People getting ready for cataclysmic disasters by stockpiling food, water and, in many cases, guns are easy to dismiss as alarmists. But a stream of natural and human-created disasters has made so-called "preppers" seem less eccentric and more sensible. Even the Red Cross and government agencies recommend assembling emergency supplies and planning for disaster. Some preppers go several steps beyond -- building rural retreats, for example, where they would hole up if society fell apart. To the more alarmed segment of the movement, a collapse of modern civilization is not so much a possibility as a probability. Overall, though, even the "prepper" label signifies a more mainstream, less politicized approach than the "survivalism" of the late 20th century. Meanwhile, politicians and scientists share some preppers' fears about the vulnerability of the national power grid and other vital services.

Peter Katel is a CQ Researcher contributing writer who previously reported on Haiti and Latin America for Time and Newsweek and covered the Southwest for newspapers in New Mexico. He has received several journalism awards, including the Bartolomé Mitre Award for drug coverage from the Inter-American Press Association and awards for investigative and interpretive reporting from the New Mexico Press Association. He holds an A.B. in university studies from the University of New Mexico.