What to Do to Be Prepared?

What do you think businesses and people should do?

Be resourceful!

I could also say be a self-provider which is impossible for a modern city-dweller or for a city-sleeker.

Unfortunately modern societies are at the mercy of service providers and if any of them start to have a difficulty of themselves than their customers will feel it too sooner or later.

Sorry, no real answer to this but admit defeat if that'll start to happen.

Better to have and not need than need and not have. You have the basic fall back items then like extra batteries for the emergency broadcast radio which doubles as a weather radio? Have at least tens gallons fresh water; you can cycle through the supply as normal use to keep fresh. A method to heat food without electricity or open flame; a pre-caution for multiple housing dwellers. A two weeks worth of freeze dried meals, about thirty days dry goods, about thirty days can goods; arranged with portability in mind. A grouping location and an evacuation plan with a destination. A manner of personal protection and survival gear; a water still, means to catch food, etc...

When you're a city dweller and living in an apartment it is a little harder to organise a sudden get away when everybody wanna do it a the same time, like during Katrina.

People do not normally take precautionary measures and as I heard even cash withdraw was impossible at banks.

Sounds like you are prepared already or on the way to do it for the unthinkable, is this the survival of the fittest?

Actually Bwire that is pretty good. I note you don't mention canned food. I suggest an Urban and Rural list of things and negotiations. Urban situations are difficult for the individual. Storage space is short and guns are not permitted. Let us concentrate on the packages and negotiations for the Urban dweller first, since they are most vulnerable and also likely to be attacked by terrorists. Since Dried food is both light and portable, and food is extremely important, I put that first on the list. Water is second, though at 8 pounds a gallon, it is hard to carry, and either boiling or some iodine is then recommended for the kit or systems. Communications are important, and it is really too bad that specialized batteries are required to run cell phones, along with the disadvantage that if you don't pay a bill to some company it won't work except for the last legs of a battery in the cell phone for a 991 call. Could well be that back up primary batteries for cell phones would help our infrastructure on the communications needs. All in all it is food clothing and shelter that are the basics of an emergency kit. Let us make an urban list, and a rural list and see what is most common? Let us say that the total weight of such a kit for an adult was set to 50 pounds and, for a child to 30. Knifes for all kits. Food for all kits. Water containers that expand and contract for all kits. An instruction book for all kits. What to do to be prepared and what to have are to be joined. A perfect kit would have basics for both the urban and the rural citizen, and would be a nice pack to define. P.S. Wind up radios for simple reception of alerts in an emergency kit for emergencies that may go on, may be better than battery powered radios for a real emergency.

Additional things to keep in mind are: a 1st aid kit, all your medications, a full tank of gas, important papers, a kit of basic tools, duct tape, rope, a digital camera, matches. I'm sure there are other items to consider