(NaturalNews) No doubt still jittery after the March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami that destroyed much of the Fukushima nuclear power plant, swarms of Japanese people invaded grocery stores and markets leaving bare shelves in their wake, following last week's deadly quakes near the city of Kumamoto.

As reported by the Daily Mail Online, there were images of empty store shelves everywhere, as locals bought anything and everything they could get their hands on, and scores more waited in line for shelves to be restocked (many remained empty because the stores did not have a great deal of inventory).

A 6.4 magnitude quake struck just days ago, followed by another quake that registered 7.3 just about 36 hours later. The two shocks were thought to have killed at least 41 people, with both quakes taking place near Kumamoto and causing a great amount of damage to homes, buildings, roads and bridges.

Disaster relief officials said that the quakes left 410,000 homes without water and 200,000 without power, forcing people to stand in line for food and water at emergency aid centers, which had been set up by government agencies in the aftermath of the shocks.

A report by Japan Today, some 196,000 people were evacuated to shelters within hours of the second quake, including about 12,000 in Oita Prefecture.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told the media that his government would do all it could to find those who were missing, and that he would step up relief efforts.

"I ordered relevant ministries to ensure supplies of food, medicine and water to those who have been evacuated and spent a worrying night at shelters," he said.
 

The U.S. would have similar problems

As about 180,000 people sought shelter, some evacuees noted that all they were given to eat was two rice balls. Many other shelters were simply unable to keep up with food demand, as local stores and supermarkets, once they had been picked clean, remained largely empty of food and other items, because supply chains and food distribution channels were disrupted.

That left officials scrambling to find enough emergency rations to feed a growing number of people, the government said. And while the Farm Ministry and Abe pledged to bring in hundreds of thousands of food items, many people were having to wait hours to get some relief.

As reported by Bugout.news, America's food supply chain is equally fragile. In fact, food stores in the United States, were the country to suffer a major incident of any lasting duration and on a wide scale, would simply be unable to feed tens of millions, because the food logistics system is so vulnerable.

The site noted further:

"What's more, this vulnerability is well-known to the federal government, as food and agriculture is included as one of the 16 critical infrastructure sectors identified by the Dept. of Homeland Security's National Infrastructure Protection Plan. Still, though DHS is aware of the vulnerabilities in our food supply, the sector gets comparatively less attention than other sectors like airline security, cyber threats and immigration."
 

What will you do when government can't help?

What would you and your family rely on if you were ever in a situation where you couldn't simply drive a few blocks to the store for your next meal? Millions of Americans are turning to long-term food they can store at home, thereby alleviating the need to risk their lives to retrieve food at a local store that has been overrun during the most chaotic of times.