What happens if all the lights go out? This is the plan for a 'Black Sky' event

BBC ^ | 11/06/2026 | David Sillito

[BenLurkin]

At 22:45 on 5 December 2015, the River Lune - which flows directly through Lancaster - had flooded, and the electricity supply to 61,500 people in the city went.

Households lost light and heat, some water supplies also began to fail because they relied on electric pumps. The railway station closed. So too petrol stations and shops. Most cash machines didn't work. Traffic lights failed.

The two communication systems that survived were copper wire landline telephones and FM radio.

...

If a Black Sky event takes out electricity, water, shops and communications, there is a good reason the government wants us to have our own supplies.

The much talked about "Be Prepared" campaign is designed to help ready us for all sorts of possible crises, but the government says there is no specific threat to the grid. Regardless, a Black Sky event is definitely at the backs of people's minds.

In a major emergency, we are being told to hunker down and turn on an FM radio, as thousands did in Lancaster. This is why the BBC has its own Black Sky plan.

100 people in the BBC will run a special emergency radio studio.

It will have secure lines of communication not dependent on the internet, and fuel, water and food to ensure it can operate without resupply for at least three days.

This emergency service will broadcast pre-arranged government messaging. The scripts have already been published online.

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TOPICS: United Kingdom
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[BenLurkin]

PING ME WHEN THE INTERNET GOES DOWN Ping

If anyone wants on or off the Ping Me When the Internet Goes Down pinglist, kindly FReepmail me. Thanks!

[Ackackadack]

Get to know your local ham radio operators whether active or not. They can be crucial in a crisis.