Creating a Basic Home Power-Outage Kit
Prepare safe lighting, communications, charging, food-temperature awareness, and household-specific essentials.
- Reading time:
- 7 minutes
- Last reviewed:
Cover the essentials
Gather flashlights or headlamps, appropriate spare batteries, a battery-powered radio, charging cables, and a charged power bank. Add household-specific accessibility supplies and a paper list of important numbers without storing sensitive details in a public service.
- 1Place safe lighting where it is easy to reach.
- 2Test batteries, power banks, and the radio.
- 3Add an appliance thermometer and current food-safety guidance.
- 4Review needs for powered medical or accessibility equipment with the provider and utility.
Avoid secondary hazards
Power outages can create fire, carbon-monoxide, food-safety, heat, cold, and electrical hazards. Follow official local instructions and leave an unsafe building rather than improvising dangerous power or heating systems.
Put this guidance to work
Related mission
Build a Power Outage Lighting Kit
Use battery-powered lighting and test every component before completing the mission.
View Preparedness Missions →Authoritative references
Review current source and local guidance because recommendations can change.
- What to Do to Protect Yourself During a Power OutageCenters for Disease Control and Prevention
- Build an Emergency KitReady.gov