Back Washington – Americans get a failing grade on their preparedness for emergencies, including a terrorist attack or a natural disaster, according to a report to be released today. Just 12 percent of those questioned in a national survey said they had done a great deal to prepare, such as learning evacuation routes or putting together an emergency kit of food or medicine. And Midwesterners score last, with just over half having done anything at all to get themselves or their families ready for the worst, according to a national poll for the American Red Cross and the Council for Excellence in Government. “My initial reaction is that’s so disappointing, because we really do try, with the different preparedness weeks we have,” said Patti Thompson, spokeswoman for the Illinois Emergency Management Agency. Especially worrisome, she said, is the earthquake risk in Southern Illinois. Only 36 percent of Americans report having prepared a communication plan if family members get separated. Even fewer have established a meeting place. The national survey of 2,008 adults, with a sampling error of 3.2 percentage points, was carried out by Peter D. Hart Research. Few Americans are aware of their city or state’s emergency plan, though more know about plans at their workplace or school. Various factors appear to be in play, ranging from apathy to not knowing how to prepare, from a belief that things won’t affect one personally to the lack of personal experience with a disaster. Susie Stoner, spokeswoman for Missouri’s State Emergency Management Agency, says state officials carry out a range of seasonal campaigns to improve public awareness, covering such topics as earthquakes, tornadoes, flooding, heat and lightening and general preparedness. “People will say they have the information,” Stoner said. “We’ll ask if they have two weeks of food, and they’ll say, ‘No, but I know where I can get it.’ Getting people prepared is a huge challenge.” The key, Stoner said, is to “get the children to buy into these campaigns; they rag their parents to death – asking ‘Where’s the food, what’s the evacuation route?’” As a result, her agency is working closely with schools in Missouri. Illinois’ Thompson said public awareness campaigns were critical, especially because the state hadn’t had recent catastrophes that would prompt people to prepare for emergencies. Patricia McGinnis, president of the Council for Excellence in Government, was asked whether the regional figures might reflect Midwestern calm and stability. There may be something to that, she said, given the area’s lack of recent emergencies. “But you could also make the argument,” she added, “that being centered and responsible, good Midwesterners would lead you to be prepared and not really see it as a big deal or a complicated challenge, but just something you do.” The council is a nonprofit, nonpartisan group based in Washington that works to improve the performance of government. Jim Carafano, homeland security analyst at the Heritage Foundation, said 30 years of research backed up the study. “We just don’t have a culture of preparedness in the United States,” Carafano said. The fact that the South and the West were the most prepared makes sense, he said, because of hurricanes in the former and earthquakes in the latter. The Midwest is not a high disaster area,” he said, adding that the terrorist threat didn’t by itself spur most people to prepare, because “Americans know their odds of being killed in a terrorist attack are essentially nil.” Ready or Not In case of disaster: • 36 percent prepared a plan to contact family members. • 25 percent established a meeting place if separated. • 18 percent were familiar with their city’s emergency plan. • 16 percent were aware of their state’s plan. Have you done anything to prepare for disaster? • South: 74 percent • West: 64 percent • Northeast: 58 percent • Midwest: 52 percent Source: Study by Peter D. Hart Research for the Council for Excellence in Government and the American Red Cross. This story may be available for an Adobe Acrobat PDF download. Click on the link below to visit the site download center. If a PDF is available, the file will automatically open in your browser.

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