I did think of buying a
> one-burner camp stove and a Coleman lantern for my inner city apartment

That's a good idea for any kind of possible emergency.  Just provide
ventilation while you use it, whenever you use it.

  Another good
> idea would be a lot of water.

If youo have your own water heater in your apartment (30 gallons or
larger), it stores enough drinking water for a month for one person,
less if you use it for washing.
>
> I wish there were some assessment of the severity of the problem that I could
> trust.  Banks, I read, are assuring everyone there's no problem that won't be
> fixed in time -- but it's PR.  But survivalists and militia groups and others
> who say the whole country will grind to a halt for months seem to me to be
> spewing PR in the other direction.
>
> Caryl

I think, as with any computer emergency, the worst problem can be
rerouted, repaired, replaced, etc., within a couple of weeks.  And
many or most won't have any problem.  We're more likely to get billed
99 years' interest on our 18% MasterCard accounts than to have to
start civilization all over again!

Patty