Here are a couple of things which make me wonder would be part of the scare event.

black·out
[ˈblakˌout]

a suppression of information, especially one imposed on the media by government:
"the total information blackout on the series of meetings"
synonyms:
suppression · silence · censorship · reporting restrictions · cutoff

OR

a period when all lights must be turned out or covered to prevent them being seen by the enemy during an air raid:
"people found it difficult to travel in the blackout"