Having a credit/debit card in that situation wouldn't help you either. If power is down, then so are the payment terminals and likely also the ATMs. Cash is t

Having a credit/debit card in that situation wouldn't help you either. If power is down, then so are the payment terminals and likely also the ATMs. Cash is the only option in that scenario and the prepared take cash out in advance, which you can do with either a card or mobile phone in many countries these days.