PHOne lines stay on when the power lines and cable go out during a storm because they are battery powered and the batteries are recharged by emergency generators.
phone lines are usually buried underground whereas high-voltage lines are usually above ground. In storms electricity lines can be damaged causing black outs *EDIT* in response to your additional details: the power is generated outside cities and is transmitted into cities via overground high voltage lines.
I'm just amazed at how little people know about everyday things. The phone company actually runs their phones on BATTERIES... so when the power goes out, the batteries keep the phones alive... it has been done this way for OVER 100 YEARS... so it's nothing new.
The phone lines are powered by batteries at the phone company offices. When power goes out in general those lines retain their own source of electricity.
