Emergency preparedness statistics show a mixed picture of household readiness. In the 2024 FEMA National Household Survey on Disaster Preparedness, 78% of respondents had read, seen, or heard at least some information about getting better prepared for a disaster during the previous year. Yet preparation is uneven: supplies and insurance are more common than written evacuation plans, drills, or community involvement. Older adults often report longer-established preparation, while adults ages 18 to 59 report more recent experience and activity in several areas.
Contents
- How much preparedness information people receive
- What motivates or delays preparation
- Household readiness by age group
- Supplies and plans in older CDC data
- Why knowledge and confidence matter
- Local differences in Tennessee
- What the historical trend suggests
How much preparedness information people receive
The 2024 FEMA National Household Survey measured whether respondents had received information about specific preparedness actions during the previous year. Emergency supply kits were the most frequently reported topic after general preparedness awareness: 42% said they had received information about them. Emergency plans followed at 34%, while 32% received information about alerts and warnings.
Information about evacuation was less common. Twenty-seven percent received information about evacuation plans or routes, and 26% received information about protecting their homes. Financial preparation reached 25%, including information about saving money. Protecting important documents was reported by 24% of respondents, and 23% received information about keeping in contact with family.
The least frequently reported topics in this group were practicing emergency drills, property insurance, community involvement, and helping neighbors. Each of the first two reached 21%; 19% received information about getting involved in the community, and 18% received information about helping neighbors during a disaster.
These figures describe exposure to information, not completed actions. A person may have heard about an emergency kit without assembling one, or received information about an evacuation route without writing down a household plan. The distinction matters when interpreting the 78% overall awareness figure.
What motivates or delays preparation
The 2024 FEMA National Household Survey also measured perceived risk, motivation, barriers, and expected support. Thirty percent of respondents worried that a disaster would affect them or their family. Protecting their own safety and their family’s safety was a preparation motivator for 44%.
Cost was the most prominent reported barrier in the supplied measures. Twenty-six percent said the biggest barrier was thinking preparedness would cost too much. This does not establish that cost is the only reason households remain unprepared, but it identifies affordability as a major practical concern in the survey.
Expectations about outside help were widespread. Seventy-one percent expected support from friends or family after a disaster or emergency, while 52% expected support from the federal government. Those expectations coexist with personal preparation: receiving help later does not necessarily mean a household has supplies, plans, insurance, or a way to receive warnings.
Moving decisions also connected preparedness with housing choices. Seventeen percent of respondents had moved within the previous year. Among those recent movers, about one in three considered hazards or building codes in the decision to move. The measure is an approximate share and should not be read as a precise percentage.
Household readiness by age group
The 2024 FEMA survey found meaningful differences between adults ages 18 to 59 and adults age 60 and older. Awareness of preparedness information was 81% among adults 18 to 59, compared with 71% among adults 60 and older. Disaster experience was also higher among the younger group in this comparison, at 49% versus 36%. Reported disaster risk perception was 38% versus 25%, and preparedness efficacy was 34% versus 26%.
The groups differed in intentions as well. Thirteen percent of adults 18 to 59 said they were not prepared and did not intend to prepare in the next year, compared with 12% of adults 60 and older. Twenty-two percent of adults 18 to 59 were not prepared but intended to start preparing in the next year, compared with 13% of older adults. For an intended start within the next six months, the figures were 27% and 20%, respectively.
Older adults more often described preparation as established. Fifteen percent of adults 18 to 59 had been prepared for less than a year, compared with 14% of adults 60 and older. In contrast, 22% of the younger group had been prepared for more than a year, compared with 42% of older adults.
The next table compares selected reported household actions. These are percentages within each age group from the 2024 FEMA National Household Survey, not a ranking of individual households.
| Preparedness action | Adults 18–59 | Adults 60 and older |
|---|---|---|
| Emergency supplies set aside | 67% | 72% |
| Homeowners or renters insurance | 66% | 88% |
| Safeguarded important documents | 64% | 73% |
| Emergency plan | 58% | 52% |
| Money set aside for an emergency | 58% | 73% |
| Plan to contact family members | 65% | 57% |
| Signed up for alerts and warnings | 69% | 68% |
Adults 18 to 59 were more likely to report an emergency plan, at 58% versus 52%, and a plan to contact family members, at 65% versus 57%. They were also slightly more likely to be signed up for alerts and warnings, at 69% versus 68%.
