mimi I take exception to the comments you aimed at me, for one thing you have no idea of where I have lived and what I have lived through, for another the OP and Mr McBride did advocate taking large amounts of cash out of banks which is dangerous and irresponsible advice. If there is one sure fire way of causing a financial crisis it is to instigate a run on the Banks.
Neither Damian McBride, nor I suspect the OP, have either the qualifications, experience or intimate knowledge of the world financial and economic systems to pronounce so definitively and so alarmingly as they have done. As has been pointed out repeatedly the problems with the Chinese Stock Market occurred well over a week ago, China and the USA dealt with it, most of the people in that industry knew it was on the cards and made contingency plans accordingly. There has been no implosion of the World Stock Market system, frankly China were never going to let that happen.
Making sensible contingency plans is no bad thing, but urging panic buying and issuing statements suggesting people in the UK need to lock themselves in their houses for a month is not. The OP has not provided any reliable evidence to back up her claims, I have already pointed out that the OP has zero knowledge of the banking system as she was clearly unaware of the rules/risks surrounding bank deposits which have been in place for years and are not suddenly new.
Natural disasters are unpredictable and many of those you listed were worse than people thought but doing what the OP and Mr. McBride suggest is of no help if your entire house and possessions are lost. In a lot of cases the need is to get out and get out fast which means travelling light.
Life is unpredictable, the world is unpredictable, there is only so much we can reasonably prepare for scaremongering stories and doom laden prophecies help no-one.