#30 No power. No water. Now what?

Hi there,

It started around 1:30 a.m. I got up, turned the tap, and nothing came out.

No pressure drop. No splutter. Just silence.

Lying back in bed, I kept thinking. Fully aware that drinking, cooking, and hygiene now depended on whatever water we had left in the flat. Luckily, I’d picked up a fresh six-pack the day before out of routine.

I started imagining the obvious: what if it’s more than a normal pipe crack? Should I set an alarm, beat the rush, clear out the corner shop by breakfast?

Somewhere else, that probably wasn’t even an option.

Just a day earlier, parts of Spain, Portugal, and France lost power. A massive blackout hit at lunchtime on April 28, 2025, affecting millions across the Iberian Peninsula. Madrid, Lisbon, Barcelona—all offline.

Public transport halted. Shops closed. Mobile networks went dark. Hospitals ran on backup generators. And AI probably wasn’t reliable either in those moments, not with power-hungry data centers offline. Authorities ruled out a cyberattack—but what do we know?

Comfy in bed, I was theorizing. They were living it.

When I woke up, our water was back. There had been a six-hour pipe interruption—boring, local, fixed by morning.

But the timing stuck—the blackout, the pipe crack, and the question underneath it all: what if those events lasted longer?

How would we—or you—respond to it? Can AI help us prepare?

The 72-hour test most ignore

Standard emergency preparedness guidance— from Red Cross, FEMA, or civil defense agencies—recommends having enough supplies to function independently for at least 72 hours.

That usually means about three liters of water per person daily, food that doesn’t require heat, some backup power, a flashlight with batteries, first aid basics, and physical cash.

I don’t have much of that organized. A few bottles, some shelf-stable food, and equipment I use every day are scattered across cabinets and drawers. It’s more coincidence than plan.

The fun part? I’ve read those guidelines. But like a lot of people, I (still) ignore them.

I (weirdly) assumed the city would keep things running, deliveries would arrive, and shops would stay open. Sure.

Tiny breakdowns. Big impact.

When the water stops, you notice it at the tap. But soon it spreads.

The toilet doesn’t flush. You hesitate before rinsing dishes. Your brain gets foggy. The fridge is stocked, but your hygiene isn’t.

…and those little decisions pile up fast—unless you’ve already mapped out your water logic beforehand with ​help from a smart AI prompt​.

And that’s just water.

Now imagine it’s electricity. No elevator. No fridge. Phone at 9%—one bar of signal. The banking app won’t load.

Now layer on a second disruption. The kind you don’t want to think about—but still happens:

• The payment network goes down
• A cyberattack knocks out citywide data
• A heatwave spikes and your apartment traps heat
• Public transit stalls and the roads are gridlocked
• ATMs stop working
• Your child spikes a fever
• Pharmacies can’t process sales

That’s what real disruption looks like. It’s not cinematic.

It’s banal, immediate, and cumulative. And it exposes how tightly your well-being is tied to systems you don’t control.

How to prep without the paranoia

Preparedness isn’t a lifestyle but rather a structural response. And for many of us, it’s missing.

So, I started building my personal logic system that helps me stay functional when defaults disappear. Of course, I’ll share it with you here.

The aim is to help people like us (urban, busy, space-limited, skeptical of hype) prepare in a way that fits our lives 👇.

The AI Emergency Blueprint: Prep smart. Stay normal.

This modular system guides you through realistic readiness using generative AI.

It helps you:

• Map your basic needs (water, food, comms, safety, power, medicine)
• Reflect your constraints (flat size, income, household, habits, mental load)
• Simulate crisis scenarios that are tailored to your lifestyle, region.
• Build a 72-hour survival baseline for your context.
• Identify weak points you didn’t know existed.

It helps you map, design, and maintain a personal emergency blueprint—one that:

• Fits your actual life
• Accounts for your real risks
• Works whether you live in 35 square meters or have a family of four
• Covers all core functions: water, food, energy, hygiene, comms, mobility, decision logic, and money

Get Free AI Emergency Kit Prompt

Here’s how it works:

You enter a few basics: where you live, what kind of home you’re in, who you live with, how mobile you are, what you have on hand, and what you fear most.

AI guides you through a tailored set of micro-strategies, fallback decisions, inventory logic, and recovery plans.

The result is a realistic plan—no overwhelm, no fantasy.

And one of the most effective components is scenario-based simulation.

It’s how first responders, astronauts, and field medics train.

You rehearse a realistic crisis mentally. And by the time it comes (if it does), your brain isn’t scrambling. It’s recalling.

This system includes that, too. AI can walk you through simulations:

• “What happens if power goes out while your phone’s at 9% and you haven’t eaten?”
• “How do you respond if water stops and you can’t leave your apartment for 48 hours?”
• “What’s your fallback if payment systems are down for two days?”

Want to test yours? Start here

I’ve built a free Core Needs Mapping prompt that generates your personal readiness baseline in less than 5 minutes.

Get Free AI Emergency Kit Prompt

Paste it into any AI tool, fill in a few details, and get your first honest look at how ready (or not) your life setup is.

Why does it matter?

Power failures are up globally.

• Water access is increasingly vulnerable.
• Payment systems, delivery chains, and information channels fail under pressure.
• And misinformation spreads faster than recovery plans.

These aren’t abstract risks.

They’re structural stress points—and every one can collapse without notice, which means the question becomes: can you function for 72 hours without help?

If you can’t pay, move, cook, cool, charge, or clean—what’s your next move?

If something happens tomorrow, luck might get you through day one, but clarity will get you through day three.

​Access the AI Emergency Blueprint prompt here​. It’s free.

One last thing

Preparedness is often framed as moral. As if not having batteries is a failure of character. Luckily, that’s just nonsense.

I didn’t have a system. I had a six-pack of water by chance. That’s what started this—also in hindsight of the blackout in Spain/Portugal.

If this made you rethink something—or you want help stress-testing your current plan—hit reply.

Stay steady,

Mark
The AI Learning Guy
👋⚡😎

Quick reads and books

1. ​FEMA – Emergency Preparedness​
2. ​Ready.gov – Build a Kit​
3. ​Ready.gov – Kit Checklist​
4. ​American Red Cross – Preparedness​
5. ​UK Government – Get Prepared​
6. ​Public Safety Canada – Get Prepared​
7. ​Germany (BBK) – Emergency Pack​
8. ​Emergency Management Australia​
9. ​Japan – Disaster Management​
10. ​The 2025 survival manual – France​
11. Best AI Books 2025. ​View on Amazon*​.

Note: No single website has all the answers. This list serves as a starting point for those who want to explore or satisfy their curiosity about AI. Links: Links with * are affiliate links. See disclosure below.

​Affiliate disclosure: To cover the cost of my email software and the time I spend writing these emails, I sometimes link to products. Please assume these links are affiliate links. If you choose to buy through my links, a big THANK YOU – it will make it possible for me to keep doing this.