Start here · Step-by-step planHours 72 to 100: day 3 to day 4
Start here · Step-by-step plan

Hours 72 to 100: day 3 to day 4

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Goal: reassess. You've passed the 72-hour minimum. It's time to stop, count, and decide calmly, before exhaustion decides for you.

  1. Adults' meeting (20 minutes). What do we know? What changed? What's missing? When do authorities expect to restore power and water?
  2. Full inventory in the log: remaining water in gallons, charge of the station and power banks, sets of batteries, days of food, days of medicines for each person, pet food.
  3. Calculate your endurance: remaining gallons ÷ gallons your household uses per day (1 per person, plus your pets') = days of water. If you have less than 3 days of water, medicines, or power for medical equipment, the day's priority is to resupply or plan your departure.
  4. Decide again: stay or go? Stay if your home or apartment is safe, there's water for several days, and the indoor temperature is tolerable. Consider leaving (toward family outside the area, a shelter, or a cooling or warming center) if: your home or apartment becomes too hot or cold, the water runs out, there's structural damage or mold, or someone needs medical care you can't give (chapter 1 and chapter 24).
  5. Rotate the tasks. After 3 days, whoever has carried the physical load (water, trash) switches with whoever handled communications. Rotation prevents injuries and spreads the strain.
  6. Address fatigue and morale. A day of partial rest for each adult in the coming days; a hot meal if possible (safe cooking, chapter 22); a conversation about how everyone feels (chapter 25).

Consumption rules for this phase

Consumption rules for this phase
ResourceRule
WaterAt 100 hours (~4.2 days) you'll have used about 4 gal (15.2 L) per person of the 14 gal (53 L). If the heat is extreme, consumption can double: recalculate the days using the actual consumption in the log, not the theoretical figure.
PowerIf the station drops below 50% and there's no sun for the panel and no date for power to return, cut back to the essentials: radio, one light, on-call phone.
FoodPlan menus for the coming days from the pantry. Check expiration dates and bulging cans.
CommunicationsMove to 3 bulletins a day (7:00 a.m., 1:00 p.m., 7:00 p.m.) plus the NOAA radio in alert mode.