There are two types of Emergencies you may wish to prepare a List for: Rapid Onset Disasters and Slow Onset Disasters.
1. Rapid Onset Disasters :
Can be short term or end of the world survival situations.
Short term survival -- situations exist where for a few hours, days or weeks the government has been knocked for a loop and will take a while to regroup, reorganize and resume the care and feeding of its citizens.
Although it may take years to rebuild bridges and buildings and infrastructure once essential services (water, food and utilities) have been restored the emergency part of the disaster is over.
The emergency part of a disaster could last anywhere from the few days like the Loma Prieta earthquake in 1989 to a few weeks; like the 1906 San Francisco earthquake to a few months like with hurricane Katrina
As you think about these disasters remember that most of the people in the areas named did not participate, to a major degree, in the originating event and were mainly affected by the aftermath i.e. the sudden disruption in the delivery of potable water, eatable food, electricity and natural gas.
If you are in an earthquake you are much more likely have to deal with weather, hunger and thirst than falling bricks so why not prepare for them?
The one recurring theme you'll find in the aftermath of large disasters all around the world is the need for food, water, medicine and shelter. Suddenly people can't just go down to the corner convenience store to buy more. Preparing now is cheaper than you might think.
You don't need a bunch of expensive equipment to prepare to survive after an earthquake or other disaster that disrupts your life:
A sleeping bag is nothing more than a blanket folded and sewn along the side to keep bugs and breezes out. Yes, I know sleeping bags are fluff filled for insulation; can you say down quilt? If you think you may have to take your blankets outside put'em in a waterproof plastic trash bag.
Yes, your warm dress suit may seem out of place at the National Guard's water distribution point, but it'll serve its purpose and that's the point.
Your hiking/running shoes may not be top of the line mountain climbing or combat boots, but they'll do. Got Moleskin (for blisters)?
Wear warm clothes in cold weather (duh) and long sleeves/pants in hot weather to help keep bugs off and prevent cuts and scrapes.
Wound care products:
New-Skin liquid bandage
Hydrogen peroxide
Honey
As well as shelter and medicine you'll need food and water.
Canned goods are cheap to buy (now) and store practically forever in a cool dry place.
It's impractical to store or transport large quantities of water so consider purchasing water filters.
When you see roads cleared through the rubble like in the pictures of destroyed cities in Germany and Japan at the end of World War Two
You know government has reestablished itself in the area and the emergency part of the disaster is over.Until a path through the rubble on the roads is reclaimed from the debris there is no government presence because the government needs open roads for the movement of personnel and supplies.
For those of you who want a list here's the best Bug Out Bag LIST I've ever seen. Note the layered approach. Also note that he also carries: "An aerosol can of flat fix stuff, Folding timber saw and a Hatchet."
2. Slow Onset Disaster :
Although the moniker at the top of this blog says TEOTWAWKI (The End Of The World As We Know It) I have more recently come to the conclusion that lifestyles as we know them will come to an end not with a radioactive rumble but rather with a cheap whine as our politicians try to pull off one last economic slight of hand to buy votes and keep themselves in power just a little longer.
Eventually the economic can being kicked down the road will bump into a Black Swan and we'll see ourselves playing out a scenario much like Argentina in 2001.
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