Hi - longtime lurker, first-time poster.
First, I want to thank everyone here at ETS - some really great ideas have come through here, and I'm glad for every preparation I took that was suggested here - Doug, Chris and all the usual suspects, this site and your input amounts to a real service to a lot of people.
I was in a subway train when power went out - luckily, aboveground. As the delay went on, people began muttering and trying to make cell phone calls. Almost no one could get through (those with Sprint seemed to get through) and that's when my EDC stuff started to pay off. On my radio I heard WNYC begin reporting (about 10 minutes into it) that power outages were hitting Manhattan. 1010 WINS - a huge East Coast AM news station - was off the air for more than an hour. People started piecing together the news - there were concerns of terrorism, etc., especially when news came that the outages were widespread.
The conductor had info that it was a power outage within about 10 minutes, and reminded folks to not attempt to get off the train yet. The people on the train remained calm, joking a bit, although most people were a bit uneasy. Those who got through on their phones would tell any news they heard, I told what bits I heard off the radio. It took about 45 minutes for them to begin leading us off the train - luckily, we were still aboveground and in daylight, and the last car was still touching the platform, so we didn't have to walk on the tracks.
The problem was, there was no power inside the station (we were about 5 or 6 stories above street level - F train at Smith and 9th) and it was pitch black on the stairs - no emergency lights were on. That's when EDC helped again - an Arc LS. I could illuminate all the way down one of the LONG stairway/escalator flights. Several people were using keychain lights, a few had Minimags or the like with them, and a couple of us stationed ourselves to guide folks down. I went back up, and about a dozen people were still milling about on the platform, trying to call on the pay phone or waiting for the next train. I finally convinced the last few stragglers there wouldn't be another train and that we should go together because there wasn't any light. My backup Arc AAA went to one member of the last group going down the stairs and we all got down OK.
People were generally helpful...it was a long walk home through Brooklyn, and cellphones weren't working for calls within the city, but I did get ahold of my folks in Ohio and told them I was fine (before they knew there was a problem). Couldn't reach my wife on the phone, or the daycare, so I walked into downtown Brooklyn, to confirm folks had left where my wife worked, then back the way I came to get home. In Carroll Gardens area (and other places closer to Prospect Park) people were occasionally doing impromptu traffic direction duty. Right in downtown, there were a lot of police around and things were generally civil. As I got further away from downtown, there were fewer police, the larger streets were more choked with traffic, which had been without traffic signals for something approaching two hours at that point, and tempers were more in evidence. The sidewalks were packed down Flatbush Ave. headed toward Prospect Park...stores were mostly closed, hardware stores had lines out the front, and they would let one person in at a time as one left, while other stores sold cold water out of coolers from their unlocked basement steps.
Near my house, people were barbecuing, and I actually met neighbors I'd only been on nodding acquaintance with. I lent a flashlight to our new downstairs neighbors who were still unpacking, and checked on our other neighbors, who were doing fine.
So, lessons learned: I will now EDC spare batteries - my radio was running down, cellphone was almost dead by the time I got home (got ahold of my wife about 40 minutes before I made it home - she'd walked straight home the moment it happened, and picked up our son only 15 minutes late). If I'd spent longer in the dark - if the train had been underground instead of aboveground, I might have run out of light. Our water was uninterrupted, but I'm going to look into a lot more water storage than I have, just in case (I have several gallons stashed here and there in old 2-liter bottles). I'm looking at Reliance Jumbotainers - manageable to carry short distances, good handles, don't take up too much room per volume. Also, someone had suggested water bottles 2/3 filled in the freezer - another very good idea - keep it cool, leave you with water as they melt.
I will add a barbecue grill, if nothing else than at least an el cheapo, and keep a bag or two of briquets in the basement. I have ecofuel around, but we just ate sandwiches - it was getting dark when I got home and just couldn't be bothered to set it up.
EDC that worked well - having a radio, with AM/FM...I always have a 1-liter lexan bottle of water in my backpack, in a nesting metal cup. The flashlights were great - ARCs are really sturdy, the light output is killer, but I may start carrying the AA tailcap for the ARC LS, because CR123 batteries will be almost impossible to replace in another outage - but I'll also start carrying several spares for both flashlights.
I'll also look into battery-powered, LED lanterns - flashlights aren't great for sitting around the living room reading in the dark, and the semi-decorative oil wick lamp/candles we have aren't my favorite light solution, especially with a 1-year-old tottering about the place.
Once I got home, things eased back into normal - power went back on about 4:30 a.m., and as folks at worked saw morning news with someone talking about having a flashlight in their survival kit, most of my co-workers chuckled about people having survival kits. So, we're pretty much back to normal here.
Thanks for all the suggestions that helped me get home safe and (fairly) comfortably. Sorry for the incredibly long post.
Dave