Vandals leave Californians without phone or Internet service

It’s amazing how much damage a pair of wire-cutters can do.

Officials declared a local state of emergency in northern California yesterday after vandals pried up manhole covers and severed eight fiber-optic cables, resulting in the loss of cell phone, landline, and Internet service for tens of thousands of residents in Santa Clara County. 911 service was also disrupted, prompting the mobilization of emergency responders.

The service outage affected AT&T, Sprint, and Verizon customers. AT&T is offering a $100,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of those responsible.

The takeaway: Emergencies like this point out just how dependent we are on technology, and how vulnerable we are to real-world crime as well as online threats. Wednesday’s news that international infiltrators have compromised our electrical grid adds to the concern. While there is no way a consumer can prepare for a total system outage, you can take steps to cope with less drastic situations, such as a blackout. For more on responding to emergencies, check out our natural disaster guide.

What would you do if you woke up and found yourself electronically marooned from the outside world?

Essential gadgets for emergencies

With Texans along the Gulf Coast recovering from Hurricane Dolly, we thought it would be a good time to mention electronics gear that can be invaluable to have before, during and after a natural disaster or other emergency. Of course, there are other items you'll need, such as flashlights, water, and more. For a complete checklist and other tips on preparing for—and dealing with the aftermath of—devastating storms and disasters, see our free Storm and Emergency guide on ConsumerReports.org.

On the electronics front, here's what we recommend:

• Make sure you have an emergency radio—powered by either batteries or a hand-crank—which will work even if the lights go out. A radio can pull in vital news, weather, and evacuation information from AM radio stations, which have further "reach" than TV broadcasters.
• Have at least one corded phone that doesn't require electricity. A cordless phone's base station won't run without juice.
• Keep your cell phone charged and have alternative power options—a car adapter or a portable cell phone charger that uses common AA batteries or features a hand crank or other "green" energy source.
• Consider having family members use different cell phone service providers in case one carrier goes down.
• Know how to text message. If cell towers are still up but available bandwidth is limited, a text message may be able to get through when voice calls won't.
• Learn how to browse the Web on an Internet-enabled phone. You'll have news bulletins, maps, and more at your fingertips.
• Have a portable GPS navigation system, which can be handy if you have to evacuate through unfamiliar routes and areas.