The American Red Cross, George Washington University, the Department of Homeland Security and the Council for Excellence in Government, co-sponsored a symposium titled, “Public Preparedness—A National Imperative,” which brought together a broad spectrum of leaders to identify the issues, challenges and barriers to public preparedness, and the needs and expectations of the public both during and after a disaster. The American Red Cross chose this forum to release preparedness research conducted last month by Wirthlin Worldwide.
The Red Cross/Wirthlin Worldwide survey found that only two in ten Americans feel “very prepared” for a catastrophic event; only about half of parents polled knew the disaster plans of their child’s school or daycare; the number of people who are familiar with the disaster plan at their workplace is also only about half; and the number of people who said that they have a family emergency plan that includes a place to meet if they are evacuated and emergency contact numbers has plummeted in the last year. In fact, only one in ten American households has a family emergency plan, a disaster kit, and training in first aid and CPR.