Watching this morning's news, with all the long lines for gas, the people caught with little or no food (only a few days after the storm), the most important lesson to learn from an event like this is: PREPAREDNESS.
Everyone from the Boy Scouts to the Red Cross to survivalist forums have all preached the same thing. ALWAYS be stocked up at home, in your vehicle, even at work, for the unforeseen. Or, in cases like this, the foreseen that you have perhaps a couple of days to prepare for.
Keep the gas tank full, make sure your back-up systems (generator, battery lanterns, whatever) are in good working order, have enough food, water, and other essentials on hand to carry you through a prolonged "situation," etc.