Stay alert. Get the family up. If there is someone you can call in another part of your area, see if they have additional information. Be ready to leave at a moments notice, but stay inside until you need have reason to leave.

 

Grab my NODS and go sit on my roof

 

What "no warning"?... You've been warned for years...Gear packed,plans ready for activation,supplies laid in for 6 months to a year...so its at night?...put on your pants

 

During SHTF, pants are optional.

 

Keep lights (flashlights, fires, candles) out so you don't draw attention to your house. Look like everyone else. I wouldn't act prepared or people might decide they like your preps. Key to survival in that scenario is being low key.

 

Go back to bed.

 

Personally, I would check my battery operated scanner. I can pick up broadcasts from outside my local area with it. I'd then go out and try to start my truck. If it starts fine and there is no alerts on my scanner i'd likely go back to bed.

IF I heard several loud unidentifiable noises where I live, knowing I'm not under any flight paths, I would make sure it's not on my property, then go back to sleep, as it will likely be nothing, or one heck of a busy day tomorrow, and I'll need the rest.

By the way, that's a normal occurance when we have a really heavy snowstorm, a tree comes across a HP power line close to a transformer, and we lose power for a day or 4. But living at our BOL, that's kinda sorta expected... and a reminder of how bad it would have been at our last residence!

 

Grab my night vision and AR, then take a look at what is going on outside from the relative safety of my home. Have my wife try to contact friends and family that live further away in order to try to assess the situation.

 

I would be glad it's at night because I would be home and not at work 39 miles away. We'd stay up and see what was going on but not draw any attention to ourselves.

 

Grab my BOB and get to my BOL ASAP.

 

Fill anything that will hold water if you are on city water.

Radio stations not working is a very bad sign. Not having local news of an event is usual. Check your scanner for police/sheriff/ambulance/life flight for activity. Check your threat map of your Area of Operation. Maybe that chemical plant 15 miles blew up. What is the wind doing.

Go out and try to start your car.

 

All excellent ideas! I would also grab my Walther PPQ, ThruNite TN12 LED Flashlight, call relatives on my cellphone to check and see their situation, and keep our BOB's close. If we have to bug out then load the BOV with our reserve gasoline, water, rifles, clothes, and food within 12 minutes.

 

Even though I have all the supplies ready, I would start filling everything I had with water. If ALL of the power is out, water will also shut off soon enough. If it turns out to be a false alarm, no harm done. If not, you cannot have too much water.

 

I had something like that happen.

I had a bad battery in my solar system....
(no TV)

 

Personally, I would check my battery operated scanner. I can pick up broadcasts from outside my local area with it. I'd then go out and try to start my truck. If it starts fine and there is no alerts on my scanner i'd likely go back to bed.

 

Couple years back the electric grid went down but no one knew that for a day plus! eriee quite. highted sense of awareness and caution. no one know what was happening. everyone was buying batteries, water , ice, etc..

stayed up and listened to the ole radio lit candles, filled bath tubes with water.

 

stayed up and listened to the ole radio lit candles, filled bath tubes with water.

where does one get radio lit candles? and what is a bath tube? how much water do they hold? how many do you have?


why does everyone keep suggesting filling bath tubs with water? do people really keep their tubs clean enough to drink out of?

 

Have the wife fill every empty container with water while I start loading mags,turn on scanner, and get out the night vision.

 

Switch on the scanner, short wave and ham radios for whatever information is available. Make next decisions based on what I learn.

 

Run down the street yelling "run for your lives" while firing rounds in to the air. I say screw keeping calm. Lets friggen spaz out for a change.

 

That's just a normal Saturday nigh in west Philly.

 

Walk across the street to my neighbor's and tell her 19 year old daughter that it is imperative we continue the species.

 

Check the Ham radio frequencies to get the 411. If it's something that is out of the norm then start packing the BOV for the BOL. And it is Adios Valley of the Sun! Hello cabin!

 

Fill everything possible with water. Check the car to see if it's running. Double check all the locks on the windows and doors. Grab all our weapons, and move to the basement in case it's a nuke and fallout is on its way. Then try calling my parents/sisters, and tell them all to do the same. If it's just a really big and unusual power outage, no harm done by being careful.

