Being Prepared?

Periodically, UK folk are urged to prepare themselves to be able to deal with emergencies. They are told to stock up with canned food and bottled water for several days. They are also advised to acquire torches and a battery-powered radio. The aftermath of storm Darragh provided many UK citizens with a 'taster' emergency, by removing their electricity supplies. Journalist Gaby Hinsliff's relatively mature family live in Oxfordshire. They were only 'cut-off' from mains electricity for a relatively short period. She opines, however, they were markedly underprepared for the event. This was in spite of having access to old camping equipment and candles. Neither will be true for many folk (https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/dec/10/storm-darragh-power-cuts-britain). Candles for lighting, no central heating, no ability to send an email or to recharge a mobile phone. Freezer food rapidly thawing. The situation, she notes will be worse for many people. Some folk will be 'cut-off' for much longer. They may have no heating or cooking facilities (here, a major specialist store ran out of camping cookers and gas canisters in a few hours!). What about folk with a small baby, having to prepare regular bottles of formula milk? What about people, with medical conditions, necessitating refrigeration of drugs or using electrically-operated equipment? Even, without wars or cyber-attacks, extreme weather events are increasing in intensity and frequency. These will pose more challenges. In the UK, most people no longer can read a map, make basic unaided calculations or use manual tools. Unless they have access to a working mobile phone, many don't even know the time. Many people no longer have, or read, books. Things seem rather different in the US. There, at least 20 million Americans are 'preppers'. Prepping is big business. Its advocates acquire the materials, equipment and skills for potentially surviving 'doomsday' scenarios (https://www.theguardian.com/society/2024/dec/10/doomsday-prepping-america). This life style choice, may be a natural response to 'a hollowed out State', where people often have to provide for themselves and their families. It sounds a bit extreme but the UK might benefit from at least some preparation and alternative skills development.