Something to think about.

Why you should keep cash "under your mattress"

'I keep a small pile of twenties in my home as my ultimate emergency fund. I keep this money on hand for the sole purpose of being available if I have no access to funds in any other way - in the event of an absence of electricity or some other essentials, a cash economy will dominate and I do not wish to risk being in that situation with no leverage to make sure my family has food, water, and protection.

taveanator says:

Being from New Orleans and having lived through Katrina I can confidently say that cash is king.

Wylie is right in his comment however: cash will do you no good at the heart of the disaster (water/food/ice was the medium of commerce after the hurricane). We evacuated the city only to find nearly all credit card & ATM machines crippled within a 60 mile radius of the city. The stores were still open for business but were only accepting cash.

I'm gotta start carving out "War and Peace" before this next hurricane season gets

Aaron Bailey says:

My roommate during the 2003 NYC black out had a single nickel in his pocket and was drawing money from the ATM when the power went out, leaving the cash and his card in the machine. Lesson learned.'