I keep seeing more stories like this one. It's a bit unnerving, and there doesn't seem to be any simple fixes. Best to be prepared, I guess.



Just about three weeks ago, I did a piece headlined: “Will You Survive the Coming Blackout?”

On the heels of this weekend’s mini-blackout in New York City, this is not about “See, I told you so!” but is about reminding people that a large and sustained blackout could and would cripple much of society as we know it – and it could and would have a devastating impact upon our very lives, and survival.

Such a blackout is coming. It is only a matter of time.

Again, leaving aside the growing threats of cyber and terrorist attacks upon our power grid, the fact of the matter is that much of our grid is antiquated junk desperately in need of billions of dollars in repair. Antiquated infrastructure which unfortunately, is connected to other outdated infrastructure.

Sometimes, the slighted bump to our ancient electrical power infrastructure triggers a chain reaction power loss which spreads in seconds and leaves millions of people literally in the dark and much worse.

In 2003, a tree branch fell on a power line in Ohio and, instantly, over 50 million people in the United States and Canada were hit with cascading blackouts.

A tree branch.

These weather-related events happen every single day in the United States and collectively cause multiple blackouts to our very old, very weak, and very vulnerable infrastructure.

The mini-blackout in New York City affected about 73,000 people. Because it hit parts of midtown Manhattan, some of the city’s top tourist attractions and hot-spots went dark. Including Madison Square Garden in the middle of a Jennifer Lopez concert.

Because of all of that, it became live national and international news for a few hours.

Then, power was restored and most people have already forgotten about it. No big deal.

Except...it is actually a massive deal.

While I have no connection -- financial or otherwise -- to any industry associated with this issue, my background in government and pure common sense tells me that the power outage in New York City is a red warning flag of what is to come on a larger scale and must be seen that way. It is inevitable and it is only a matter of time.

You have to make a plan to protect yourself and your family. It is irresponsible not to do so. Because when a massive blackout does hit, you will be entirely on your own. No one will be riding to your rescue.

Leaving aside a bird landing on a frayed wire, or a large branch falling on a decrepit transformer, cyber-terrorists are targeting our infrastructure multiple times per day. Often, hundreds of times per day.

And whether they are from China, Russia, North Korea, rogue terrorists or even criminal extortionist groups, they are getting exponentially better with each passing day.

This is not a game, and it’s not a plot out of a Hollywood movie. The U.S. government is shocked at the progress these bad “Cyber-Actors” are making and know we are not remotely prepared to defend ourselves at the moment.

When a massive blackout does hit – and it will – in literally one second, you can lose access to your money, food, gasoline, communication, medicine, medical attention, heat, air conditioning, and…security.

You must have a survival kit prepared. One that includes water, non-perishable food, medicine, first-aid-kits, batteries, radios, flashlights, candles, a hand-crank charger, cash, and smaller versions of all for your vehicle and office.

The mini-blackout in New York City was not a minor inconvenience. It was a major warning.

The only question now is: Who will see it that way?



https://www.foxnews.com/opinio...e-blackout-is-coming

I can skin a buck and run a trotline......

The problem with the NY City electrical grip is that it's ancient and ineffective. This is not the first time and it won't be the last they suffer these blackouts.

^^^^
Yep I remember mom talking about this back when she was young (living in Boston).

The Northeast Blackout of 1965

Blackouts (power outages) of any scale, while there are plenty of notable major ones, have been an issue since power was invented. This reads like a conspiracy theory with all the paranoia of potential catalysts but without the conspiracy.

If its a call to prepare, then prepare to live a life without power. I guess growing up in the hurricanes and ice storms oF the south with plenty of consecutive days without power, i have a good sense of the life-altering potentiality. Heck, my power has gone out thrice in the last month, albeit only for 30-60 minutes. Also, The “no one is coming to your rescue” seems a bit deep into the paranoia as we had plenty of friends, neighbors, and family who had power, generators, fuel, or other necessities all willing to share and balance out the needs, wants, and emergencies as soon as the incident lasted any length of time.

Maybe the nearly-over-the-top feel of the article is necessary to reach people who would brush this off as a one-time thing. Ill agree it should almost be treated as normal or at least an eventuality: your power will go out. But having some common sense and basic prep makes it seem like a lot less of a sky-is-falling scenario. Then again, i dont live in a city like NYC. Perhaps rhats the target audience gere, where im sure any length of outage there would be a potentially bigger change for residents.

Well I'm thoroughly scared shitless. I wouldn't consider that news. Power interruptions have happened since Tesla Vs Edison. They won't stop and there is no amount of money that you could throw at it to stop it.

Number one thing you can do to protect yourself is not live in NYC. Number two, keep supplies on hand.

We will be hit with transmission problems as well as likely terrorism, hacking, and/or state sponsored. We will lose power one day no way around it. If it's more than two weeks in a place like NYC, I hope you have a good amount of ammo on hand and a vehicle.

quote:

Originally posted by mbinky:
^^^^
Yep I remember mom talking about this back when she was young (living in Boston).

The Northeast Blackout of 1965

I was 12, living in CT when that one happened. We lived in a rural area so it was an inconvenience but not that big of a deal.
NYC and other cities had major disruptions.
We survived.

"Falling the sky is."

Chicken Yoda

The time of year can play a huge part in the inherent danger of a long term blackout. Summer in urban areas would be a complete nightmare in all but the most northern cities.

Everyone should have several days of food that won’t spoil without power and potable water at their disposal. We keep a minimum of 6-35 bottle cases of water and have lifestraws for the whole family for extended emergencies.

Blackouts are a much larger problem for folks in urban areas; most even semi-prepared people in suburban to the sticks are better off on almost every front.

