"The Norwegian information also talks about how to survive for three days without power"
I mean canned food etc is useful but you wouldn't even die from starvation if you stood outside for that amount of time.
I mean canned food etc is useful but you wouldn't even die from starvation if you stood outside for that amount of time.
I don't know anyone that doesn't have a proper winter coat, gloves, boots, hat and so on. Inside, you're away from the biting wind, and the elements.
It's literally not problem unless you're very sick.
You can actually put on more than one shirt too. If it's super cold, you can put on more than one pair of pants. You can put on more than one pair of socks.
If you're strange and your bed doesn't have blankets, you can put clothes over your bed. Most people have 5 to 10 pairs of pants, and a dozen shirts, a few sweaters. Put those on when awake + your winter coat. Put those clothes on the bed when sleeping. Works like a charm.
Cold typically isn't when at home. That why I have this reaction. You can just put on more and more clothes. There are ways to keep warm. Most deaths from cold are outside, where there are no supplies.
Is there an actual solution recommended by the respective governments for this or was the problem reformulated into keeping one or more persons warm instead?
Outside you need to add something to insulate you from heat loss to the ground or it is colder than you would want.
Instead of rocks (I’m sure that was a joke), add closed cell insulation, like polystyrene. Five cm of that beneath you, and you will sleep warm and toasty.
Not a joke at all. If the tarp is big enough, fold it into a half tent and put rocks at each end, then cover them in snow to create a mini-wall and hold the tarp in place from wind. The tarp itself needs to point up-wind to block it. It will block the wind and new snow. If wearing the right snow clothing the only killer is wind. The snow below the tarp will be fine, again if wearing the right snow clothing. Adding layers above the tarp is great if it's an option. I was just basing that on what can be easily carried in a ruck-sack as I assume the only people sleeping outside can't afford lodging. That insulation roll can be rolled up and attached under the ruck-sack if it is small enough and/or flexible enough.
[Edit] For completeness sake, if they are homeless and do not have good snow clothing then the first thing they should be doing is begging, borrowing or stealing their way onto a train heading towards the equator.
Our houses are generally quite well insulated due to the climate. Government preparedness info says a modern house (~15 years old) can go four full days in -20C weather before inside temperatures drop to 5C. A typical 70s row house would drop to that after 48 hours but a 70s brick house can drop that low after just 24 hours. So depending on your house and location, the specific plan for a 3-day outage can range from "you'll be fine as long as you have blankets" to "you need a fireplace or other heater with fuel for at least a few hours a day".
I've been without power for days in the cold, and have been compelled to put on my coat... inside! Most Canadians do this, rather than trying to keep an entire house warm at -40C.
It's really a non issue.
Worried?
* Buy a few large candles. Just one provides a lot of warmth if you cup your hands around it.
* Eat more. You need 2x your calories when it is cold. Food means life in the cold.
Right, you would die of hypothermia much earlier