The unit will bring enough supplies to sustain themselves for 96 hours and its expected more aid from the military could begin flowing in, the official said.

CNN: Scores dead, villages flattened in devastating Samoan tsunami

Those operating reactors with lower risks of flooding or earthquake, better emergency cooling systems and more robust power supplies might see themselves as having little to learn from it.

ECONOMIST: Safety

During the invasion of Iraq in 2003, America's marines often found themselves outrunning their fuel supplies.

ECONOMIST: Monitor

They give emergency food supplies to people who are struggling to provide for themselves.

BBC: Number of Sheffield charity food banks doubles in one year

Some American officers say that the Afghans will find it difficult to disperse themselves as fully, because of problems with supplies and communications.

NEWYORKER: After America

He also said the government should consider mixing salt with grit or sand to make it go further, providing supplies to towns and villages so communities could "help themselves".

BBC: Groups name big freeze priorities ahead of Cobra talks

But if there is a strong large-scale push in general transportation, it might make the power industry fearful of having to compete against motorists for natural-gas supplies and thus more cautious about making a major commitment themselves.

WSJ: Daniel Yergin on the Shale Gas Revolution: Stepping on the Gas

By matching the names or addresses of its customers with their SIC (business-category) codes, it discovered that a major portion were not contractors or homeowners--as it had long believed--but small businesses such as pizzerias, hair salons and bars, which either bought their maintenance supplies from Lowe's or wanted to refurbish their facilities themselves.

FORBES: The Resurrection of NCR