This week, a devastating storm struck Houston, lasting only about 30 minutes but causing significant damage to the infrastructure. Buildings collapsed, and power line towers were brought down, creating substantial stress for Houstonians. However, working in a data center, I haven’t really felt the impact. Our facility is equipped with redundant power backups and generators, allowing a smooth transition from utility power to backup power. As a result, I haven’t experienced the severe weather or blackouts as much as others in the city.

While I am sympathetic to the destruction and inconvenience, it is intriguing to observe the situation from the perspective of someone relatively unaffected. Driving around town, seeing stores in pitch-black darkness, signals a lack of preparedness. Although the power grid in Texas is generally holding up, the loss of electricity in certain parts of Houston highlights the difference between those who are prepared and those who are not. Food has become scarce, and today marks the third day without power for some areas.

If the outage weren’t confined to smaller parts of town, people would be struggling to survive. Gas stations have reverted to cash-only transactions, rendering credit cards less useful. In such scenarios, Bitcoin or other peer-to-peer bartering systems become impractical. This situation underscores the importance of carrying cash and highlights the critical need for survival thinking during times of zero electricity.