Americans preparing like never before - are you ready for the unexpected?

Tuesday, May 10, 2011 by: J. D. Heyes
Tags: Americans, preparedness, health news

(NaturalNews) - Hurricane Katrina. Hurricane Gustav. The recent tornadoes throughout the south. Flooding in Missouri. The devastating fallout from a major earthquake along the New Madrid fault line. The devaluation of the U.S. dollar. Hyperinflation. Civil unrest.

All of these are disasters that have happened or are waiting to happen, and each one brings with it unique circumstances. But there a few common threads interwoven through all of them. One of the most important of those is the issue of personal preparedness.

All over the country an increasing number of people seem to have gotten the message that in worst-case scenarios, government - local, state or federal - may not be there to help. In Colorado, for example, residents are stocking up on extra food, water, weapons and ammunition - even scrap silver and reserve stocks of gasoline. Some people are even preparing secondary shelters and bunkers.

"It's becoming apparent to many Americans that depending on our local, state and federal governments in the event of an emergency, catastrophic societal collapse or widespread disaster will not be sufficient to meet the needs of your family," writes Mac Slavo of the prepper Web site SHTFPlan.com.

Such preparations are reportedly being made all over the country. But why now? What has changed?

In short, millions of Americans, quite simply are feeling uneasy about the future. They see dangers everywhere: the decline of the U.S. dollar and potential demise of the euro; the growing unrest in the Middle East and, more importantly, mounting protests in our own country; natural disaster after natural disaster; and the ever-present threat of terrorism all have combined to make Americans the most nervous about their future that they've been since the 9/11 attacks.

To be fair, even the federal government is urging people to be prepared. But agencies like FEMA are only recommending people stash about three days' worth of provisions because they are operating under the presumption that government services will be able to reach you by then and take over providing for you.

While in most circumstances that might be the case, the preparations taking place around the country now are not, in large part, based on "normal" disasters. They are being based on worst-case scenarios that, unfortunately, too many people refuse to consider.

Most of us have auto, home, life and health insurance. Think of preparedness as "disaster insurance." Why wouldn't you do it?