Power Outage: 7-Day Grid Failure
FEMA reports grid fails 1-3 times yearly in most regions. Your fridge stops in 12 hours. Phone dies Day 2. Test your household and street capability through interactive exercises.
Hour 0: Lights Out
Tuesday 9:15pm. Transformer blew three blocks away. Lights cut mid-sentence. Kids yell upstairs.
Kitchen black. Stairs dangerous because no light. Kids need bathroom urgently. Board game mid-play needs light to finish.
FEMA recommends flashlights accessible within 30 seconds plus backup light sources. Test your preparation right now.
FLASHLIGHT CHALLENGE: Find ALL your emergency lights in 2 minutes. Get family to help. Ready? GO! [Timer starts on click. Then count: flashlights, headlamps, lanterns, candles - everything]
Hour 0: Communication
Lights handled. Kids safe navigating house. Board game finished.
Power out citywide. Duration unknown. Phone shows 85% battery. WiFi router down because no electricity.
FEMA requires battery-powered emergency radio for NOAA weather alerts. Cell towers fail within 8 hours without backup power. Radio works when phones don't.
COMMUNICATION CHECK: Go find your emergency radio right now. What do you have?
Hour 12: Critical Systems
Wednesday noon. Power out 15 hours. Two problems emerging: temperature and food preservation.
HVAC stopped 6 hours ago. House drifting toward outside temperature. Summer: upstairs hits 82°F. Winter: house drops to 58°F. Uncomfortable within hours.
Fridge warming. Started at 38°F. After 12 hours without power reaches 42°F. Food safety threshold is 40°F. Timeline: Hour 18 reaches 45°F. Hour 24 reaches 50°F. Food unsafe for consumption.
Test your backup systems now: climate control and food preservation.
BACKUP POWER CHECK: How would you handle climate control AND keep fridge cold for 3+ days? (Select your ACTUAL capability)
Day 1: Water and Cooking
Thursday morning. Power out 36 hours. Fridge food gone. Living from pantry now: rice, pasta, beans, canned goods.
Two new problems: water security and cooking capability.
City water pressure dropping because pumping stations need electricity. Wells require electric pumps. No power equals no water within 24-48 hours.
FEMA standard: 1 gallon per person daily. Family of 4 needs 12 gallons for 3 days minimum. 28 gallons covers 7 days.
Pantry goods require cooking. Electric stove doesn't work. Microwave doesn't work. Most suburban households lack alternative cooking method.
Count your water storage and test your cooking backup right now.
WATER + COOKING INVENTORY: Total gallons of water stored (include: bottled water, containers, water heater ~40gal)? AND how would you cook rice/pasta without electricity?
Day 2-3: Neighbor Network
Saturday noon. Power out 3 days. Pattern visible across neighborhood.
Some houses humming with generators. Some dark and quiet. Some have solar panels working silently. The capability map becomes clear during extended outage.
FEMA measures county-level resilience. Terrarium measures street-level coordination. This is the missing middle layer.
Individual prep gets you through Day 2. Network coordination gets you through Day 7. The difference is relationships.
Test your actual neighbor knowledge from memory right now.
NETWORK TEST: Answer from MEMORY (don't look anything up). How many neighbors within 5 houses can you name? Do you know their capabilities (generator, tools, medical skills)?
Day 4: Coordination Practice
Monday morning. Power out 4 days. Generator fuel running low. Pantry supplies stretched. Coordination matters now.
Your neighbor has extra fuel but doesn't know you need it. This tests coordination capability.
Walk through this scenario: How would you actually arrange the exchange? Have you ever practiced coordination like this?
COORDINATION REALITY: Have you EVER coordinated resource sharing with neighbors during emergency or drill? (Be honest about actual practice vs theory)
Day 4: The Workshop House Connection
Monday afternoon. Generator making strange noise. Carburetor needs cleaning. Transfer switch connection loose.
Power House needs Workshop House. Equipment without maintenance capability degrades. Someone who can repair, troubleshoot, fabricate - they're the missing half of power infrastructure.
The symbiosis: Power House provides energy during outages. Workshop House maintains equipment, fixes problems, fabricates solutions. Together: sustained capability.
Who's the Workshop House in your neighborhood? Who would you call if your generator failed?
WORKSHOP HOUSE CHECK: Who in your neighborhood has repair capability for power equipment?
Day 4: Network Topology
By Day 4, the capability map is visible. Who has power. Who has water. Who has communication. Who's coordinating.
This map existed before the outage - you just couldn't see it. Now you can.
Who else in your neighborhood has what you need? Who needs what you have?
NETWORK MAP: What do you know about your neighbors' power capabilities? (Check all you know)
Day 5-7: Extended Duration
Thursday morning. Power out 5 days. Most households planned for 3 days (FEMA minimum). Extended outages expose preparation depth.
Generator fuel exhausted for most. Pantry running low. Hygiene supplies stretched. Kids restless.
Week-long outages separate groups: unprepared struggling, prepared managing, coordinated thriving.
Assess your realistic extended capability right now.
DURATION CHECK: Honestly - how many total days could you sustain current comfort without resupply? (Think: food, water, power fuel, sanitation, all combined)
Scenario Complete: Investment Priority
Power returned. Week-long outage revealed capability map across neighborhood.
One generator powered 3 fridges on rotation. One propane heater made warming center for 5 families. One ham radio coordinated daily check-ins.
Not everyone needs generator. Not everyone needs propane. Not everyone needs radio. But somebody needs each thing.
Coordination makes individual capability serve 3-5x more people. Three prepared households supporting 15 through practiced coordination.
This is actual resilience: not bunkers. Not hoarding. Just capability scaling across households through relationships.
FEMA baseline plus Terrarium network coordination equals suburban resilience that works.