Winter power cuts

Are you ready for an unexpected power cut? Parts of the country lost power for up to a week during Storm Arwen last winter, so it’s worth taking sensible precautions now:

• Have a stock of non-perishable, easily prepared food that doesn’t need cooking
• Have some bottled water – in some places, mains water will stop working if there’s no power
• Have enough warm clothes – lots of thinner layers are best - and bedding
• Have LED torches or LED camping lanterns and spare batteries – much safer than candles
• Have an old-fashioned plug-in, landline phone and a list of family members’ landline numbers if they still have them – mobile networks soon fail in a power outage

If it happens:

• You can go to the live power cut map via the UK Power Networks website for information and updates. If the Internet is down, dial 105 for updates from UK Power Networks
• Listen to Radio Norfolk on a battery or car radio, for initial updates (95.1 FM in east Norfolk, 95.6 FM in north Norfolk and 104.4 FM in west Norfolk)
• If Radio Norfolk is not working, Radio 2 (88-91 FM) or Radio 4 (92-95FM or 103-105 FM) should still be running
• Look after frail relatives and neighbours
• Beware of carbon monoxide – never bring a barbecue indoors, don’t use gas cookers for heating, open a window if you are using a gas camping stove and don’t leave it unattended