A portable battery booster, also called a power bank, is a smart idea when you need to be away from an electrical outlet for a while or if the power goes out in your area. Make sure these backup battery packs are charged when you need them. They can hold a charge for a couple of months, so top them off every so often.

Prices start at about $30 for a brand-name battery. Keep in mind that the higher the milliamp hours (mAh), the more times the battery can charge a smartphone. Some have more than one USB port to plug into in case you want to juice up two phones simultaneously, or a phone plus a tablet or wireless earbuds.

Use your car’s USB port or 12-volt port to charge your devices during a power outage. But unplug them whenever you turn the car off so they won’t drain the vehicle’s battery.

The Duracell 800 Watt High Power Inverter ($129.99), which can jump-start your car’s dead battery., is also helpful in an emergency Plus it houses two electrical outlets and one USB port to convert your car’s battery current into electricity that your devices can use. Another Duracell model can add air to your tires, too. Bestek, Maxpart, Potek and Ysolx make similar inverters.

Make sure your home is protected

Storm-related power outages can significantly increase the chance for a house fire or carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning, says Stephanie Berzinski, fire safety educator at Kidde, a manufacturer of fire safety products named after founder Walter Kidde, a pioneer in early smoke detection and suppression. “At home, be sure to have working battery-operated carbon monoxide and smoke alarms as well as fire extinguishers before a storm strikes,” Berzinski says.

Portable generators, candles and downed power lines all pose a risk. The Consumer Product Safety Commission says deaths involving portable generators have been on the rise since 1999, when they became widely available to consumers. The majority of these occur as a result of using a generator inside a home or attached garage.

Kidde’s Smoke + Carbon Monoxide Alarm + Indoor Air Quality Monitor ($128.99) is billed as the first all-in-one smart home safety device to integrate smoke and CO detection with indoor air quality monitoring, to detect multiple airborne threats to home health and safety. The Wi-Fi-enabled and smart speaker-supported device includes a 10-year lithium backup battery in the event of a power outage.

Battery based generators, such as a line from Anker portable battery company, often have emergency lighting and optional solar-powered attachments that can charge up or run virtually any device during an emergency or when you’re off the grid, such as when camping or RVing.

Branded as PowerHouse products, they’re also ideal if you live in an apartment, where a gas generator is not an option, and can power lights, laptops, medical equipment such as a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machine, and small appliances . The Anker PowerHouse 521 ($219.99) offers two three-prong electrical outlets, a car socket and multiple USB ports. EcoFlow, Jackery, Shell and Bluetti offer similar products.

And consider a hand-crank and solar-powered radio, like the Etón FRX3+ Multi-Powered Weather Alert Radio ($59.99), which features an AM/FM digital radio, all seven National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and Environment Canada weather bands, and a function that broadcasts emergency weather alerts. The hand turbine and small solar panel keep it charged during emergencies; it also takes batteries.

The FRX3+ has a USB port to charge a smartphone, an LED flashlight, an emergency red LED flashing beacon, an alarm clock, a headphone jack and more. Esky, FosPower, Kayinuo and Puiuisoul have similar products.

This story, originally published Feb. 7, 2022, was updated to reflect developments in technology associated with disaster preparedness.