I grew up in Pakistan. We had more days with blackouts than without, and there were often multiple per day. Everything in this post checks out (except we had a diesel generator, not gasoline, which is easier to improvise fuel for). Incidentally, Pakistan has been in a Cold War-ish situation with India for over twenty years, so we had lots of flour in the basement, and we had on-site water tanks (as opposed to tap water).
I grew up in Pakistan. We had more days with blackouts than without, and there were often multiple per day. Everything in this post checks out (except we had a diesel generator, not gasoline, which is easier to improvise fuel for). Incidentally, Pakistan has been in a Cold War-ish situation with India for over twenty years, so we had lots of flour in the basement, and we had on-site water tanks (as opposed to tap water).