Maybe I am a little too optimistic in my assessment.
Katrina was much more than just a power outage. Clearly that contributed to the problems greatly. But the flooding, destruction, and isolation played a big role in that. Had it just been power, they would not have had to evacuate anyone. There still would have been deaths attributable to the lack of power, of course, but nothing like what happened.
What things do you see as the killers from power loss? The biggest I see is the panic. Back in Y2K, I was not worried at all about the predicted collapse, but the reaction people would have to it.
Depends on the scale. A temporary localized outage, kind of cool/ fun... lots of babies conceived & hangovers from some unexpected time off drinking with the neighbors or family (for some).
On a large scale our ability to transport & pump fuel along with preserving food is big. Communication for emergency services as well.
On a macro scale (nationwide) I know of almost no ones' business who could run if there was a lengthy power interruption... so there goes the economy, from Wall Street to mainstreet usa.
It just goes on & on.
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