WELL, YES, IT DOES: Reader Tom DeGisi writes:

Your emergency preparedness stuff works. They said if I stocked up on bottled water I wouldn’t regret it. And they were right! Johnson County (near Kansas City) is under a boil order and all that bottled water really came in handy. Emergencies come in all sizes. Apparently a raccoon died in the wrong place.

Yes, you want some bottled water. If you’re more serious, a fancy filter. Bleach is good, too. More background here and here.

UPDATE: Reader Mary Pat Campbell sends this: The Key To Disaster Survival? Friends And Neighbors. “Aldrich’s findings show that ambulances and firetrucks and government aid are not the principal ways most people survive during — and recover after — a disaster. His data suggest that while official help is useful — in clearing the water and getting the power back on in a place such as New Orleans after Katrina, for example — government interventions cannot bring neighborhoods back, and most emergency responders take far too long to get to the scene of a disaster to save many lives. Rather, it is the personal ties among members of a community that determine survival during a disaster, and recovery in its aftermath.”