Emergency lighting can be candles, flashlights, and lanterns. Putting a
light in front of a mirror increases the illumination. If using candles,
kerosene, or propane lanterns, take appropriate fire safety precautions. Do not go to sleep with an open flame light burning. Store fuels like propane
and kerosene safely outside of the house or apartment.
You can get power for lights and radios from a car battery. People familiar
with electricity can rig emergency lights from car batteries, brake lights,
wire and fuse boxes from cars or junkyards. It is also possible to build an
improvised generator using an automobile alternator and a lawnmower engine.
If these activities are organized as a community, people with skills will be
able to help others learn how to do these things. This kind of utilization
will cause a car battery to deteriorate faster, but in an emergency,
sometimes such trade-offs have to be made.