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The biggest problem (for the cities, anyway) is fresh water. Being effectively "locked" into an urban area with no clear direction on where to get clean water once the bottles run out means within the first two weeks, you're looking at a staggering death toll.

That goes for desert dwellers also, many millions of Americans live in deserts, many miles from an actual water source of any kind, and without any expectations of usable rainfall.

Coastal freepers such as in San Diego can always pull water out of the ocean and use a homemade solar still to make drinking water.

When I lived on the ocean, I actually walked down and scooped a five gallon bucket of sea water and distilled (part of) it into fresh, just to test my resources.

Endless water, temperature extremes limited to ranges of 45 to 85 degrees, endless sunshine for solar cooking and solar distilling, and free, uninterrupted beach recreation made San Diego coastal living a survivalist dream.

When I was on the water with my 18 months worth of food and alcohol, my solar oven to cook my beans and wheat, I felt like life would be the same for me for the first 18 months of an emergency as I suntanned in the 70 degree climate and fished with my new girlfriends.

The only thing that I was worried about was how high the state's "survivor tax" would be.

Coastal freepers such as in San Diego can always pull water out of the ocean and use a homemade solar still to make drinking water.

Freeperes in San Diego probably won't have to worry too much. Carriers and nuclear subs are all are EMP hardened. Crank up the reactors on a couple of Nimitz class carriers and and you can desalinate a lot of water. And you can bring in food from the other side of the Pacific.