Cart |
Ready
Main Entrees
Outdoor Preparedness Sale
How prepared are Americans? Survey says not that prepared
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.”
If you’d like to see the full results, you can find them here.
This was a good item to read. But why more people
March 7th, 2012 at 10:58 pmare not doing something I don’t understand. Just do a little each month. Learn first aid and cpr. buy a can or two extra when you go to the store. But do something.
Whether any thing happens or not,I always follow the Army rule: its better to have and not need than to need and not have.’Nuff said….
March 12th, 2012 at 3:50 amThere will always be the grasshoppers who bounce around and play, play, play. Then when the proverbial SHTF, they will be dumbfounded and ask, how did this happen? Some people no matter how successful they may appear on the surface will be needy and helpless. These are the sheeple who walk among us. Fun, fun, fun.
March 12th, 2012 at 4:23 amI am of course, nervous about something big happening in the near future. I believe the economy will collapse, but I just don’t know when, or what the resulting situation will be. We don’t have a bomb shelter, but we are trying to stock up things when we get a chance.
More importantly, I am trying to learn skills: gardening, first aid, natural medicine, canning, baking, the art of fermentation, cooking with a solar oven, etc. I am learning a little bit here and there, and hope one day to be proficient in these things. Another thing I want to learn is to how to harvest heirloom seeds for re-use. I know it can be done. But I have no clue how to do it! I have books, and this spring/summer I am going to study on how to do it so that when I harvest my food from my garden, I will try to re-use my seeds.
March 12th, 2012 at 7:24 amWe must not let fear be the reason we prepare. Fear is paralyzing and does nothing to help you think straight. That said, I have been into preparedness for many many years. I live alone but prep for myself and several family members who are NOT prepping. I have tried my darndest to make everything as sustainable here as possible; I am blessed to have a lot of acreage to help out with that. Once you use your supplies you MUST have a way to replenish them. (Don’t count on barter; it could lead others straight to your supplies only to get you robbed or worse.) If a nationwide catastrophe occurs, I would feel very sorry for those who have only a few days or weeks of supplies. Katrina proved to us how unable the government is, to help large numbers of people. Learn all the skills you can NOW, as when under duress, it will be MUCH harder and possibly dangerous!
Keep your powder dry!
March 12th, 2012 at 7:52 amCheryl
This article points out important things to people who need to prepare. But I hate reading about statistics from surveys that I wasn’t part of and none of the people I know were part of. How do I know if it’s not 75% or only 10% of Americans who are trying to prepare? How many people really have a plan and how many people believe that everything will probably be fine? I know that a lot of people like to believe that no matter what happens the government will provide for us, and that is true. The most important part of the government(and the largest) is the citizen, and I believe that if we all become like-minded with plans to best handle disasters and take care of each other with our preparations is how we would be provided for.
March 12th, 2012 at 8:31 amThese numbers are surprising in both ways. I am surprised at how many feel they need to prepare in contrast to the actual people I know. I am also surprised at the number that say they are sufficiently prepared. If you feel ready, practice your plan to be sure. I would bet you would be surprised at the results.
Take care of yourself, don’t leave that to someone else.
March 12th, 2012 at 9:24 amI agree with much of what has been said here. I have always believed it is important to be prepared just in case. But I found out how unprepared I was when I downloaded the Mormon’s inventory list for stocking up. I had too much of one thing, not enough of others, and totally missed some things completely. It is a good thing to have a list to work from when stocking up, and even more important to rotate, rotate, rotate. If nothingn happens, then you have groceries to last, but if something does happen you will be fed. Just look at where the cost of gas is going. That means food will also cost more. Good idea to keep stocked up. Buy a couple of extra cans when you go shopping. It works.
