What prompted this concern?
A flooded neighborhood during a nor’easter storm
Ryan Murphy/Getty Images
Climate change and natural disasters are big drivers of the push to get people prepared. Other reasons include cyberattacks, due to our heavy reliance on technology, and the rise of hostile foreign actors around the world. Here’s why being prepared is increasingly important today:
Natural disasters
Climate change is accelerating the intensity and frequency of weather-related natural disasters, including heat waves, droughts and hurricanes. You don’t want to be caught off guard if help is days away. And with this year’s super El Niño, which could bring heavy rain and flooding to more than 40 states across the U.S., 2027 is shaping up to be a big one for weather disasters.
There’s also the issue of rising instability and migration due to climate change: According to the United Nations, climate disasters displaced nearly 46 million people in 2024. Having a few days’ worth of food and water on hand when the power goes out (or worse) could give you a lifeline when things look bleak.
Cyber attacks
Just last month, the world was on high alert due to a vulnerability in a programming language, PHP, used by 70% of the world’s websites. Before patches became available, millions of sites were attacked and multiple governments went offline as a precaution. What if your city’s electrical grid or water supply were affected?
And don’t discount the idea of hackers taking advantage of a natural disaster, says Lynn Budd, a former president of the National Emergency Management Association. “Everybody’s paying attention to the tornado, so our adversaries take advantage of that time and decide, ‘Oh, they’re busy with something else. Now’s the time to do a cyberattack or other types of attacks that may affect the critical infrastructure of a community,’” she told the Guardian.
Hostile governments
War and instability are on the rise around the world, with conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East just two of the most visible. China, Iran, North Korea and Russia are cited as particular threats. The recent crisis over Starlink and Starshield satellite systems being suddenly unavailable to Ukrainians on the battlefield demonstrates that we are all vulnerable to actions beyond our control.
