If the power was out in large swaths of urban areas, then a lot more people would suddenly be able to see the night sky. A similar thing happened in parts of the LA area after the '91 Northridge earthquake.
I knew I should have confirmed that year before posting =) I couldn't remember the epicenter, I just knew it was up in the Valley, so I did look that up on a map. I only knew of it from stories, as I was nowhere near California at the time. I had a co-worker that had just moved to that area the day before the quake. He said he debated about putting off the unpacking and checking out the new area or busting ass to unpack and just be "moved in" and done with it. He chose the unpacking, and then that night the quake where he lost a lot of stuff. Had he left everything in the boxes, things would have been just fine. I bet he's now a firm believer in procrastinating!
