Scenario 3: Loss of Natural Gas for 1-7 Days

The loss of natural gas in the summer is not a big issue as the only thing we'll lose is hot water. In the winter, we would also lose our heat.

Here are the options I can come up with in no particular order:

Option 1:  If the office still has services, we could sleep at the office. In the winter, we may also do basic personal hygiene stuff there since it has hot water but there is no shower.

Option 2: Stay with a family member or friend who still has services. Needs would be similar to a stay at the office, but we'd have someplace to shower.

Option 3: Stay in a hotel.  Needs would be similar to the first two options but would cost money. If service outage is widespread, availability will be limited and cost will likely be high as it was a couple of years ago. Cooking may be limited in a hotel so we would need a good supply of open restaurants.

Option 4: Stay in the home.

Without Natural Gas in the home, we would lose the following:

• Heat
• Washing machine for things that cannot be washed in cold water
• Dishwasher
• Frozen pipes could lead to loss of all water

What we currently have/would retain:

• Water from the tap and functioning sewers , unless the pipes freeze
• Cold Shower, unless the pipes freeze
• Stove
• Refrigerator
• Ice maker
• Enough clean clothes to last a week
• Ability to use washing machine with cold water

A day in the life at home with no Natural Gas based on current provisions:

• I get up whenever, probably because I'm too cold to sleep.
• Coffee and breakfast is no issue because we have electricity and cold tap water.
• We grab showers because we still have running water. In the winter this might be too cold but I can heat some water on the stove and transport it to a bathroom
• If this isn't part of a major situation, we would likely go to work.
• We could still prepare lunch and dinner from our normal supply or our stockpile if stuck for a few days.
• After dinner, I'd wash and dry all of the dishes for the day using water heated on the stove.

What might help the situation:

• We have two portable radiator heaters that we can use to heat a couple of rooms in the home if it's winter.
• Another portable heater or two that can be put in the basement to try to keep any pipes from freezing.
• An air mattress that can be set up in a closed off area with heaters in the winter.
• Cold weather sleeping bags.
• Plastic sheets to cover doors and help seal off one area of the house for easier heating.

Basic Preparation:

• Make sure to always have one week's supply of clean clothes and clean towels on hand, especially kitchen towels since they get nasty and there won't be an easy way to wash them.
• Keep enough cash on hand to pay for a few nights in a hotel and a few meals at restaurants in case payment networks are down. If it is that widespread, it is more likely we'd just stay at home.
• Keep some plastic and tarps around to block off areas of the house to make heating a small area easier.
• Better insulate any pipes that are near an outside wall.
• Make sure to have some buckets to drain the water lines in case we have to abandon the house.

Purchases to consider:

• Air Mattress
• Cold weather sleeping bags
• More plastic sheets and tarps
• Pipe insulation
• More buckets in case we have to drain the pipes