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Incidents are situations in which the vital functions and services of society do not function as usual.
Lengthy incidents affecting large areas particularly interfere with the normal functioning of people’s everyday lives and society.
The following exercise helps you think about how to cope during a major power grid disruption. In the exercise, a severe power grid disruption would affect the whole country. The power is out and it is impossible to estimate how long the outage will last. It may take several days.
How to do the exercise:
You notice that the power goes out at your home. Lights and appliances also stop working in your local environment. It appears that the power will not be back on.
How will you receive information about what has happened?
How will you light up your home?
What will happen in society?
Electricity and transmission system companies are starting to investigate the situation.
The disruption is reported on the electricity companies’ websites and using other possible communication channels, such as customer SMS services.
Refrigerators and freezers are starting to warm up. Shops, restaurants and other services cannot continue to serve their customers for a long time without electricity.
How long will you be able to cope with the food you have at home and how can you prepare it?
Do you have cash that you can use if you have to buy things in services that still work, such as a pharmacy?
Your water is cut off or there is only little water coming from the tap. There is also no water coming from your well if it is powered by an electric pump.
The pumping and treatment of sewage in the sewer network will stop, so you must not flush the toilet.
How will you cope if there is no water coming in for many days and you cannot get water from shops?
What will happen in society?
The incident affects people differently depending on what their living environment and daily life is like.
As the interruption causes other overlapping incidents, the impacts affect almost everyone in some way. For example, when information and communication services have been disconnected
The Emergency Response Centre receives many unnecessary inquiries about the incident. There may also be more accidents due to the incident, and there may be delays in getting help due to the overload of services.
How will you receive information about what has happened in the future?
Where would you meet a loved one in a situation where you cannot contact them?
How will you get information from your workplace during an incident?
There are disruptions in traffic.
Most rail traffic stopped immediately after the power cut began. Buses and cars will travel as long as there is fuel or battery power. Traffic is slow because traffic lights do not work. As more time passes, all traffic starts to fizzle out, as petrol stations and charging points are out of order.
What are the places that it is necessary for you to get to even if means of transport were inaccessible?
People are starting to need each other's help. Those who have prepared in advance for incidents may continue their daily life fairly similarly as before.
Some are more affected by the incident and need help and support from the authorities as well as loved ones. If your or your loved one's functional capacity has declined, it is particularly important to seek and offer help.
Which people in your local area should you contact during the incident?
What will happen in society?
An interruption that lasts more than 24 hours causes stress. The shops and other services are closed, the Internet and the telephone are not working and transportation services are down.
In winter temperatures of -20 degrees Celsius, the temperature of wooden detached houses has dropped to 10 degrees Celsius. People living in these houses are cold if there is no working heating method.
People’s coping is put to the test by
The experience shared by everyone brings people together, and the idea of coping together helps to endure the situation.
What means do you have to support your coping when the extraordinary situation is prolonged?
If your home gets cold, where will you go to seek a warm place to stay?
What will happen in society?
In winter temperatures of -20 degrees Celsius, the temperature of stone-built detached houses and prefabricated blocks of flats has dropped to 10 degrees Celsius. Both you and anyone who has sought warmth in your dwelling are getting cold. The sturdiest stone-built blocks of flats will remain warmer for a few more days.
Many people have run out of their home emergency supplies. Even those with supplies for at least the recommended 72 hours are starting to lose their stock.
Everyone experiences the stressful situation in their own specific ways. The thoughts, emotions and actions experienced in the situation are individual. The situation may encourage one person to act while paralysing another.
What could your everyday life be like in this situation?
How would you feel and which emotions would you experience?
What will happen in society?
Electricity service is resumed. The authorities inform you that the incident is over.
Water distribution, heating, telecommunications and telephone connections and other services are gradually recovering. However, daily life continues to be disorganised for some time even after the incident has ended.
Once the stressful situation is over, it is time to process the experience and start regaining resources.
What helped you cope and how would you like to change your preparedness?