# Dark Grid Prep · When the grid goes dark, your family is ready. > Source: https://darkgridprep.cc/ Grid-down preparedness for American families ## Be ready when the grid goes dark Plain, sourced guides on EMP, long blackouts, collapse and unrest, and what a family does about each one. [Browse the eight sections](/topics) [Read the latest articles](/articles) 1 gal water per person per day 48 hrs a full freezer stays cold 20 ft generator to any window 8 sections to prepare by ### Eight sections, one household plan [ Threats and scenarios EMP, solar storms, long blackouts, economic collapse and unrest: what each one breaks, and how fast. ](/threats) [ Grid-down living Light, heat, cooling, water, sanitation and safety in a house with the power off for days or weeks. ](/grid-down) [ Stockpiling What to stock, how much per person, which corners of an ordinary house hold it, and how to use it up before it goes bad. ](/stockpiling) [ Home defense and security Hardening doors and windows, layered security, keeping a low profile and protecting your family when help is slow. ](/home-defense) [ Bug-out and evacuation When to stay and when to go, what goes in the bags, which vehicle, which route, and where the family meets. ](/bug-out) [ Communications Radios, licenses and a written plan for reaching each other when cell towers and the internet go quiet. ](/communications) [ Medical when help is delayed Stopping bleeding, a kit for injuries, medications and sanitation for when the ambulance is not coming soon. ](/medical) [ Family emergency plans The written plan: who does what, where everyone meets, kids, older parents, pets, documents and drills. ](/family-plan) ### Latest articles [Every article, newest first](/articles) [ ](/grid-down/carbon-monoxide-safety-during-power-outage) #### [Carbon monoxide safety when the power is out ](/grid-down/carbon-monoxide-safety-during-power-outage) Where the generator goes, which heaters and grills poison a house, how to keep CO alarms working with the grid down, and what to do when one sounds. 10 Nov 2026 [ ](/stockpiling/how-much-cash-to-keep-at-home-for-emergency) #### [How much cash to keep at home for an emergency ](/stockpiling/how-much-cash-to-keep-at-home-for-emergency) Size the cash your household needs when ATMs and card readers lose power: a two-week formula, which bills to hold, where to hide them and the insurance limit. 10 Nov 2026 [ ](/threats/emp-vs-solar-flare) #### [EMP vs solar storm: what each would do to your house ](/threats/emp-vs-solar-flare) A solar storm wrecks grid transformers but spares an unplugged phone or car. A nuclear EMP can hit the grid and your home electronics at once. How to prepare for each. 9 Nov 2026 [ ](/communications/frs-vs-gmrs-vs-ham-radio) #### [FRS vs GMRS vs ham radio for your family ](/communications/frs-vs-gmrs-vs-ham-radio) FRS needs no license and reaches a mile or two. GMRS needs one inexpensive license with no exam and covers your relatives. Ham takes an exam and reaches farthest. 9 Nov 2026 [ ](/grid-down/safe-indoor-heaters-for-power-outages) #### [Safe indoor heaters for a power outage, and the ones that kill ](/grid-down/safe-indoor-heaters-for-power-outages) Which heaters can warm a house with the grid down (electric on a generator, indoor-rated propane, K-1 kerosene, a wood stove) and which ones fill it with carbon monoxide. 9 Nov 2026 [ ](/bug-out/bug-in-vs-bug-out) #### [Bug in or bug out: how to decide before you have to ](/bug-out/bug-in-vs-bug-out) Stay home unless water, fire, toxic air or an evacuation order makes the house the danger. The triggers, the questions and the prep that let you decide in minutes. 8 Nov 2026 ### Why prepare at all Most of what this site covers starts the same way: the power goes out and does not come back on schedule. It might be an ice storm, a heat wave that overloads the grid, a hurricane, a wildfire shutoff, a cyberattack on a utility, or the rarer events preppers talk about, a high-altitude EMP or a severe solar storm. Inside the house, the first days look alike. The refrigerator warms, the well pump stops or city water pressure drops, gas stations cannot pump, card readers go dark and the pharmacy cannot fill a prescription. Families who come through that well usually did three cheap things ahead of time. They stored water and food they already eat. They wrote down a plan everyone in the house knows. And they thought about security before a stranger walked up the driveway. Everything else on this site builds on those three. We write for households, mostly in the suburbs and the country, where the house is the plan and leaving is the backup. If you are starting from nothing, read [grid-down living](/grid-down) and [stockpiling](/stockpiling) first, then sit down with your family and work through [the family plan](/family-plan). How we work ### Sourced and honest about guesswork #### We cite what you can check Quantities, distances and safety rules come from public sources such as [Ready.gov](https://www.ready.gov/kit), FEMA, the CDC and the Red Cross, and we link them where we use them. #### We label the speculation No agency publishes a household EMP checklist. When advice is reasoning from official guidance rather than the guidance itself, the article says so. #### We do not invent stories Our writers do not claim to have lived through a collapse or field-tested every product. Read the [editorial policy](/editorial-policy) and [how we make money](/how-we-make-money). --- [ ](/) Dark Grid Prep is a survival magazine for American families who want to be ready when the grid, the economy or the supply chain fails: the threats (EMP, long blackouts, collapse, civil unrest), and how a household plans, stockpiles, communicates and secures its home through them. [newsroom@darkgridprep.cc](mailto:newsroom@darkgridprep.cc) ### Prepare * [Threats and scenarios](/threats) * [Grid-down living](/grid-down) * [Stockpiling](/stockpiling) * [Home defense](/home-defense) ### Plan * [Bug-out and evacuation](/bug-out) * [Communications](/communications) * [Medical](/medical) * [Family emergency plans](/family-plan) * [All articles](/articles) * [All topics](/topics) ### About us * [About](/about) * [Authors](/authors) * [Editorial policy](/editorial-policy) * [How we make money](/how-we-make-money) * [Contact](/contact) * [Terms](/terms) * [Privacy](/privacy) © Dark Grid Prep. Written for American families getting ready for grid-down emergencies. Some links may earn us a commission. It never decides what we write. [How we make money](/how-we-make-money)