I think the concept of survival depends on each individual's particular views. What might be a minor inconvenience to one person may be a total catastrophe to another. It's always interesting to see peoples' reaction to events such as hurricanes, etc. The folks in the path of Katrina certainly reacted differently, area and state to state. While some people helped solve problems involving survival, others created even more problems. Some people heeded warnings and had preparations in place, while others simply ignored the warnings.
Personally, I like ragingbull's approach ! Tom