A couple of years ago we had a seismic event in Christchurch, New Zealand, which took out services in many parts of the city. People were alive but trapped downtown in collapsed and damaged buildings, and the service providers re-powered the cell-towers with electric generators, so that the trapped could alert rescuers to their plight by phone.
Some of the generators were promptly stolen, presumably by people who wanted to power their frig and freezer or some other device.

It doesn't take terrorists to destroy rescue efforts, just totally selfish bastards just looking after their own comforts.

As I posted at the time, rescue teams arrived as promptly as distance allowed, from Oz first, then Japan, and then from the USA and from Europe.

As IanS said, and my wife keeps saying, technology could be a trap we'll never get out of. Our local shop couldn't even make change!