Speak for yourself. I and most of the 8 million residents in NYC do not own cars. I remember the great blackout of 2003 which blanketed most of the Northeast of the U.S. The reason I even knew it was a serious happening was because I was down on the sidewalk and ONE driver who had a car parked by the curb turned up his radio for many of us to gather around and listen. The streets weren't flooded with drivers going to their cars to check out the news reports.
As for cellphones, that recent nationwide public emergency test, neither of my two phones got the alert. Many others I know didn't get the alert either.
Again, back to the Northeast blackout, I remember trying to save what little power my cellphone had to call, email or text my family members I was okay and to find out how they were. That was my priority. I didn't want to waste the power I had on constantly checking for news updates for something that was lasting days. Cellphone batteries do drain down even when not in use. The blackout lasted four days. Most cellphone batteries do not last that long unless fully turned off.
I had to climb a number of flights of stairs in my highrise, loaded down with bags of food, using up precious power for my cellphone's flashlight. My building's emergency backup stairwell lights didn't kick on. (Which was probably against fire department codes.) That's why I got the hand crank flashlights back then right afterward, so I wouldn't needlessly use my cellphone's battery.
To this day, I set up all my cellphones with the flashlight icon immediately accessible in the top right corner of all my phones.
Nowadays, with smartphones, most people around here do not conserve and save their cellphone battery at full power in case of some potential national emergency. We USE our smartphones for anything from Zoom/Facetime meetings, constant texts to & from multiple people, reading & updating emails and sending reports. Taking multiple photos or videos. Some read ebooks or listen to audiobooks or music. Some play games or watch movies while commuting or waiting in lines. And some are chatting & posting to various social media. We squeeze the juice out of our smartphones.
I work or attend large events and there are many who often ask if anyone nearby has a cell phone cable they can borrow to charge up their phones. Now, there are free cellphone charging stations set up in multiple locations all around the venues, and the majority of them are constantly filled with phones charging. Finding an empty slot can be a challenge.
I recently bought a new Samsung smartphone in which the battery now last 2 days without a charge. And yes, I USE my phone a lot more now than before. I never carry a charging cable or power bank as I don't need to.
I was even gifted a power bank at work recently. Due to this thread, I pulled it out of the box for the first time, charged it up last night to see how long it holds a charged while not being used, before needing to be charged again. But, that's not something I'm going to keep plugging in just for potential emergencies.
Years ago, emergency supplies of batteries had to be replaced every year or so as they drained down even while not in use. I do have a set of newer emergency rechargeable batteries to power my emergency lanterns & other devices. (Most new rechargeable & regular alkaline batteries say they hold a charge of about 80% for about 5 years while not in use,) yet I still have it on my Google calendar to recharge them twice a year, before hurricane season and winter nor'easter season. I don't want my emergency lanterns giving off only the power of nightlights or barely lasting a couple nights.
Getting a solar power bank I can place in my window, first thing during the next power outage, so it starts charging at dawn, so I can keep my smartphones & tablet charged up and use it for my rechargeable battery charger (which works via a USB cable,) makes sense for MY needs. The hand cranking part, I will skip.
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