Older adults reported higher rates for emergency supplies, insurance, safeguarded documents, and money set aside. The largest listed difference was insurance: 88% among adults 60 and older versus 66% among adults 18 to 59. Money set aside was 73% versus 58%, and safeguarded documents were 73% versus 64%.
The contrast was especially large for participation. Twenty-seven percent of adults 18 to 59 participated in an emergency drill, compared with 7% of adults 60 and older. Twenty percent of the younger group volunteered to help their community prepare, compared with 4% of older adults.
Other action measures also varied. Adults 18 to 59 reported knowing their evacuation routes at 49%, compared with 39% among older adults. Home improvements to mitigate property damage were reported by 61% versus 52%, and plans to communicate with neighbors by 47% versus 38%.
Supplies and plans in older CDC data
Older CDC evidence provides a separate baseline and should not be combined directly with the 2024 FEMA results. A CDC MMWR analysis of Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System data from 14 states, covering 2006 to 2010, found that 25.3% of adults felt their households were well prepared and 55.5% said their households were somewhat prepared.
In that analysis, 34.1% of households had four of five recommended preparedness items, while 12.3% had all five. A further 1.3% reported having none of the recommended items. These historical figures reflect a different period, survey context, geography, and set of measures than the 2024 national survey.
The same CDC MMWR reporting described individual preparedness resources. A working flashlight was reported by 94.8% of households. A three-day supply of medications for everyone who required them was reported by 89.7%, and a three-day supply of food by 82.9%. Working battery-operated radios were reported by 77.7%.
Water and written evacuation planning were less common. A three-day supply of water was reported by 53.6% of households, while 21.1% reported having a written evacuation plan. The gap between common equipment and less common written planning illustrates why a supply kit alone does not capture every part of preparedness.
Why knowledge and confidence matter
Another CDC MMWR analysis examined how preparedness knowledge and beliefs related to household actions. Compared with basic preparedness knowledge, advanced knowledge was associated with a 44% emergency kit rate versus 17%. Advanced knowledge was also associated with a 9% written household disaster plan rate versus 4% for basic knowledge.
For county emergency alert notifications, the corresponding rates were 63% for advanced knowledge and 41% for basic knowledge. These are associations reported by the CDC analysis; they do not by themselves prove that increasing knowledge caused every difference.
Self-efficacy showed similar relationships for several supplies. Strong self-efficacy beliefs were associated with a 59% three-day food supply rate versus 29% for weak beliefs. For a three-day water supply, the rates were 46% and 18%.
One measure did not follow that pattern in the supplied figures. Strong self-efficacy beliefs were associated with an 85% flashlight or headlamp rate, versus 98% for weak beliefs. Because the reported association runs in the opposite direction for this item, it should not be generalized to all preparedness supplies.
Local differences in Tennessee
A CDC MMWR assessment of household preparedness through training exercises in two metropolitan Tennessee counties found different results by county. Three-day supplies of nonperishable food were reported by 84% of Knox County households and 82% of Davidson County households.
Water stores showed a wider gap. Thirty-nine percent of Knox County households reported a three-day supply of water, compared with 54% of Davidson County households. Prescription medication supplies also differed: 74% of Knox County households and 91% of Davidson County households reported three-day supplies.
These county figures are not national estimates. They show why location and survey setting matter when interpreting emergency preparedness statistics. Even within one state assessment, food, water, and medication readiness did not move together at the same levels.
What the historical trend suggests
The 2023 FEMA National Preparedness Report summarized findings from FEMA’s 2022 National Household Survey. In that survey, 42% intended to prepare sometime in the future but had not yet started. Another 14% did not intend to prepare.
The same report described a change in the share that did not intend to prepare: it fell from 17% in 2017 to 9% in 2020, then rose to 14% in 2022. These are survey-year measurements summarized in the 2023 report, not a forecast of future household behavior.
Finally, FEMA Preparedness Research assessed more than 380 protective actions using 275 research studies and articles covering 12 natural hazards. That scope indicates how broad preparedness can be: household readiness includes supplies, communications, evacuation, property protection, finances, documents, insurance, and community action. The statistics above are therefore best read as distinct indicators rather than as one universal preparedness score.