How Prepared are Americans?

A recent survey reported on American’s beliefs about preparation and disaster preparedness. The major finding of the survey, conducted by Kelton Research, showed that 85% of Americans do not feel prepared for a catastrophe. They were asked questions about why they feel they need to prepare, what catastrophes they might face, how to best prepare and what they would do if they thought the world was going to end. Check out some of the findings below:

Do Americans feel the need to prepare?

Do you need to prepare more?

Interestingly, Americans were split on whether they needed further preparations for a potential catastrophe. 49% said they were “as prepared as I need to be.” 51% said they needed more preparations.

Do you think a catastrophe will occur?

One of the interesting findings from the survey was that the majority of Americans believe that a major catastrophe will occur within in the next 20 years.

Beliefs about 2012

Almost ⅓ of respondents (27%) believe that a catastrophic event is likely to occur on Dec. 21, 2012. 73% responded that a major event on that date is unlikely.

Are Americans actually prepared?

How prepared are you compared to those around you?

When asked how prepared they feel compared to their neighbors, half (53%) said they were “about as prepared” as those around them. Nearly ¼ (23%) said they were “more prepared” and another ¼ (24%) said they were “less prepared” than the rest of the country.

How long could you last?

Nearly 40% of people say they would only last two weeks based on their current supplies.

How fast could you evacuate?

The majority of Americans (49%) said they would need 15 - 60 minutes to prepare if they were required to leave their home. Only 8% said they would be ready to leave their home with all the things they needed in order to survive in “less than a minute.”

Would you share your supplies?

The majority of Americans said they were willing to share their preparation supplies or food storage. 76% of respondents said they would share resources with their immediate family. 42% said they would share with neighbors. 24% even said they would share with neighbors that they didn’t know that well. Only 3% of respondents said they wouldn’t share their resources with anyone.

Reasons to prepare

Natural Disasters The majority of Americans feel that a significant natural disaster will occur within the next 25 years. 64% said they believed a significant earthquake would hit. 63% said a significant hurricane and 29% said that a pandemic, such as a super-virus  would occur. Nearly 3 out of every 4 people (71%) believe that disaster in our lifetime will be an act of God, not man.

Man-made disasters With that being said, 55% of Americans believe that a terrorist attack could occur within the next 25 years. 51% believe that a financial collapse could occur while 14% fear a nuclear fallout.

Why are you not prepared?

When asked what were the major reasons that they were not prepared for a potential catastrophe, 40% of Americans said they “couldn’t afford to buy or stock up on certain supplies.” More than ¼ (27%) said they didn’t know what they should be doing in order to prepare. About ¼ of respondents (24%) said they didn’t need to prepare because they “didn’t think any catastrophes will happen.”

How to prepare

Money vs resources

59% said they believed that “saving for retirement,” such as donating to a 401(k), was smarter than stocking up on resources or building a bomb shelter. 41% said they preferred stocking up on resources.

Food & Water

A large chunk of Americans (45%), have stocked up on canned or non-perishable food items.  Around the same amount, 43%, have also collected drinking water. Only 21% grow their own food, such as fruits and vegetables.

Escape plans

More than ⅓ (34%) of Americans make efforts to keep a full tank of gas in their car in order to escape. 33% of Americans have a go-bag or 72-hour kit. 20% have an family escape plan.

Other plans

A little more than ¼ (26%) of Americans own at least one gun. Almost the same amount, 24% plan on having extra cash on hand. 9 % of Americans have built a bomb shelter.

Do nothing

Nearly ¼ (25%) of Americans say they have never made any preparation efforts.

Random findings

Republican vs Democrat

When asked whether a man-made disaster was more likely to occur under the watch of a Democrat or Republican President, 52% said that a disaster was more likely under a Republican President. 48% said that a man-made disaster was more likely under a Democrat President.

The night before the disaster

27% of respondents said they would “resolve a feud or disagreement with a loved one” if they thought the world was going to end tomorrow. 24% said they would “have sex.”