Preparation shouldn't be excessive, because stockpiling emergency reserves can get VERY expensive very fast.

Preparation should be proportionate to the actual risks. So, what is the realistic possibility of various hazards?

regardless of geography

• [Wikipedia] List of causes of death by rate, in 2002 (no pandemic, world war, or supervolcano happened that year)
  1. heart disease
  2. infectious and parasitic diseases
  3. cancer
  4. respiratory disease
  5. unintentional injuries (car accidents, falls, drowning, poisoning, fires)
  6. gastrointestinal disease
  7. intentional injuries (suicide, violence, war)
  8. neuropsychiatric disorders (Alzheimer's, epilepsy, Parkinson's, alcohol/drug use)
  9. urogenital disorders (kidney and prostate disease)
  10. nutritional deficiencies

This is really interesting. The things that preppers usually focus on are listed in green, but they aren't very common. Disease is a far bigger concern.

On average, humans get killed one-by-one, not in large-scale calamities.

So perhaps the most important thing preppers can do is get health insurance, eat well, and exercise.

• [Wikipedia] lists by death toll
  • pandemics
  • wars and other anthropogenic disasters
  • natural disasters
  • extinction events

realistic risks in the Midwest, particularly near Chicago & northern Indiana

• ready.illinois.gov
• specific hazards:
  • medium — nuclear fallout (also Ctrl-F for "map" here)
  • low — nuclear power plants [2] (Indiana has no nuclear plants)
  • low — earthquakes
  • medium — tornadoes [2] [3] [4]
  • high — lightning
  • low — hypothermia
  • medium — heat stroke