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I’ve been through a few significant power outages in NYC. The gas worked fine, we just lit the stove with a match. For hurricane Sandy, I made a huge pot of sou
by joemaller1 5y ago
I’ve been through a few significant power outages in NYC. The gas worked fine, we just lit the stove with a match. For hurricane Sandy, I made a huge pot of soup with most of what would spoil in the refrigerator, then boiled it every couple hours for the next several days. Family was fed, food wasn’t wasted.
A bigger problem in NYC is electric water pumps: When the power goes out, the water stops when the water tower on the roof empties. This is mostly for buildings over 5-6 stories, older buildings were somewhat height-capped by municipal water pressure. No water means no toilets. Again, people don’t seem to know that toilets use gravity, a bucket will flush them. Big storm coming? Fill the bathtubs with water.
- kibwen 5y agoNatural gas utilities rely on electricity to power their delivery infrastructure (compressors, pressure sensors, etc). If only your building is out of power, your gas will likely still work. If there's a regional power outage, then you will be in the same situation with gas as with the water issue that you mention.
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]
- nostrademons 5y agoDon't they have auxiliary power backups? I'd think that critical utilities like gas and water would invest in a few generators so that they're independent of outages in other critical utilities like electricity. Most supermarkets and offices do, and they operate on a much smaller scale. Only time I've had the water go out during a power outage was when I was in a house on well water. Otherwise, the pipes still have pressure. Gas furnaces won't work because of the blower, but the gas itself should still flow.