If I'm ever responsible for the emergency preparedness of a large group of families (say, a ward Emergency Preparedness Specialist), here's what I want to do:
Stage a series of disasters. Who says only the federal government can play those kinds of games? I'd write up a list of scenarios that could possibly happen and implement them one at a time. Maybe one a quarter, or something.
For instance, let's pretend the first one is a massive trucking strike. Write up a short, newspaper-style article about the trucking strike and attach to it a flyer with instructions for the participants. Since the strike was announced, all grocery stores have been wiped clean in the area. We don't expect anything to be restocked for two weeks. We still have electricity and water, hospital services and other emergency needs, but no no shopping for two weeks.
Each family has to then see how well they can actually do with just the food they have on hand.
Another scenario might be a terrorist attack on the power grid. Say electricity is going to be out for four days -- and maybe roving power teams can provide local power for one hour each day.
Or a massive rainstorm hits up in the mountains, along with heavy spring runoff from a snowy winter, and the area is expected to flood in six hours. Leave your home within six hours and don't come back for three days.
Or how about this? Call players in the middle of the day. "This is the emergency preparedness game coordinator -- your house in on fire. You have twenty-five seconds to be outside." You're outside with a cell phone and a timer, and you let them know if they live or die.
Sort of a real-life board game. :o)
I think something like this would be, for the people who actually played along, a very serious kick-start toward emergency preparedness. Maybe you could even print out a 'prophetic warning' flyer a week before the disaster, giving people general guidelines to prepare them for the game.
And require players to sign a form beforehand that says they will abide by the standards of the game or call the administrator for permission to deviate (in minor emergencies, or whatever). (Actual emergencies -- it's just a game, for crying out loud.)
In a student ward something like this could be a lot of fun. In a real family ward, it would just be a good way to raise awareness and help people understand that it doesn't need to be the literal End of the World for people to need to have emergency supplies like a 72-hour kit or food storage.
Get people thinking about actual, possible scenarios and evaluating their own performance in simulations. Did we have a plan for where to meet? Did that end up mattering? Did we like the flavor of our stored food? Do we know how to cook all that wheat we have in buckets?
Yeah, baby. I like this idea a lot. I want to figure out a venue and propose it -- probably in our ward, first. Then if it works, maybe open it up more broadly to Provo residents. Have the city sponsor it. Then... the world!