American’s Preparedness for Disaster or Emergency Improves
Source: American Red Cross and Council for Excellence in Government

The nation’s RQ (Readiness Quotient) –a barometer of the public’s preparedness for a weather emergency, natural disaster or terrorist attack–inched up nearly a point from 15 months ago, according to a report released today by the American Red Cross and the Council for Excellence in Government.

The nation’s collective level of preparedness has increased to 4.14 out of a possible 10, compared to 3.31 in June 2006. The survey found that the biggest gains were in the public’s level of preparedness awareness, but more work needs to be done to engage people in taking preparedness actions.

Among the key findings:

• Sixty-five percent of respondents said they know how to find the emergency broadcasting channel on the radio (up from 43 percent in 2006) and 62 percent said that their local government had an emergency plan (up from 38 percent in 2006).
• The majority of Americans remain unprepared. Only 4 percent have taken all of the preparedness actions recommended in the RQ and 23 percent have not taken a single action.
• Preparedness among seniors improved substantially, from an average RQ score of 2.6 in 2006 to 4.0 in 2007, moving them out of the most unprepared category. Despite the fact that preparedness levels increased among those age 18 to 24 (2.7 in 2006 to 3.7 in 2007), this group of young adults is now among the least prepared age group.
• Businesses and schools play a role in helping to increase America’s preparedness level. People had a higher RQ if their employer had an emergency response plan (4.5 compared to 3.1); and parents were better prepared if their children’s schools or daycare had emergency response plans (4.5 compared to 2.8) and provided written information about those plans (5.3 compared to 3.4).

+ Full Report (PDF; 2 MB)
+ Test Your RQ