I kinda thought those environments would be less dependent on emergency cash, because they'll have a week's worth of food, backup energy/power sources (BBQs, propane tanks, jerry cans of gas, woodstoves, etc.).
It's people in the cities that get boned when the grid crashes.
Another commenter already mentioned natural disasters, which happen with surprising frequency (I've been through quite a few myself).
Cash fills in society's all-too-common edge cases.