How to handle your food:

• Refrigerated Foods: When to Save. When to Throw Out
• Frozen Food: When to Save. When to Throw Out

For more information about food safety in an emergency, check out these resources:

In an Emergency (Foodsafety.gov)

Power Outages: Key Tips for Consumers (FDA)

Septic tank after outages

During a storm, you should reduce your water use to a minimum. This can be done through taking short showers, not washing laundry, and not flushing the toilet each time it’s used for liquid waste. Each time the water is used the septic tank will continue to fill. If all the reserve storage is used, the waste pipes in your home can back-up. There is normally a one-day supply of emergency storage space available in the pump tank. Turn off the pump at the control panel.

after the power is restored

• Switch the pump on and let it run for a maximum of 5 minutes and then turn it off.
• Repeat this every 6 hours until the effluent drops to the “OFF” level and the pump turns off by itself.
• If only a small amount of water was used, the pump may automatically turn off during the first switching