When it comes to being prepared for a SHTF event, preppers are focused on threats from natural disasters to nuclear wars, EMPs, and devastating cosmic events.  The situations that people can focus on and become obsessed with preparing for and unpredictable and vary widely. There's no way that one person or family could be completely prepared for every single type of event. So, most people choose one or several related events they believe are imminent and prepare as best they can for those.

But the less talked about threat that will be overwhelming no matter what the situation is that arises, is population density. For example, according to this map of population density by county shows that roughly two-thirds of the U.S population is located in the Eastern half of the United States. In fact, according to recent reports by the U.S. Census Bureau (2010 data), approximately half the population resided in just 146 counties out of 3000 counties in the United States.

That's right. The biggest threat to your safety and the safety of your family is in fact, other people. They aren't "bad" people out to get you. Some of them would likely give the shirt off the back to help others in normal circumstances.