Your First Hour in a Power Outage: A Household Action Plan
The first 60 minutes — calm, safe, and organized.
What to do in the first hour of an outage to stay safe and reduce loss.
0–10 minutes: Safety first
Check that no one is in an elevator or trapped. If anyone is, call for help and do not attempt a rescue yourself. Confirm smoke and carbon-monoxide alarms are working — an outage is exactly when people reach for unsafe heat and light sources that create CO risk.
Leave one light switch turned on so you know when power returns. Locate your flashlights before you need them in the dark; a flashlight on each nightstand and in the kitchen is the single highest-value habit for an outage.
10–30 minutes: Secure food and devices
Keep the refrigerator and freezer closed. A closed refrigerator keeps food safely cold for about four hours; a full freezer holds its temperature for roughly 48 hours, and a half-full freezer about 24 hours, according to the USDA. Every quick peek cuts that window, so decide what you need before you open the door.
Plug essential devices into a power bank and conserve phone battery: dim the screen, close background apps, and turn on low-power mode. A charged phone is your link to alerts, family, and information; treat its battery as a finite resource in the first hour, not something to drain with streaming.
30–60 minutes: Communicate and plan
Check on neighbors if you can do so safely. Confirm the scope of the outage — is it your home, your block, or the whole area? — using a battery or hand-crank radio or a quick text to a neighbor. Texts use less bandwidth than calls and often go through when calls don't.
Decide whether to stay or relocate. In extreme heat or cold, an extended outage can become a health risk, especially for seniors, infants, and people with medical conditions. Know your local cooling and warming centers before you need them. If you use medical equipment that requires power, have a battery backup and a plan to relocate — and talk to your clinician about that plan in advance.
Sources & further reading
This guide is planning guidance, not emergency advice. In an emergency, call 911. See a mistake? Report it.
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