Having gone through a number of such experiences I welcome you to the “club”.

Very typically in the United States someone invents technology that will not be used in this country. Rather, Europe or Japan will use it. Just one example:

Our Amtrak trains are limited to 50pmh as our track is so bad that trains tend to fall off. Much of our track is still 40-foot sections of rail bolted together and on top of wooden ties. Americans invented what is called “continuous rail”, steel reinforced concrete ties and much of the technology that is in use today on the world’s fastest trains. It costs money to upgrade and we are too cheap to do so.

So typical that we heard nothing about the problems you described. It just does not sell product!



>>My feelings exactly! I can live without another Hurricane Fran experience! Once is enough in anyone's lifetime let alone 4 times... I image you've seen even more!
>
>OK, here's from VB (Virginia Beach, not what you would have thought).
>
>Good thing, we didn't see much. The tall pines around the place where we live have held. A few other trees between them lost a branch or two, but no damage in immediate vicinity. Or so we thought.
>
>The day after, we were still without power, and so were almost all places we saw. We drove around the place to see which shops would be open. Lynnhaven Mall was, but only a nail shop in it really worked - the others were closed. We never lost water; third day there was bottled water aplenty in Kroger (which was the only grocery which had power), but everywhere there was shortage of ice. Kmart was closed, but they were giving (or selling - didn't check) ice at the door.
>
>Sixth day we threw everything we had in the fridge. Even the foodstuff which is supposed to be unperishable had the stench on it. We discovered there was a layer of dirt below the bottom box, a leftover from few tennants ago (a huge minus for Linkhorn Bay appartments). Thorough washing helped partially, had to use chlorine based stuff to get rid of the rest.
>
>We eventually bought a battery radio and a simple phone, which can work without power. Radio was useless. The media darkness was better than Milosevic could have (wet) dreamed of. There was absolutely no usable information, only music, commercials, chat with listeners and parroting of official announcements. There were only few of the latter - which schools were closed and when, the schedule of the curfew for each county (without a word about the reasons for it, what are the rules, and how will they be enforced), and how many people does Virginia Power have in the field. And yes, some about traffic, here and there.
>
>No radio station had a field reporter. Only one (from NC) tried to send one to the Outer Banks, but he was not allowed there, though he had the permit. They asked for another one, which he never heard of. These guys also mentioned that there was much more looting than anyone would believe, but it's not published.
>
>We were without power for eleven days, and we're not on a farm. This is only a mile from the oceanfront. The reason is that, though the power lines are underground in this apartment complex, the lines leading to it are on poles, and some of the poles are in the waters of the nearby pond. These were felled by a tree and were lying in the water for nine days. Then a team (from North Carolina) came with a dozen vehicles and started working on it - which took two days and a half.
>
>I am still puzzled as to why are there so many power lines on poles. Back home almost all important lines are dug in, and only the local lines are in the air, so if a branch falls only a dozen houses may lose power. Besides, during the 1999 bombing, the power grid was specifically targeted several times, and it was back online in less than 12 hours first time; later, it would be back in 4-5 hours.
>
>I've heard that in Germany they are already making comments about the ancient state of power grid in USA - since every village there had their lines dug in for a couple of decades now. I asked these technicians who came to fix our power why is everything on poles. The answer I heard several times was "it's cheaper for Virginia Power".
>
>Maybe, but how much more expensive is it for everybody else? I've lost a full fridge, four working days (saved three days by working outside, pulling power from rental office and charging the laptop) and the pleasure of warm shower; but think of this multiplied by 1.8 million people, businesses which couldn't open for days, damage in traffic when the lights weren't working,... and at last and least, the countless hours of TV commercials which weren't seen by potential consumers.