March 12th, 2012 at 11:17 amI think the majority of those that would share all they have with everyone are talking about the tube of crackers and 2 cans of soup in their pantry. I’ve been preparing for 10 years and have a 3 years food supply plus ample protection of same. Of all the people I talk to, seems <1% are prepared. I think these numbers are stretched out of embarasment. There will be a lot of people with the "deer in the headlights" look when something happens. I think the closest thing to us now is the Israel/Iran issue. The US will no doubt be brought into this and predictions of what will happen within our borders as a result are worth listening to. For those on the wire, it doesn't take much to start your supplies. It will give you that starter peace of mind. You will be surprized where it will go from there. Ever woke up in the middle of the night and there was no milk? That ain't nothing compared to where we're going!!
March 12th, 2012 at 11:19 amEveryone likes to joke about the “Zombie Apocalypse.” It’s a standard line with preppers and survivalists, but it really is not a joke. The zombies in a zomnbie apocaypse are very real entities and when the time comes, they won’t be flesh-eating ghouls; they’ll be those who have not prepared when a serious disaster strikes.
March 12th, 2012 at 12:09 pmI’ve been storing food for about 30 years. I always rotate so it never gets very old. However, “out of date” and “life-sustaining” are two different things. If you open a 5-yr-old can and it smells bad and looks bad, don’t eat it. But if it looks and smells and tastes ok, try a little of it to check it out. It won’t have the nurishment of fresh and maybe the flavor won’t be as good, but it will sustain your life. The 6 most life-sustaining foods that should be the basis of any food storage are: wheat, sugar/honey, powdered/canned milk, cooking oil, salt, and WATER. These items won’t necessarily satisfy the fussy eater, but they will keep you alive!
March 12th, 2012 at 1:50 pmMy food storage (and other storage) has seen me through job layoffs, ice storms (where I was stuck in the house for a week w/no power), and just being too broke to go shopping.
Just think seriously about it: If you could not get to the grocery store because of one reason or another, how long could you survive? If there was a trucker’s strike and there was no food deliveries to the grocery stores, what would you do? Our high gas prices will probably effect the, trucking industry and prices will go way up. Stock up when there is a sale on anything you eat or use. (Like toilet paper, try living without that!) AND, store WATER, WATER, and MORE WATER!!
Better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it!
Mark my word, within two years we will have a financial meltdown. Get ready folks. Start now.
March 12th, 2012 at 2:41 pmHey I have had a thought…..my husband and I do have a garden, but what if there is something bad that happens and we are surrounded by unprepared people, and this continues for awhile. I can imagine that we work hard in our garden, and people might come steal from it while we sleep. We are generous people and would share up to a point…..but sorry, we’re not giving it all away so that we starve. Anyhow, back to the garden……Would there really be a way to stop people from stealing?
March 12th, 2012 at 3:13 pmMelanie: A 357 Magnum and rotate sleepers.
March 12th, 2012 at 6:30 pmLadybug42, BINGO! Canned food in a sunken ship over 100 years was found to still be good! Canned food, dried beans, pasta, rice, dehydrated /freeze -dried food, bottled water/filtration system, generator, stored gas treated w/sta-bil, guns, ammunition, medical supplies, MEDS, MEDS, MEDS! ! Would be a good start. MAY GOD BE WITH US ALL …SEMPER FI!!
March 13th, 2012 at 4:27 amI believe that no matter how prepared you are or think you are, you can never really be prepared for the unknown BUT you have to prepare for most part and even though I have a lot of supplies I know I don’t have enough.
March 13th, 2012 at 5:51 amMaxfromTexas, Thanks for the ‘Bingo’ and the added info! Too many people aren’t paying enough attention to what’s happening to our country and they are going to be amazed and shocked when the grocery store shelves become empty. Added info: Wheat has been found in Egyption tombs that are over 1000 yrs old. The wheat will still sprout! Wake up America! You are my sisters and brothers and I’m VERY worried about you! God bless us all! We will need it!
March 14th, 2012 at 12:01 pmI don’t know what it is.But something is coming our way.It’s going to get real bad.Prepared or not,I don’t know if anyone will make it.That does not mean I will not try.
March 14th, 2012 at 3:01 pmI have long and short term food stocked up.
7% of Americans believe that we will one day be inhabited and ruled by apes??
March 20th, 2012 at 2:44 am