With respect, can't the definition of emergency include survival (albeit temporary and with supply/demand pressure)? I didn't ask about stocking freeze-dried food, or gold, but the utility of stashing a portion (likely relatively small and commensurate with your perceived risk of disaster) of your EF in cash.
At least one person here thinks it worthwhile, and with reason (fire), so I don't think it should be dismissed blithely.
PS, I like to argue as well.
I don't know where I was being blithe, I addressed the question and suggested that if you were planning to do this you should also consider family size and need. The reason for that is that it is a very much more immediate need. The notion of an EF is to cover living expenses to avoid the fire sale of assets.
If you were to equate that to this situation, that would mean if you had a bar of gold for (or maybe coins) for such an event, you would likely find yourself in fire sale territory - same could be said for cash, hence my supply/demand comment.
Let's take to an extreme - Zombie invasion, would your cash be sufficient to pay for an Uber ride outta town, or would the rate for that change significantly?
On a more realistic scenario, blackouts due to fire/whatnot occur, people run to the store to buy candles/batteries/etc. The demand shoots up, so your value diminishes.
As such, cash as an EF for disasters does have a place, but you need to be aware of its limitations. And it isn't the same as a regular EF concept, as the concentration of market (your neighborhood shops) means that the value of cash can fluctuate within that pocket of reality.
I'm not dismissing the idea, just suggesting that it might not play out as expected.