In what long-term disaster scenario can we know the duration precisely enough to know if we have enough supplies?

I can't imagine a "system" that can prepare you for who might ask for help, what they might need, how much they might need, how much you'll need, how long an emergency may last and exactly what that emergency would entail in terms of hardship.

I don't know how to prepare for that scenario other than to stockpile in excess of what seems prudent for your own household. Now I suppose if you had a one year supply of food and water for your family and a storage tank full of gasoline and all kinds of other stuff, that if a tornado, hurricane or earthquake strikes surely you could spare quite a lot to help others.

The possibility -- probability -- that others will be less prepared or for other reasons need help, should certainly be considered. Don't we all expect that few of our friends/neighbors/family will be as prepared as we are?

Do we have a moral obligation to stockpile extra, knowing that others would be needy in an emergency?

People on this forum are so generous with information, I would expect that it would also be the inclination of nearly all of us to help others in an emergency by being generous with supplies.

That said, it's one thing to help, or not help, friends/family/neighbors. Strangers are easier to say no to. Several times a month, sometimes several times a week, I say no to strangers who ask for money. I've never said no to friends or family.

And now I'm tied up in knots. I've posed a similar question before in regard to evacuation. Can't really know what we'll do until something happens. I've thought about it and I can't imagine shutting the door on friends/family/neighbors.