http://lucianne.com/threads2.asp?artnum=65694

Total power outages in many large N. American cities now happening (04:57 EST), including NY City.

Hope our board members in the stricken cities have their urban supplies on their person: light, cash, etc.

Any affected folks from this board, please post your experiences from today's events.

I just sat down and noticed my e-mail box with 200 messages from the NANOG list (north american network operators group, they are the guys that sit in control centers and make the internet work, I was about 1/2 hour ahead of the national news on sept 11th because everyone started asking why their equipement in the world trade center quit responding)
Seems the Niagara-Mohawk power grid went down and other power plants and transformers are being overloaded as well due to thier extra load, reports of transformers blowing and equipment blowing from the repeated power cycles and or surges and brownouts. I have been carrying a Mag Solitaire flashlight for about 5 years because I would be in big buildings from time to time and they get dark when the lights go out and there are a lot of places without emergency lights. A year or two ago I added a two AAA minimag since the little solitaire doesn;t put out much light and has a short run time. Now I just need to get a generator for the house.
I'm wondering what will be the death toll from the heat or from no AC and or riots and such that may break out.

Hmmm...hope folks take a moment or two to step outside and enjoy looking at the sky without all the light pollution, get a good look at the Milky Way etc.

Wishing the best for everyone impacted by the event.

What normally takes me 90 minutes to get home each night took 3 hours tonight. Highways and roads in and out of Toronto, Ontario were nothing short of a nightmare.

Line ups at gas stations were stretching down most streets.

The temperature in southern Ontario today was extremely hot and the humidity, or heat index for the Americans, was pushing temps well into the mid to high 90's.

Contrary to most reports, NOT all of southern Ontario was in the dark. A certain area, which has their hydro supplied by The Nanticoke Generating Station on Lake Erie, seen no interruptions in electricity (luckily I'm within this small area).

I passed no intersections with operational stoplights. Only one intersection actually had a Police officer directing the traffic.

Some reports now are saying certain areas could be without hydro for up to 2 days.

It has not been a fun day.

This blackout brings to mind a few things. Traffic is serious because signal lights are out, water is tough to get because of the lack of pumps. While in a city we all take light for granted, street lights, traffic signals, etc. Sounds like I need to beef up my EDC stuff to include a better light source and more water. I always take a backpack around with me, to and from work and keep it in the office. My PDA will not be very useful in an emergency! I need water bottles and a good light source! A 4"AA" headlight for me and minimum of 2L of water!!
All the best to everyone enduring the blackouts!!

If you would like an indicator of the blackout's effect, just look at our 'whos online' feature. I just counted 5 regulars and 25 guests. I have no doubt Major SurplusNSurvival is throwing together another blackout kit. Groups with agendas; alternative power, less restrictions on fossil fuel extraction,progun-nogun are gearing up lobbying efforts. Meanwhile lots of folks are struggling with or without what they have tonight. Lets pray for all and be "equipped"for the increase in forum traffic.

While I am not in the affected area, I make note of the fact that the kit I carry in my car and the items I carry on my person would have greatly aided me if I were in the North East. This kind of event really makes the case for this board.

One thing to keep in mind: no electricity may mean no news.
No computers. No TV, certainly. The man or woman
with a functioning radio will be very popular. There were reports
of Cell Phones being non-functional due to no power to
repeater towers. Got batteries?

Werty called this one about a week ago didn't he <img src="images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" /> Seriously though, hope everyone's ok. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go double check all my batteries

Closely watching what's happening back East. Here in So. California, land of earthquakes and riots, a lot us are prepared. I think I'd have done okay if the East Coast scenario occured here.

Hope this is useful to somebody. And I'm open to suggestions, if I missed anything.
1. 15 flashlights in my house and car, half of them long lived, battery stretching, non-bulb burning, LED types. Two of them are headlamps, very convenient for freeing up hands. Three are ARC LS's and three ARC AAA's, perfect for pocket carry.
2. A box full of D, C, AA, AAA batteries.
3. No generator, too expensive, but I have two inverters that can convert car battery power into AC, about 500 watts worth, enough to power a TV and a few lights. I'll loan a hundred watts to my two neighbors in exchange for gasoline to keep my car battery charged. Can recharge cell phones and operate a laptop..
4. A box of rechargable C, AA and AAA NMHi batteries. I can recharge these from the car battery using my inverters and my 1 hour Ray-O-Vac charger.
5. I also have a Brunton solar charger, as my last ditch power source to recharge my AA batteries, though they are limited to charging 4 AA batteries per day.
7. I recently bought adapters to convert AAA cells into AA, AA cells into C, and C cells into D cells.
8. Half a dozen battery powered battery powerd radios of various sizes.
9. One 2" TV powered by 5 AA cells, with AC adapter to run from my car battery+inverter.
10. 2 cases of MRE's, a lot of food on hand, and at least 10 gallons of bottled water.

I work at the airport on swing shift so I routinely carry lights. If I'd been stuck at work, I'd have access to at least 12 flashlights. The ARC LS and ARC AAA in my pockets, a Surefire E2e in my attache, a couple cheap mini-LED light also in my attache. I also have three AA lights in my locker. I have a half dozen AA batteries, four CR123 cells, a half dozen AAA's. The office supply cabinet contains a box of AA cells, and our department emergency kit has a D cell light and two cases of MRE's and at least 40 gallons of water, and I keep a couple AA to D cell adapters. If I can reach my car, I have a Surefire G-2, a Zipka headlamp, and a couple cheapo AA lights and C cell light. Also, two miniature, battery radios, one of them in my car.

I sound smug now because I spent time, money, and studying this web site to be in my position, but I know not to be too confident, because events don't always follow my pre-planned scenarios.