrol, but I think there’s a limit to what you can do.

I can’t think of much more so some ideas would be good I guess.

We lost gas between Xmas and New Year once, when there was snow on the ground. They wouldn’t dig the frozen ground to fix it for days, so we had no gas heating or hot water for days.
Like pp said, we should be prepared to some extent every winter.

They seem to be saying you need a week of stuff to last through the outage and after the event catchup. It's not just the UK, several EU states are asking people to keep kits in case of emergencies.

The main message they are giving is don't expect any state help if web/electric go down for a prolonged period.

A slab of tea lights and a wind up radio/torch will set you back about £30, add in some extra noodles or pasta, tins of beans, bottles of water and you should have the basics covered.

Why the power outage thought, I don’t understand it?

I do keep a small stock of tinned foods and water to hand but it looks like I should also consider buying more candles and batteries too.

I wondered if it was off the back of the Sellafield issue. Not that a nuclear disaster is imminent, but realising the vulnerability of supposedly secure systems, how long it had been going on, and the potential flow on effects.

I know it all sounds a bit tinfoil hat but DH works in IT security and is never surprised when this hacking stuff comes out and is part of the reason we keep cash and a decent "survival" kit. That and we were both raised with the idea a volcanic eruption was just around the corner so a minimum of 3L of water per person for 3 days!

Without being too pessimistic, the world is a very volatile place right now. Having some candles, batteries, water and tins of beans is hardly digging a bomb proof cellar under your house. It’s a very doable and cheap thing.

All true but wasn’t op asking about why the gment are talking about it now?

The context seems to have been the visit that he was undertaking at the time - he was at Porton Down, so it is reasonable to assume that they had been discussing the risk of cyber attacks amongst other things. Major infrastructure is constantly bombarded by hacking attempts, and that could affect power, communications, banking, water, transportation...

We are overly reliant on digital devices and the internet, and there are all sorts of things that could disrupt those. Cyber attacks; a Carrington event; Loss of electricity, extreme weather. It is sensible to have a wind up radio to hear the news. Within the next two years, our analogue phones will be switched off too - if they want to improve resilience, maybe that idea should be reversed.

More likely to knock out communications and power is bad weather, though, and with climate change we seem to be suffering more extreme storms. It is sensible to have a bit of food and a means of heating it in case of power outages. I don't think we should assume we're looking at prepping for nuclear winter, but having a bit of tinned soup and some crackers in the cupboard seems sensible.

@Theperfectconker The Government should be thinking about this ALL the time - that is their job. They are supposed to have preparedness in place for all manner of emergencies (including global pandemics) but when Covid struck it became clear that they had stopped funding their emergency preparedness planning department, hence the lack of medical supplies and PPE. I'm encouraged that they are thinking about it at all, though that enthusiasm is tempered by the fact that they are just passing the responsibility onto individuals in an ad hoc manner. Sweden has proper leaflets that cover this sort of thing. Crisis or War Brochure

Power outages are much more likely in winter, though, and we've had a number of them this year due to storms and snow. That has probably focussed their minds.

A document was published early December - Resilience update.

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/656def711104cf0013fa7498/TheUKKGovernmentResilienceeFramework20233ImplementationUpdate.pdf

Because Russia used cyber attacks to take out much of Ukraines electricity supply last winter. Experts have been quoted as saying if they did it to us it could take weeks at least to get things up and running again.

I watched blackout on C4 a few years ago. What would happen if hackers took down the grid for a week. Gave me the absolute heebies. I'd recommend watching 'if' you want some ideas on what to prep for and be aware of what could happen if something like that happened.

Just keep any of your prep to yourself.

Surely it is just sensible to take reasonable precautions. There might be powercuts, so have a torch. No one is suggesting the end is near. Though it might be.....

Question when did you last see a line of Pylons being built? Is there more electrical appliances in the home today compared to 10 years ago?

I am by no means of the imagination an expert on UK electrical infrastructure, but if you want to put this into context google "Power Station Black Start".

On other prepping forums I have read how fragile (to many threats) our power supply is. There for I have prepped for this eventuality.

Personally as I have two numpty dogs and three children, I tend to favour led from solar or power banks as my first option over naked flames. Something as simple as a garden path solar light will give you a few hours of usable light for very little outlay.

I live in a country with regular (all island) black outs, some can take 24 hours to be resolved. We always have candles, batteries, bottled water, tinned goods in the house, as well all equipment for the bbq. We have solarlights in the garden and our stove is non electric, with gas bombs. I do not think the latter is possible in the UK. We took measures to avoid being affected by a blackout and have alternative electricity.

Around here, some people have been without power since Christmas Day. It's expected to be resolved by early next week unless more storms come through put it back even further. We had a series of very severe thunderstorms and it took out the physical electrical network, concrete pylons broke and lines are down. Then we had another series of very severe thunderstorms a couple of days later and yet more damage was done.

We're looking at a battery for our existing solar panels or a generator. Not that you can buy a generator anywhere in the state of Q this week! We have stored food, need to get more stored water and solar lanterns.

I've been watching our electric grid for a few years now - between older power stations reaching their end of life, no new baseload station coming on stream and renewables being slower than expected to be developed, we have incredibly tight margins generally and especially if the cold calm air sets in for days when people want heat and entertainment...

I have a gas hob in the kitchen and gas bbq in the garden. A camping charcoal bbq in the shed and a small amount of charcoal. Solar lanterns and a windup torch. A wood burning stove to heat the house if needed. Lots of blankets and layers of clothes. And a rain butt which holds enough water for about 20 toilet flushes as well as bottled water for drinking in the house. If the gas goes out, (hob and heating), I have an electric oven, an air fryer or bbqs for cooking and the stove for heating.

It’s an excellent brochure. Our Government has this week once again reminded us that we need to properly understand what is at stake, and to take action. That we have to be mentally prepared as well as knowing what to do. That we are not only responsible for ourselves but also for others.

Many mainly younger people have become a bit worried, but there is no panic buying so far. We make sure to always have what is on the list in the brochure anyway.

(Sorry about the DM article, but quickly tried to find something in English)

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/galleries/article-12947295/Swedens-civil-defense-minister-warns-citizens-brace-war.html

conker, just curious, how come the Swedish ‘Crisis or War Brochure’ is in English?

@Runor It is available in Swedish and English. The German one is also available in English. Our own government's pages are sometimes available in other languages.

It’s in 17 languages. You can also listen to it.
(Scroll down)

https://www.msb.se/sv/rad-till-privatpersoner/broschyren-om-krisen-eller-kriget-kommer/

17 languages actually.

Excellent. There is no excuse for any of us not to be prepared, then. 😊

Wow! Impressed at the Swedish commitment to preparedness!