Tez, I'm quite familiar with what happened in G.B. I've been to G.B. and I'm in fact half British myself. My comments weren't meant to minimize the event. But the infrastructure of the nation was still intact albeit at a vastly reduced capacity.
And I'm glad you're friends are prepared and knowledgeable. I'm afraid I can't say that for the bulk of Americans. The stats I've seen are that less than 10% of Americans a properly prepared for an emergency situation. That's a pretty sad statistic. Hurricane Sandy is a prime example. Folks had a full weeks notice that the storm was coming and was a bad one. A lot of folks were still caught flat-footed. I remember the news reports about people scalping one box of kitchen matches for $10.
One cannot prepare for everything, and there will always be unanticipated circumstances. Prepare as best as one can is prudent advice.
This has been a popular thread since last year on many forums, it is being redone on this new board:
What is a BOB GHB or EDC What goes in one And why the heck would I want one anyway