How to Survive a Storm

Have you been affected by a serious adverse weather event? Are you concerned about climate change and wondering how to make your home more resilient against future storms? Here’s how we survived the worst storm to hit the UK in over a decade, including the 10 days without mains power, landline or internet connection that followed.

The northern United Kingdom and Ireland was hit by Storm Eowyn on 24th January 2025. It was the worst storm for over a decade, with winds of 90-100 mph. Over 200,000 Scottish homes were left without power and other essential services in the wake of the storm.

We were left without power, phone or internet for 10 days following the storm. Our polytunnel also suffered significant damage. But otherwise we survived the storm relatively well!

The climate is changing

We must first address the elephant in the room. Adverse weather events are happening more frequently and with increasing severity. because of man-made climate change. This is no longer a problem for future generations to manage. We are seeing climate change in action. It is scary. And it is only going to get worse if we do not act quickly.

Increased energy in our climate system will not result in us all enjoying balmy Mediterranean weather, sadly. Instead, it is destabilising what was a carefully balanced global climate system. Severe storms, flooding, sea level rises, hurricanes, tsunamis and more will threaten the habitability of residential areas around the world, and will also make it more challenging to grow food.

As the age-old anecdote says, prevention is better than cure. Part of any resilience plan must include strategies to prevent further exacerbation of the climate crisis. So ensure you are doing all you can to minimise your carbon footprint. More on that later.

Building resilience

Many people attribute resilience to mental fortitude. But I think that the key to resilience is proper planning and preparation.

It is really challenging for anyone to keep a cool head and think rationally when they are unexpectedly faced with a real-life serious dilemma for the first time. Taking the time to consider difficult situations in abstract and formulating potential management plans removes the immediate jeopardy and allows for clearer thinking.

Planning ahead for adverse situations also provides an opportunity to gather useful items, to make things a little easier when the time comes. I like to refer back to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and ensure that we have all the basics covered when there are severe weather warnings in the weather forecast.

Light

When the power is out, you will need light sources to hand for the evening and early morning. We have good head torches, as well as a couple of storm lanterns; we make sure these are all fully charged if we are concerned about inclement weather. And we keep tapers in candle holders on each windowsill as our fallback.

Heat

How do you heat your home? Are you reliant on electricity or gas? What is your back-up if these fail for any reason, not just adverse weather?

We have an oil boiler, which we very rarely use. Obviously, it is no good to us at all during a power cut anyway. Our wood-burning range is our primary source of heat. We make sure to bring plenty of wood ahead of the onset of bad weather.

Food

There are many things to consider when it comes to keeping yourself and your family fed during a storm or extended periods of bad weather.

The first is ensuring that you have adequate supplies of food in stock, as you may not be able to get to a supermarket for several days.

BUT if your power fails, so do your fridge and freezer. So make sure you have non-perishable goods in your pantry. If the power does go off, keep your fridge and freezer doors closed as much as possible to preserve any perishable goods which you have stored inside. In the event of an extended power cut, the temperature within your fridge and freezer is likely to creep up enough to spoil the food. If you are in need of alternative cold food storage, I can recommend a sealed plastic crate by your back door, if the weather is cold enough!

You also need a plan for cooking your food. Again, our wood burning range really comes into its own during these challenging situations. I was able to make a roast dinner 48 hours into our recent power cut with Storm Eowyn! But I realise that our ability to cook on a wood-burning stove puts us in a very lucky minority.

If you have an electric or gas oven, what is your backup plan? A good camping cook stove may be a wise investment.

Water

Access to clean water is absolutely essential. We need drinking water to sustain life. And we also need water for cooking, washing and other necessary tasks.

We have our own water supply, which has many upsides. But we do require electricity to run the well and booster pumps, as well as the UV filter system.

So, we keep several 5 litre water containers in stock. We store them full, just in case we are ever caught unawares by a power outage or failure of part of our water system. But if we spot adverse weather on the forecast, we make sure to refresh our stored water, so that it is nice and fresh should we need it.

Communication

Whilst not strictly part of Maslow’s hierarchy, you will need a means of communication in an emergency. Firstly so that yourself and your loved ones can reassure each other that you are all safe and well. Secondly, to report any damage or failures to the relevant service providers, so that they might come to your aid. And thirdly, to gain an understanding of how widespread the damage is, and to receive updates from the utility companies / service providers regarding their expected reconnection time for your essential services.

We live in a very rural area, where mobile phone signal is patchy at best. During Storm Eowyn, our phone line was damaged by falling trees and our nearest mobile phone mast was blown over. So it was a real challenge to stay up to date in the aftermath of the storm.

Reducing reliance on fossil fuels

You never really appreciate your reliance on something, until it is taken away.

We live life relatively simply on our smallholding, and use energy sparingly. So our 10 day power cut created some inconvenience, but for the most part, we were able to carry on as normal. Our low impact lifestyle really did make it much easier to survive the storm.

Others in the same situation found it impossible to manage without their lights, televisions and electric kettles. So they went to stay in a hotel for the duration of the power outage (with Scottish Power footing the bill).

If we accept that these severe weather events are likely to increase in frequency, affecting our access to services and utilities, then it would be wise to reduce our reliance on these services and utilities all year round.

Cultivate hobbies and interests that do not require screens, devices or electricity. Get creative. Start reading for pleasure. Head outside and enjoy the great outdoors.

Use less energy within your home. Wash clothes only if they are dirty, and only if you have a full load of laundry. Only boil the water you need in the kettle. Turn the lights off when you leave the room.

Aiming to minimise your energy consumption is a win-win-win. Good for the planet, lower fuel bills for you and makes power outages easier to manage!

Summary

Make it a priority to minimise your impact on the environment, especially in terms of your use of fossil fuels, in your day to day life.

Check the weather forecast for your area regularly, so that you are alerted to potential incoming storms in good time.

Ensure you have essential items to hand and ready to use. Charge up your light sources, have fresh water and non-perishable food in stock, charge any essential devices. Bring in plenty of logs for your wood burner, or set up your alternative heat and cooking solutions.

Keep up to date with the news (as best you can) after the storm to get an idea of the number of homes affected and likely timescale for being reconnected to essential services.