I think I got a lesson in that earlier in life. In the 80's there was a really bad flood in the Ozarks. Our family farm was right on the Arkansas/Missouri line.

The flood took out the one steel bridge into town and most of the low-water bridges were either gone or impassible because of high water and or debris. There was no way into anyplace in Mo.

Dad went down to help out with sandbagging, rescuing livestock cleanup, rebuilding etc. This is where most of my mother's family lived. He took some crazy risks to get there and ended up hiking in to get to the farm with some supplies.

I remember him coming back with an anger about how the government handled it.

He was expecting resources like sandbags, building supplies rescue crews, maybe some clean water and food. What they got was a single doughnut from the Red Cross. He also had to pay for the doughnut.

That's a long way of saying the only thing you can count on is your own preparedness. If you are blessed with family and friends and a community to help that's great. But self-rescue is the most likely scenario at least in the short term when things are at their worst.

If I'm good to go, It also leaves me room to help others that may have gotten a worse end of the deal.