In case you've been wanting to see what a "Western" society looks like under actual SHTF conditions, look no further than the current situation in Australia. Bold emphasis mine.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/02/01/us-australia-cyclone-idUSTRE70U16S20110201

"Outside a shuttered night market in the tourist city of Cairns, nervous backpackers tried to flag down cars and reach temporary evacuation centers at a nearby university.

"We are terrified. We have had almost no information and have never seen storms like this," said Marlim Flagar, 20, from Sweden.

At a sprawling shopping center on the outskirts of Cairns, hundreds of people streamed into a makeshift shelter, carrying backpacks, blankets and food.

"We've bought tinned food and cucumbers. That's all we could find this morning," said Natalie Zerbach, on holiday from Germany.

The cyclone is 650 km off the coast of northeastern Australia and is expected to make landfall at 10 pm (7 a.m. EST) on the Queensland coast between Cairns and Innisfail. Its strength is on a par with Hurricane Katrina, which devastated New Orleans in 2005.

More than 400,000 people live in the cyclone's expected path, which includes the cities of Cairns, Townsville and Mackay. The entire stretch is popular with tourists and includes Australia's Great Barrier Reef."