Photo credit: footage of an active volcano by Pressmaster/ Pexels
What Happens When you a City Loses Internet Access for Weeks Might Surprise You
We all know that we are heavily reliant on the Internet for our every lives to function smoothly, but are usually able to cope if we run out of batteries for awhile.
But it turns into a crippling- and dangerous- situation quickly when the internet conks out for weeks on end.
Here’s what can happen, and what to do to mitigate or prevent a crisis caused by a natural disaster, based on what happened to me in Chile in 2010.
Volcano Ash Knows No Borders
At first I didn’t pay much attention to the Chilean news headlines that there had been a big volcano eruption in Ecuador because Ecuador was a few countries away. We couldn’t see any volcanic ash in the blue skies above, so it was hard to take the situation seriously.
But then the internet service became spotty and then cut out completely all over the city. And it didn’t come back online in a few hours like it usually did.
The order of events when society goes into survival mode due to a lack of Internet may surprise you.
There was no cell phone service.
The first, most noticeable thing was that no one’s cell phones worked.
It became impossible to make plans and stay in contact with people. Even some land line telephone systems went down because they used digital switched and internet based switching services.
Some businesses were unable to stay open since they couldn’t contact their staff.
The ATMS all stopped working instantly.
The people who had stuffed their mattresses were OK ( a common occurrence in Chile since bank fees and account minimum deposits are so high), but those who depended on using a credit card or bank card to pay for everything were quickly suffering and begging and borrowing money from friends and family.
After a couple of days, some business simply didn’t open, giving their employees an unexpected holiday because their computer systems were reliant on an internet connection and they didn’t have a backup plan. Paying employees to sit there and do nothing was worse than letting then stay home. Many businesses saved money by not having staff come to work, so they closed.
Within three days there were noticeably less vehicles on the road.
As vehicles ran out f gas, people couldn’t refuel their cars or motorbikes or buses or taxis or work vehicles because all the gas pumps relied on the internet to function.
The underground fuel containers were all computer controlled and sealed and couldn’t be manually opened without risk of a huge explosion.
There were no taxis or buses operating within a week.
Everyone started walking everywhere, but it became increasingly unsafe since pick pocketing, always a problem there, became rampant and common everywhere, not just in the touristy areas.
Women stopped carrying purses, and everyone started wearing money belts under their clothing. People started walking in small groups everywhere, for safety reasons. It became important to know big and strong people and those who were trained in martial arts and self defense.
Break-ins started to happen with alarming frequency since the security cameras weren’t working.
Many stores that had stayed open using paper ledgers to record cash transactions close due to people stealing off the shelves since they knew that no security cameras were working.
After two weeks, many people did not receive their paychecks since electronic banking was still not functioning. This intensified the crisis.
The banks had to revert to tracking withdrawals and deposits using paper slips. Withdrawals were limited for each person since the amount of cash in the vaults was only 10% or less of the amount of money actually on record for total deposits due to fractional banking practices. You could only take out enough cash to last a few days at a time and the lineups were a mile long and out the door. You simply had to wait in line and hope you got a turn before the bank closed for the day.
After a couple of weeks the banks organized an armoured truck convoy with its own fuel tanker to bring palettes of cash into our coastal city. It looked like a war was about to happen with all the heavily armed vehicles arriving in a parade- like convoy.
I was lucky that my employer had a lot of cash in reserve in it’s own fortified vaults and we were paid in cash. Otherwise I don’t know what I would have done.
Most people started spending 24/7 with their loved ones and formed gangs of close friends, hanging out in the most secure place amongst them.
People only went out when necessary.
Some people started off by having parties, but the alcohol quickly ran out and no liquor stores were open, so they reverted to having long live music jam parties (the Chileans are very musical and usually someone has a guitar and sings and they all sing along, which happens in a lot of Latino countries, I have discovered).
And then it turned into marathon movie sessions with those who had physical copies of movies (already downloaded or box sets) as everyone bided their time, waiting for the crisis to end.
Some people started doing arts and crafts or reading books to pass the time.
The worst thing was that no one knew what was happening outside their own house. No knowing how long the situation would last was highly stressful. It was the uncertainty, the fear of getting robbed and attacked, and the fear of running out of drinkable water and food that made tensions run high.
The food situation became very tense.
The daily markets that sold fresh fish and locally grown vegetables and fruit did a thriving trade, but they only accepted cash or posted a sign that listed the items they would accept in trade.
The vendors only allowed tabs to accumulate for trusted family and close friends, not strangers.Gold and jewelry was useless to trade with since it couldn’t be properly valued and no change could be given. Many food vendors profited greatly, accepting items like fences or acting like loan sharks.But it’s not a fair trade to use a gold necklace to pay for bread and vegetables.
People with manual scales or electric scales became very popular, as people tried to trade things by weight using barter and trade.
Soon many people couldn’t buy things. They became hungry and skirmishes and altercations increased as the tensions rose and people became desperate.
Again, I was lucky that I was living in a big house where the owner lived on the top floor and he offered to help his renters get food.
The situation dragged on and on.
People couldn’t leave the city or get into the city unless it was by boat due to the fuel shortages caused by inoperative gas pumps. All planes were grounded at the airports in every city in the country.
At the end of the month, a few gas stations took the risk and manually broke into their fuel stores, charging a king’s ransom for the manually pumped fuel to cover the costs of replacing the ruined fuel containers.
People couldn’t work and weren’t getting paid as a result, and paying for food and rent was an issue even for those with a lot of money in the bank (theoretically).
The situation was getting dire and he worst part was that no one knew how long it would last.
Then, after five and a half weeks the internet started to work again, although it was slow and the connections dropped constantly.
After internet service was restored, life went back to normal quickly, within a couple of days.
After a week, all businesses had unbarricaded their doors and windows, and it was back to business and school like usual. The police and insurance companies were very busy sorting out breakins and robberies.
But memories and hard feelings persisted forever after. Many families experienced huge rifts. Many people had lingering feelings of anger and resentment at being left out and left to fend for themselves, or if they experienced mistreated during the crisis.
On the positive side, acts of kindness and generosity were long remembered as well, and debts and kindnesses repaid.
Key Takeaways
- Keep a stash of cash on hand and don’t be completely reliant on your bank cards and credit cards to survive.
- Make sure you have a network of support and people you can contact and trust within walking distance.
- Have at least a month’s worth of food stored in your cupboards. In case the electricity cuts out as well as the internet service, have things on hand that don’t need to be cooked to be eaten. The best thing to do is get in the habit of constantly rotating through your stockpile, eating the things you bought a month ago and putting what you bought to replace it at the back of the rotation. Only buy things you actually enjoy eating. Get good at preserving and canning your own food to ensure you have complete and tasty meals and not just random processed snacks in your cupboard for extended emergencies. Have extras on hand to share with people others who arrive and are hungry.
- Have something small on hand that you can use to barter and trade. Small bottles of essential oils that remedy common health issues (e.g. that reduce pain, inflammation and headaches, or that can reduce fevers or be used as first aid) that have a known value (you can prove what they would sell for in a store) would be useful. The ability to grow microgreens that you can harvest within 7 or 10 days could make you very popular quickly.
- Have a money pouch to keep your valuables with you and have a way to lock up your valuables when you go out. It can turn into the wild west quickly, and you need to think of how t hide, disguise or carry valuables with you. Or develop the ability not to care if they are stolen.
- Keep calm and treat others with kindness and be as generous as you can. HOW you get through the crisis matters. As I learned in Thailand during their economic crisis, everyone comes through a crisis better if we help each other. Chile was an example of what happens when people don’t trust each other and turn on each other and strangers.