Another consideration for the good folk in their warm homes with full cupboards, what do you suppose happens to the American economy after something so calamitous occurs that millions of us abandon a region indefinitely and are left shuffling up the road starving and cold?

Perhaps some of those refugees used to keep a vital part of the regional power grid operating.

Maybe some of those refugees worked at food processing plants. Or oil refineries. Or medical supply plants. Or maybe had something to do with electronic records keeping track of other people's wealth.

Unless you're off-the-grid, grow your own food and have a water well, we're rather more interdependent than we'd like to think we are.