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random20190826 t1_j1wufsz wrote

Reply to comment by Muscled_Daddy in Western NY death toll rises to 28 from cold, storm chaos by novotlr

Fellow GTA resident here. On December 23, the day started as a rainy day, barely above freezing. Then, things got bad, with the snow and wind. I am WFH, but my mother and sister work outside the home. School was cancelled for all kids in York Region on that day.

You know what I was terrified of? If the power went out, we would have been dead. I don't have a backup generator, and even though I have a gas-based heating system, the controls run on electricity. If the power goes out, no amount of gas can heat my home. Fortunately, the power was never disrupted.

In storms like this, things that cause mass deaths are power outages and car accidents. Low visibility due to blowing snow. Car crashes haven taken multiple lives in multiple states and in BC.

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Muscled_Daddy t1_j1wyfqx wrote

You would die?! Do you live in an older house? We haven’t even turned heat on in our condo yet. We have the fan for circulation but our building is so over insulated that we don’t really experience a ton of heat loss.

If you’re at risk of dying from the cold from a power outage you absolutely need emergency supplies - like a kerosene space heater, hand warmers, and investment in a generator (if you own a home). If you’re seriously at that big a risk of dying from the cold in your own home… please, please prepare for the worst.

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random20190826 t1_j1xauxx wrote

Well, the home is not old. It was built in 2006.

How did you manage to survive without heat when it was -10C outside?

Power outages are rare enough where if they happen, we can stay at a hotel.

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sea_bird t1_j1xmijy wrote

I'm in Buffalo and we didn't have power or heat for 36 hours. It sucked and we were cold, but I can assure you we're not dead.

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PlumLion t1_j1z7ir6 wrote

People are downvoting you and telling you you’re wrong, but not really giving you any suggestions. I’ve been through extended power outages in extreme cold several times and I can tell you that once your instinct to keep warm kicks in you start finding ways to stay warm enough to get by.

Everybody wears extra clothing and you make a big all-family (and pets) blanket fort in the warmest small room in the house. You hang heavy blankets or tablecloths or whatever you have over windows to keep the heat in, but if you get any reasonable amount of sunshine you pull the cloths off those windows to take advantage of solar heat gain. You start digging around in the junk drawer to find those disposable hand heaters you bought for watching your kids football games. If you have a gas cooktop you make endless cups of tea and hot chocolate and find excuses to bake bread and huge pans of lasagna. You discover that a jar candle can bring the temperature of a small room up by several degrees, so you keep one lit in a secure spot whenever there’s an adult awake to keep an eye on it. You eat a lot of carbs and keep everyone moving to stay warm.

I’m not telling you it doesn’t really suck, but you become resourceful really fast

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SynthFrog t1_j1xtxio wrote

Tons of people suffered without power for days (including my brother). As cold as it was, it wasn't cold enough to be a death sentence for most people without heat (inside a building). So I wouldn't day you'd definitely be dead. Still a scary and dangerous situation though. That's just for the lack of heat alone. Of course there are so many other dangers with being stuck in a home with no power.

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