It seems to me that Hurricane Sandy caused an issue with fueling backup generators in a New York City datacenter, where there was a bucket-brigade of people carrying fuel in pails up flights of steps several stories.

I remember hearing this story at the time but have forgotten all the details. I think it involved a pretty well known company? I also remember hearing that some DC in NJ got special priority in getting diesel in the following days because some federal government services were hosted there and so it was treated as a national security issue to keep them supplied.