I would think candles/flashlights et al would be de rigeur in earthquake-prone California.

I grew up in a trailer in tornado country, so I am completely paranoid about disaster preparedness. I've got candles, flashlights, radio; I've got blankets; I've got bottled water and a secret stash of granola bars my husband doesn't know about. I always choose an apartment with a basement to shelter in. Oh, and I've got a winter emergency kit in the car! Except flares. I keep meaning to buy flares... :) I know it's crazy, but sometimes you have to give in to your crazy for the sake of staying sane.

When i had younger kids, i had clean sick buckets under their beds, and they each had a flashlight next to their beds in case the power went out,

i had alot of candles (for deco) around, the only one that could be lit, was the one on the coffee table and or dinner table, so would not forget to get blown out,

the kids now 21 & 23 are responsible with candles, and say they want "new words" for organizing, go~kits, etc,
i guess through the years, get a little tired of hearing those words,

they just had a power outage (strong wind storms) and were prepared,

so i keep both flashlights & extra batteries, and assorted candles, and battery candles,

if the news warns of wind storms, i usually will get water boiled for hot cocoa, tea, and or coffee, (in coffee pot & tea pots), and snacks/food that does not need to be cooked,

washington state.

I lost all power for about 6 hours in November in Central Phoenix. I live downtown, and it was startling how very dark and still it was, despite the raging storm. My dad gave me a Coleman lantern when I moved in, and it practically illuminated my entire apartment, once I ventured into my pitch black closet to retrieve it. Since then, I've placed a couple of flashlights in a drawer in the living room, and one under my bed, so that if it happens again, I don't have to wander through my apartment with my hands outstretched like the undead, trying to find the lantern. I also have a lot of candles, mostly for atmosphere and scent, so those can be lit, too.
Arizona doesn't get many thunderstorms, but the ones we do get can be intense, but beautiful!

It's important to have supplies on hand for any type of emergency, not just power outages. I have a Rubbermaid tub in my hall closet with my emergency supplies. Ready.gov has a good list of things to include in a basic emergency supply kit: http://www.ready.gov/america/getakit/index.html

Inside my emergency kit is a bright orange backpack, my "go bag." I hope I'll never need it, but living in DC (or any city really), I think it's a good precaution to take. I basically followed Martha Stewart's checklist to fill it-- you can find it at marthastewart.com/checklists.

Have a flashlight in my sock drawer. Always in the same place. Tea candles in the bottom kitchen drawer. And.... an old-school gas stove. Cooked (and boiled water) and heated the house throught the two weeks of no power during Quebec's big Ice Storm of 1998. Seriously. Gas stove FTW.

I moved about six months ago to a place more tornado-prone, and so my ever worried mother has stocked me up for emergencies. Thanks, Mom!

I keep candles/matches and wind-up flashlights....no need for batteries EVER :)

Hurricanes and tornadoes are common here, so we are always well prepared. We finally gave in and bought a generator before the last hurricane, and we always have flashlights and candles. We also have a flashlight that charges in a plug. We keep it in there all the time and don't use it regularly, so it's good if we are caught without batteries.

So does San Francisco have lightning? I remember seeing something a long time ago about how there wasn't lightning in SF for some reason.

My mom bought me one of those three-packs of flashlights when I moved out and they're still kicking around somewhere... Unfortunately since I moved again they've gotten lost in the shuffle, along with the plain white candles she also gave me. Sorry mom! I'll have to look for those as our power goes out every so often thanks to the wind off the lake.

BUT, once I DO find those candles I've got matches in the bathroom and hundreds of lighters from when I used to smoke and could never find one.

I've got a small flashlight (they came in a pack of three) in the nightstand, kitchen drawer and by the back door. Candles and lighters in a couple parts of the house and a sturdy old fondu pot for cooking if the power goes out.

My brother-in-law and some co-workers were working for United Air Lines during the big San Francisco earthquake. They were upstairs in a hanger in the pitch black, without lights or flashlights, trying to get out and not knowing if there was any floor in front of them. To this day, he always carries a small flashlight in his pocket.

On Labor day weekend 2008 we lost power for 36 hours during a huge storm here in Phoenix; three storms collided and knocked down trees, knocked out power and flooded streets. My boyfriend was out during the storm and when he got home, our street was dark except for our house. He found me sitting in the living room reading, surrounded by battery operated mini lanterns and radio, candles lit all around, with flashlights at the ready. He used to worry about lighting candles, fearing fires, but was happy to have light that night! We also still have an old style land line phone, (in addition to cordless home phone and cell phones) as it does not rely on electricity to work--handy if you need to call the power company and the cell needs to be charged!

Prepared???

Hell, I keep a 3 month rotating stock of food since Y2K.
It's not 10 year old cans. I buy new, used the old. FIFO on anything with a shelf life.

It's not exactly a bunker but I'd be comfortable (though scared shiatless) through a tornado. Yes, I'm adding radiation shielding later this year. You just never know.

Tornadoes happen. Spouse said 'Yer crazy, we never get tornadoes.' Last year, it happened. Just F1 and it passed more than a mile from here but that was enough to convince her that prepping was indeed a good idea.

For the basic to the extreme, the best prepper site I've seen is survivalblog.com.

Hmm, not really an issue here in the UK. The last long-term power cut I remember was 1987. We do have a torch under the sink and candles around somewhere. Finding the matches would probably be the difficult thing. We have camping stoves so they would be useful. I guess I should be more prepared in case :-)

We have TONS of neat candles (some which can be reused as drinking glasses or whatever else your creative little mind can come up with) in stock in our e-boutique!

3 wick candles throw off a ton of light...

Luckily, I am candle obsessed so I think I will be prepared in that regard.

One thing I always envy is my mother-in-law's wood stove. She lives in St. Louis, and the power goes out frequently there due to the middling temperatures in winter, which tend to cause ice buildup, and the general ineptness of the power company. I can recall at least two five-day outages in the last three years. My mother-in-law's house was nice and warm because of that stove!

I got one of those wind up flashlights and it has been a life saver when the power goes out. I love never having to worry about batteries and it works great. I also have plenty of candles through out the house for decor but I bought cheap ones so I wouldnt have to worry about using them in an emergency. Another thing I always do is keep my camping stove and a cooler handy, so I don't have to go digging in a closet or basement to find them if I need them.

yeah i had a power outage in the fall and realized i had like 3 tea light and NO flash light. i went out and got the necessary stuff right away!

We have a few candles and oil lamps scattered throughout our living room and about 5 large boxes of matches. We keep the where we know we can find them because we live i a terrible tornado area.

the most ridiculously useful thing in a recent power outage turned out to be two decks of those rechargeable tea lights. i scattered them around the house like beacons--they didn't give a lot of light but they kept us from running into things til sunrise, and gave enough light to track down the flashlights, etc.

i have to say that it would be a nice change of pace if all the power was out for a few hours in the late evening. we have tons of candles and it would be a nice excuse to be ultra romantic.

though it would make it difficult to 1- get to work on time and 2- use the electric stove top :(

Indiana here.

Last check there is a flashlight in every room and small portable lanterns like these (http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=10828656) safely hidden away. There are also candles - I come from a family who likes to be prepared.

big shout out for rechargeable flashlights here! i have one plugged into an outlet in every room (they come on automatically when the power goes out), plus a battery-run lantern, wind-up flashlight, and head lamps that i have stashed in drawers throughout the house. yeah ... i'm a little paranoid about prolonged power outages since katrina : )