I was raised in a rural area and when the roads were bad, you stayed home. My parents always stocked a little extra groceries during the winter. I still live in a rural area and always make sure to have extra canned goods and other supplies on hand. Well, after 2 different ice storms, I have had my eyes opened to the meaning of being prepared. We were without water and electricity for 2 weeks. We do have a propane cookstove so we were able to eat. My brother in law has a well that you cannot drink but it was a life saver to flush our toilets. After the 1st storm, you could not find a bottle of water or batteries. By the time 2nd storm came a lot of people had generators, but couldn't find gasoline locally. We now have a generator and my husband fills a 55 gal drum with gasoline before expected bad weather. We heat with firewood, so we are always warm. lol