Hurricane Sandy left some people homeless and a lot of people without power. According to Con Ed, it will take four days to restore power to lower Manhattan and others can be without power for at least a week.
Stocking up on candles and regular batteries is both expensive and may not be enough as neither is a renewable resource. Also, neither will help you with having a working cell phone and access to the internet.
Hand Crank Radios
Get a hand crank radio. All of these can be charged by hand or using sunlight. All of them have an LED flashlight and also a USB port for charging your cell phone. Unlike batteries, once the charge on your radio runs down, wind it several times and you again have access to the news and light.
USB Pocket Chargers
While these will not provide you with a continuous charge and have to be charged beforehand, they're compact and will fit in your pocket or purse. These are also useful for when you want to use your phone for watching movies or playing games but will not have access to continuous power to charge your device.
UPS
An uninterruptible power supply or UPS is heavy, bulky and not cheap so why should you have one? Depending on output of the UPS and power requirements of your computer, they can keep your computer running for at least 15 minutes. They can be set up to turn your computer off safely in case of power loss. Unlike surge protectors, they will protect your equipment from spikes. In case of prolonged blackouts, once your computer is off, they can be used to charge your cell phone.
Fire and Flood restoration
If you did get flooded, get a professional. Nicole of
Home Clean Home (HCH) will make sure your home is dry and mold free. HCH services most of NY, up to Albany, and will bring their own generators if your power has not been restored.