 

Happens after many a storm. The thunder wakes me up and the lightning knocks out the power. I usually pull the covers over my head and go back to sleep.

In the morning I would fire up the generator make some coffee and than see if tv had any news. Might wonder if I could not get anything either off the tv or the 'net.

 

I would have my gear ready to go. But I would go outside and poke around and ask questions incognito. Carrying concealed with some extra mags in my pocket. I wouldn't move far from my home.

If I still don't know whats going on, hunker down and wait.

 

0-5 minutes: Check cellphone for signal and battery power:
- If no signal, it might be bad. Get out of bed and get dressed, kit up with NVG and Glock-17 for now.
- If no power on phone (I always keep it charged), it's worse as it almost certainly is bricked (this would point towards an EMP and full-scale SHTF). Get dressed, kit up low profile as above.

5-10 minutes step 1: Check door locks and check immediate neighborhood from balcony (8th floor) to verify source of commotion/sounds:
- If possible to identify, evaluate. Threat/No threat, just normal neighbor activity, thunderstorms, fire/explosion at local power relay?
- If not visible or if identified as possible threat, put on low-profile vest as well.
- If verified as non-threat or normal power outage due to storm/"normal" break-down, stand down and go to bed.

5-10 minutes step 2: Check battery-powered scanners, step-list for known freqs and search for new signals:
- If bricked, reaction as above. Same probable situation as above. Bad.
- If usable, check local LE and ER freqs and evaluate. Kit up low profile as above. Also check RF noise-floor for indications of a CME/GMS.

10-15 minutes: Go outside, check car at the parking for usability:
- If usable, all good. Back to apartment and continue evaluating situation for now. Continue scanning local radio traffic if possible.
- If unusable (no ignition, electrics fried), it's bad. Back to apartment and begin final preps for bug-out (readying BOB, main kit and clothing). Same probable situation as above. Bad.

15-30 minutes: Check activity on HF, see if local ham emergency response group is active:
- If HF radio is dead, same probable situation as above. Bad.
- If HF radio is still working, try to check local ham emergency group for activity, check for sitrep from them if possible. Try to get buddies at BOL to respond, and give sitrep and current plan.

30-60 minutes option A: If power is gone, phone is bricked, own electronics are all dead, it's an EMP. At that point I've got nothing left to do here. If car is still working, it might go smoothly to get outta there, if not....a long walk:
- Get BOB, kit up full battle-rattle and camo, and get going.
- Option A: if car is still usable, load up and drive to BOL.
- Option B: if car is unusable, start walking.

30-60 minutes option B: If electronics are still working, but no cellular activity or power, and no broadcasting stations are active, there's a high possibility of a CME/GMS having struck good. Once again, I've got nothing left to do here:
- Check RF broadband for noise-level indications.
- Check latest space weather warnings saved on laptop (battery powered of course).
- If evaluation is that a CME/GMS is likely to have hit (and with these indicators it probably has), get going, bug out by car.

30-60 minutes option C: If electronics are still working, comms are up for cell and radio, no bigger commotion outside, it is probably just a normal power outage:
- Go back to sleep!
- If activity/noise outside is a possible threat (fire, explosion, gang of people), stay up with low-profile kit for a while, and evaluate.


Note that if the situation is identified as more or less normal power outage from normal breakdowns or weather, at any point during this process, this is the sign to stand down and get back to bed for me.

 

fill all water containers and hunker down and wait for dawn and access the situation in daylight. no point in going OTT until I know the full facts of the situation.

 

I agree with many that I would do is secure my family, fill my water bladders while I could. I would get locked and loaded (not knowing what the threat was yet), check my battery radio or start the vehicle and check the radio. If everything was dead, my next move would be to change my underwear!

 

I've a big stream/small river 50m from my back door so water is not a problem. All our windows are fitted with 'blackout' roller blinds so they would be put to use. I'd get the family into our kitchen, make a pot of tea and then start scanning the radio ham bands and contacting those in 'our' group.