Urban Grid-Down Riots: Rapid Citizen & Mutual-Aid Response

Wednesday, Nov 5, 2025

This scenario examines how a local mutual-aid group maintains order and survival during an extended grid failure.

Scenario

A major substation fails during a windstorm, and the outage cascades through a mid-size city. Power is out across neighborhoods. Cell service is spotty. Grocery stores close early. Traffic signals stop. Within 6 to 12 hours, crowds form at intersections and large stores. Tensions rise. Looting begins in a few pockets. Police are stretched thin dealing with accidents and calls. Emergency services prioritize life-threatening calls. Your small mutual-aid group must protect people, keep the vulnerable safe, and help restore basic order until normal services return.

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Observations

When the grid collapses, your first duty is to the group. Power loss means darkness, quiet streets, and confusion. Comms drop, information dries up, and people move toward the same few stress points…grocery stores, gas stations, and intersections. Those areas become dangerous fast. That’s not where you start.

When the lights go out, crowds move fast, and fear moves faster.

The next few hours decide everything.

What your mutual-aid group does first determines whether you hold steady or get pulled into the chaos.