NPM

National Preparedness Month
September 2006

“Being prepared for a disaster is often the key to surviving one.”

Why is Family Preparedness Important?

Because in 95% of emergency situations, local bystanders are the first available responders. (Citizen Corps Powerpoint Presentation)

Consider these ratios:

1 firefighter for every 265 people (National Fire Protection Association (2003))
1 EMT/paramedic for every 325 people (Journal of Emergency Medical Services (2004))
1 sworn officer for every 334 people (National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund (2003))

Because being prepared reduces loss of lives and property.

10 Most Costly US Disasters (ISO; Insurance Information Institute)
(2005 $ millions)

Rank	Peril	Insured Loss
1	Hurricane Katrina (2005)	$40,600
2	Hurricane Andrew (1992)	21,576
3	Terrorist Attacks (2001)	20,732
4	Northridge CA earthquake (1994)	16,473
5	Hurricane Wilma (2005)	10,300
6	Hurricane Charley (2004)	7,728
7	Hurricane Ivan (2004)	7,351
8	Hurricane Hugo (1989)	6,607
9	Hurricane Rita (2005)	5,000
10	Hurricane Frances (2004)	4,751

(1) Property coverage only.
(2) Adjusted to 2005 dollars by the Insurance Information Institute.

How Prepared are our Families?

While 67% of individuals consider emergency preparedness a very important issue, only…

42% have put together their own emergency supply kit.
32% have put together a family emergency plan.
22% have actually taken the initiative to receive more information on how to get themselves or their families prepared.
11% of households have done all three.

Click here to learn more facts about national preparedness.

How Prepared are our Communities?

56% of the populace feel that the country is not ready for another disaster (AP/ Ipsos Poll on Attitudes about disaster preparedness, August 2006)

American Red Cross
In community preparedness and response, the American Red Cross:

Responded to 72,883 disasters across the country - more disasters on record than reported in the past six years. Of note: fires accounted for 92 percent of the figure, the largest percentage of eight potential types of disasters.

Trained 5,152,027 individuals, families and businesses to be prepared for unexpected situations such as power outages and winter storms - the highest number on record as trained for a given year.

Please note: The above figures are based on American Red Cross fiscal 2004-2005 year statistics from July 1, 2004 through June 30, 2005.

Workplace

There is a 12% decrease in workplace preparedness since 2001.

Only 51% of employees have received emergency preparedness information and/or training from their employer.

Public Schools and Daycare Centers

96% have a staff member, other than the nurse, with CPR training.

94% have a staff member, other than the school nurse, with basic first aid training.

81% of public schools (K-12) have established a relationship with local EMS personnel for possible emergency situations

51% of daycare centers have provided parents with information regarding their emergency or disaster plan