Lynnet wrote:
2. Being prepared for a flu or other pandemic.  Although much less likely,  
we are told that this might bring economic activity to a halt for up to 6  
weeks, and at least 3 weeks.  We may be asked to stay in our houses for 3  
weeks.  Maybe utilities would keep working, maybe they would be  
unpredictably spotty.  You might want a
backup generator.  You would need water, food and a way to prepare it, and  
palliative remedies, either OTC or herbal, in case a family member got  
sick.
Hospitals may be swamped with seriously ill patients, so you'd be wise to  
treat milder cases at home. You'd need enough of your prescription  
medicines to last those 3-6 weeks.
In the case of avian flu - The severity of the infection will probably only be limited by the absolute health of the individual prior to infection.  Expect a death rate approaching 50%.  Thus hospitals will be swamped - but there will be very few "milder" cases to be treated at home.  I think the public has an expectation that this influenza will be similar to other influenzas in our experience, and it's simply not true.  The children will die.  The elderly will die.  And a great percentage of the population in between will die, drowning in their own fluids.  Many, many people will die in their own homes with no one healthy enough to care for them.
gale