"When we had a fuel strike a few years ago in the UK, it took about a week for me to notice supermarket shortages."

All it takes around here is for the news media to say there is a windstorm coming with 60 mph gust expected, and the stores are stripped of bottled water (lots of wells around here), charcoal briquettes, disposable diapers, toilet paper and canned dinners (beef stew and ravioli), and selected other stuff in just a few hours.

One of the main problems is that if the power goes out, the stores usually stay closed, and you can't get anything.

The small supermarket near me goes on generator for basic lighting, the checkers use handheld calculators, store employees wander through the store telling customers that meat is $1/pkg and all the ice cream is free.

Sue