My parents lived in rural Puerto Rico when Hurricane Maria hit in 2017, and went through about 10 months without any power or water, and no access to the outside world for several weeks. They were quite well prepared, but a lot of people in their community were not and got a bit desperate. Disasters have this way of being foreseeable, but also catching you off-guard with how fast and world changing they can be. Their suggestion for disaster preparedness is, in order:

1. Be part of and involved with a community of people. A group of people is so much more resilient than a hermit prepper.

2. Have a cash reserve. You're going to have to buy things, and electronic payment systems are easily disrupted. Cash was the #1 thing that people didn't have, and needed.

3. Have a plan for how you're going to suddenly store a lot of fresh water. You don't necessarily have to keep fresh water on-hand, but you might find yourself with only a few hours to fill up containers for the long haul.

4. Have a gallon of gasoline in a fuel can. This last little reserve of fuel can really come in clutch. Cycle this every 6 months, or else it goes bad.

5. Have non-perishable food in your pantry, and regularly use it and buy new. You want it to be real food that you regularly eat.

6. Have a plan for how you're going to cook if you don't have access to electricity, natural gas, or tap water. My parents used a butane camping stove, their propane backyard grill, and then also often cooked at their nextdoor neighbor's house (who had a gas stove and a big tank).

7. Think about where you're going to go if your current home becomes inaccessible or uninhabitable.