I don't live in a problem area but needs are driven by circumstances so here are mine. The two external things that drove my choice to own a moderate sized portable generator are midwest winter storms occasionally take out power and without power we have no heat. Similarly severe weather in warmer months can also take out power with resulting loss of refrigerator and the sump pump.

Generally those are events that can be worked around but my family comes with a built in set of challenges that had to be factored in. My son is on a very, very restricted diet due to Celiacs disease and several food allergies. Going out to eat is pretty much not an option and finding stuff he can eat at the local markets is a challenge. So... the answer is make sure we keep enough of his stuff around and make sure we have the means to make it last. Having the ability to keep the heat on or the basement dry are just very nice side effects due to the size generator I grabbed to meet the "real" need.

Of course being prepared has resulted in no major power losses since we bought the generator. Go Figure!

- Eric