Natural disasters sit

Yes, I understand how difficult it is and have every respect for you hanging on in there. I have two friends that were in the same situation - no electricity for over 48 hours - it is extremely difficult but thankfully I don’t think there was any casualties and hopefully it will be a very long time before it happens again

I was in New York during a hurricane last summer and was very concerned about losing power and it getting too hot. There wasn’t even a working flashlight in the apartment. I now bring this to the attention of homeowners. If my sitters were to be out of power for more than 24 hours, I would offer to get them a hotel assuming they could drive there safely and continue to check on our cat. We have flashlights in obvious places, lots of candles and a small power charger for laptops and cell phones.

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Thank you for your reply as a HO, it’s very thoughtful of you

Oh dear…I hope anyone sitting in SE Qld is ok

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Update: the HO called us this morning, they are offering us a meal for 2 in a very good gastro pub nearby and offered to reimburse the gas we used in our motorhome. Very very decent of them and thoughtful! We are very happy :slight_smile:

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you have been looking in my backpack, eh?

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HI @Virginief68 thank you for a the update, I had been wondering about you. So glad it all worked out and gave you t a “happy face” … enjoy your meal and thank you for being amazing sitters.

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Plenty of water about up there @TheMapleKiwi! Yes, let’s hope everyone is okay.

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Hi Virginie & Eric,
I’m so sorry you had and probably are still having a bad experience with the outages. You seem to be very resourceful, well done. We have just come back from Dorset and thankfully the power didn’t go out but did in town for hours.
I think from now on I’ll ask about alternative power and heating just in case.
Take care and all the best.
Anne

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Thank you for your kind message Electricity has come back last Wednesday after almost 6 days, we are now very comfortable :hugs:

As a sitter i would just do what the homeowner would do if it were them - get on with it!! It is important for homeowners to ensure the sitter knows where electric unit, stopcock etc is - and I would expect that most homes would have candles/torch etc at hand. But - if a woodburner is the only heat - then use it - and go out collecting wood in the daytime for further nights - (I would have a decent woodpile - otherwise what’s the use of a wood burner?!) With light from candle/torch etc - it is quite possible in our equable climate to live on un-cooked food - or maybe the owner has a camping stove tucked away. If i were a homeowner - I would not expect my sitter to jump ship - and certainly would not want my pet dumped in a kennels!! But I would expect to reimburse some expenses - a few takeaways, maybe a gas bottle… and defo a good bottle of something for stepping up!
It is why people want a sitter - they want a replacement for themselves at home - to deal with ‘at home’ whatever happens… As a sitter I take that on board - most sits - everything goes well and I have a great time visiting an area and getting to know some lovely pets - but if the proverbial hits the fan - I am there to do a job - so I would just get on with it!
Which is what the sitters here seem to have done - so good for them!

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Waoh you’re quite the sitter! So you would have gone into the woods and pick up logs and of course wait for them to dry as it was a storm that cause the power cut and, storms tends to come with heavy rain! And while you wait for the log to dry, you would go on eating and drinking cold for 6 days in a 11° Cs home without hesitation… :face_with_raised_eyebrow:
I’m guessing you’ve never been in such situation and I truly hope you find yourself in one someday so that you may put your radical convictions into practice! :wink:

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I’m glad to see you got power back there, and sounds like a bit of an adventure. You do bring forth a good topic. One I was wondering about since depending on where you go here in the states, you have everything from Hurricanes/Nor’easters, Flash Floods, tornados, wild fires, to earthquakes. I have a pretty good understand of what areas are prone to most, but I will be adding questions about it to my Check sheet when speaking to HO of other countries that I don’t know what to expect.

I am curious what some HO tell people to do in the event of extreme weather, like a hurricane for example.

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I have spent much of my adult life living without electricity and running water…! It is not the end of the world - in fact most of the world do manage without it and without much more!
The point is that as a Trusted Housesitter we are taking on an important responsibility - we cannot bail out just because there are a few problems…
I would say that in true disasters - hurricanes/wildfires etc - it would be helpful to have advice from the HO as to what steps are prudent to take - many parts of the globe have to deal with these - and they are getting more often…

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As a Floridian, hurricanes are viewed as part of life and unless they are recent transplants, most homeowners have emergency plans in place that include having a generator and all the “stuff” to hole up for a few days without power and water. I would expect that any area that is prone to weather adventures would have emergency plans and kits that are relevant to the conditions of that area.
These are good things to ask and know.

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I know what you mean, I’m from Coastal Virginia, however my father was military, so I have lived in both Brandon, and Key West Florida. Just like you, we have always had a plan, because hurricanes like you said are a fact of life. I have been to more hurricane parties, than anything back in the day. :joy: I will admit though, having been through close calls with Tornados, and more storms that I can count, when we had an earthquake about a 100miles from where I was living, while doing to the finally shopping in preparing for a hurricane. I had no idea what to do, and it cause a bit of panic. So like something like that, however maybe with an earthquake, I would hope that HO have some sort of plan in the event of evacuations. Thankfully hurricanes you at least get a warning, where some others things you don’t.

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Yep, that is why they are “natural” disasters. It is what it is, we can make effort to prepare but nature has plans of its own and we are not in control. :rofl:
Life I think it’s called.

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Us Brits tend to be a nation of wet-wipes. half a centimetre of snow or a strong wind and the whole country grinds to a halt and we all start to panic buy toilet rolls - just in case !

First off, on land I’ve been in earthquakes, close volcanic activity, earthquakes, floods, and wildfire smoke, and on my boat, strong tropical storms (no hurricanes, thankfully). I keep track of the weather daily and research weather prior to taking a sit. Frankly, I avoid taking sits in areas prone to hurricanes during the months with the most frequent hurricane activity in the area and I avoid sits near active volcanos. I have yet to take a sit during the wildfire season during summer months in British Columbia, CA, the Pacific NW, or any area in California prone to wildfires. This last breaks my heart as I love Vancouver, Victoria, Seattle, and the lands nearby but I spent my career as an air quality engineer and it is wise to avoid wildfire smoke. I wish things were otherwise.

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@Amparo as a fellow Floridian, who retired from a utility company, our entire year revolved around the readiness during loss/restoration of power after natural disasters. I was part of team that responded immediately after the ‘all clear’ to travel safely for restoration purposes. We were required to always be prepared to deal with the aftermath of these storms. That being said, I imagine the additional responsibility of caring for animals, during that time period, can be an even greater challenge. Kudos to all who recognize the additional responsibilities and act accordingly to keep everyone safe.

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