If a person has lived in a disaster area, they can explain the feelings of not having something as simple as water or ice. Many times it takes a while for Responders to get supplies in. I was not in the worst area of Katrina but did go w/o electricity for over a week and "I" thought that was bad...can't imagine those left homeless. We are so used to modern conveniences that sometimes we take these for granted. Luckily, it was summer here but if my friend/neighbor had not had a "gas stove" we wouldn't have been eating after several days. So it is not paranoia if there is no food to even cook on an outdoor grill or little water to drink.
There are several sites that help you to be prepared w/o being paranoid...just being prepared. As we older folks remember, OUR parents were always prepared with canned food, firewood, well water, etc.
Also, I believe we are already experiencing the pain of steadily increasing higher prices as we walk by items on the shelf that we might have bought previously. I know I do. And who hasn't experienced the empty shelves when a storm/and or "snow" for us in the South, is predicted...bread and milk are the first items to go!!
I am certainly going to start being "better prepared" than I am now!!