It can be both, watching you neighbors house burn down is very likely to make you install more smoke detectors, get a fire extinguisher, and run through how to evacuate if there's a fire.



So long as we send out warnings, as we have, not to take them unless there actual is an official notice of radiation the the reason doesn't matter. People on the West Coast should have those, a one person two week supply usually retails for about $5, they have a long shelf-life, it's improbable the average person will need them but if you figure there's even a 1% chance of a nuclear attack or meltdown effecting yourself then $5 is a very good investment. Yes, its panic and kneejerk, but it really is something everyone who lives near a nuclear plant should have, and I would say living in CA, with its fault lines and with it being the place likely to get nuked, its a wise investment, if panic is causing some of that, fine, all we need do is make sure to swamp the media with warnings not to take it unless the situation actually calls for it.

Most people are pretty lax about disaster prep, disasters elsewhere make them think about it, spending $5 for some tablets is hardly the wasteful over prep that building a bunker in the backyard is. I would bet that an analysis of purchasing would show that there's been a big jump everywhere, but particularly in earthquake areas, of disaster kits and supplies. This is, in my opinion, probably a good thing. It's not like people are bashing down doors and trampling each other to raid grocery stores for canned goods.