I have always prepared my home for emergencies. Hard to survive a direct hit by a tornado or a nuclear bomb, but other than that, I try to have a full pantry and know how to cook without the microwave. During a storm one year when we did not have power for over a week, I amazed my children (and myself) by cooking everything over a fireplace fire. We had fresh bread and biscuits, stew, pudding, chicken, as well as popcorn and other treats. My kids referred to that "adventure" as the "Little house on the prairie winter." We also made a sled out of a cardboard box and slid down the hill in our back pasture. Yee haw!
On the subject though, I would rather go in the first wave. I have done disaster drills with my local medical corps and I don't think I want to be there for the gore and chaos.