We have a propane range that runs off standard 17 lb tanks. They typically last for 2-3 months with moderate use, and I keep 3 on hand, plus the BBQ grill as emergency backup. Then there is the camping stove and about 8 1 lb cans, and an adapter for the 17 lb tanks.

If I have to resort to salt for curing, the softening system has about 200 dry lbs at any given time.

Guns and loaded ammo are a given and reloading supplies are on hand for several thousand more.

I also have a feeling that a vast majority on this forum are way ahead of the curve.

None of what is in the article causes much distress.

After Harvey, my neighborhood didn't have power for two weeks. Somehow there wasn't mass hysteria and blood running in the streets.

Most of Houston was without power for at least a few days.

quote:

Originally posted by maladat:
After Harvey, my neighborhood didn't have power for two weeks. Somehow there wasn't mass hysteria and blood running in the streets.

Most of Houston was without power for at least a few days.

What is your population density? I'm guessing it's not 30,000+ per square mi?. Major cities rely on a lot of shit going right 98% of the time to function.

quote:

Originally posted by Skins2881:

quote:

Originally posted by maladat:
After Harvey, my neighborhood didn't have power for two weeks. Somehow there wasn't mass hysteria and blood running in the streets.

Most of Houston was without power for at least a few days.

What is your population density? I'm guessing it's not 30,000+ per square mi?. Major cities rely on a lot of shit going right 98% of the time to function.

Sorry, I misspoke. I meant Ike, not Harvey.

Houston is not especially dense, but the greater Houston area still has seven million people.

After Ike, more than two million homes and businesses were without power in the Houston area, most for days or weeks. Literally 99% of Centerpoint Energy's (the power grid operator) end users in Houston were without power.

The article in the OP is about an outage that affected 73,000 people for a much shorter amount of time, and it is using it as an example to raise awareness about blackouts in general, not blackouts exclusively in NYC. The outage in Houston after Ike was literally almost 100 times that size.

This guy's just a little >< late with his "sky is gonna fall" prediction, being as there have already been large outages in the NE U.S. in 2003 and 1965. The former had large areas without power for up to a week. IIRC, we were on our generator for 4-5 days.

It occurred on the 42nd anniversary of the 1977 NYC blackout.

I was driving home from work during that one. No traffic lights working, it was one hell of a drive as I recall.

A great deal of looting and rioting went on.

quote:

Originally posted by Skins2881:

quote:

Originally posted by maladat:
After Harvey, my neighborhood didn't have power for two weeks. Somehow there wasn't mass hysteria and blood running in the streets.

Most of Houston was without power for at least a few days.

What is your population density? I'm guessing it's not 30,000+ per square mi?. Major cities rely on a lot of shit going right 98% of the time to function.

I live in Fort Lauderdale and after 2 hurricanes. The last one in 2017 and Wilma in 2005, was without power for 14 days the last time and 21 days after Wilma. We make do. Neighbors help neighbors and loan out generators for a few hours to plug in the refrigerator or throw an extension cord over the back yard fence. Some gas stations and stores have generators. It's not easy, but when you have no choice, it's not that terrible. There's 3.5 million people here in about 20 square miles.

When a storm is coming, I'm always prepared. Have at least 3- 40 bottle cases of water, at least 1.5 full propane bottles at a time......a couple of bags of charcoal......coolers.....normally on hand. When a storm is coming I make sure my vehicle is full and have at least 20 gallons of gas on hand. I bought a 1500/2000 watt generator this year, just in case.....all I really need is the ability to keep the refrigerator cold.....running it 4-6 hours a day, and possibly some lights for a few hours...….without chewing through a bunch of gas.

read this: The Grid: The Fraying Wires Between Americans and Our Energy Future, Gretchen Bakke, Ph.D. 2016.

The fact is, it's always going to be something. We forget how fragile our world actually is.

All we can do is make the preparations we feel are prudent.

Of course, a huge asteroid or a big enough solar burp and all of us are done.

I am basically prepared for a couple of weeks, although I need to increase my water storage. I would also love to increase my solar power options but that's going to have to wait.

While the aging infrastructure is a big problem, the biggest and most costly issue with the electric grid and other public utilities is Cyber Security. Someone is always testing the waters to see how far they can get in and what they can potentially do. If something is connected to the digital world, it is not 100% secure. You can only mitigate the risk. Analog is the way to go.

Well the illustrious Comrade DiBlasio called in from Iowa to check if everything was ok.
You know running for the Nomination is SO Much More important!

I didn't realize it was only 72K people. All that coverage for 72K people...they really do think that NYC is the center of the universe.

"MSM Manhattan myopia on full view over the weekend"

Yes, I am being a curmudgeon here. And yes, losing electric power for a few hours is inconvenient. But the huge coverage given to a power outage in Manhattan Saturday revealed the incredible narcissism of our media overlords there. Fox News blew off Judge Jeanine’s Saturday night show – which she calls the weekend ratings champion of the channel every week – in favor of wall-to-wall coverage of 72,000 customers losing their electricity.

If 72,000 customers in Cincinnati or central Alabama had lost their power, it might merit a mention on the national news, if nothing else noteworthy were going on.

But let it happen to the burg where the media folk live and it is a full-blown national crisis, driving other news to the sidelines as we all worry about Manhattanites maybe stuck in elelvators.

OK, sure it was the 42nd anniversary of another blackout that resulted in widespread looting. But thanks to what the progressives derisively call “mass incarceration” and enforcement of the “broken windows” approach to prosecuting criminals for even minor offences, indicating that criminality is not tolerated, there was no outbreak of looting. Thanks, Rudy Giuliani – you made a long-lasting difference.

OK, some focus on that point would have been worthwhile. But I saw none of that coverage.

This narcissism is a contributing factor in the widespread resentment of our elites.

https://www.americanthinker.co...ver_the_weekend.html