Ready.gov launched in February 2003 as a national public service campaign. Its central preparedness message is practical: stay informed, make a plan, build a kit, and get involved. FEMA’s 2024 National Household Survey on Disaster Preparedness shows how often households report taking those steps, while Ready.gov guidance gives specific quantities and safety thresholds for everyday emergencies.
Contents
- What the Ready campaign asks people to do
- What households reported in FEMA’s 2024 survey
- How preparedness differs by age and gender
- Emergency kit and workplace shelter statistics
- Ready.gov alerts and text-message numbers
- Flood safety numbers that matter
- Wildfire and weather preparedness indicators
What the Ready campaign asks people to do
Ready.gov and Listo both organize preparedness around four key actions: stay informed, make a plan, build a kit, and get involved. These four actions cover information, household decision-making, supplies, and participation in the wider community.
The campaign began in February 2003, according to Ready.gov About Us. That history matters because the campaign’s guidance is built around repeatable household actions rather than one specific disaster type. The same framework can be used for flood planning, wildfire awareness, severe weather alerts, and everyday emergency supplies.
The four actions also provide a useful way to read FEMA’s 2024 survey percentages. An emergency plan belongs to “make a plan,” supplies belong to “build a kit,” alerts and warnings belong to “stay informed,” and drills or volunteer work belong to “get involved.” The survey measures reported household activities, not a guarantee that every household could respond successfully in an emergency.
What households reported in FEMA’s 2024 survey
FEMA’s 2024 National Household Survey on Disaster Preparedness measured several preparedness activities. The percentages below describe respondents in that survey and its 2024 measurement period.
| Preparedness activity | Respondents reporting it |
|---|---|
| Emergency supplies set aside | 68% |
| Signed up for alerts and warnings | 68% |
| Safeguarded important documents | 67% |
| Emergency plan | 64% |
| Plan to contact family members | 64% |
| Money set aside for an emergency | 63% |
| Home improvements to mitigate property damage | 63% |
| Knew evacuation routes | 59% |
| Homeowners or renters insurance | 58% |
| Plan to communicate with neighbors | 53% |
| Participated in an emergency drill | 28% |
| Volunteered to help the community prepare | 23% |
The highest reported levels in this set were emergency supplies and alerts and warnings, each at 68%. Safeguarding important documents was reported by 67% of respondents. Emergency plans and family contact plans each reached 64%, while 63% reported money set aside for an emergency and 63% reported home improvements intended to mitigate property damage.
Some planning activities were less common. Fifty-nine percent knew their evacuation routes, and 53% had a plan to communicate with neighbors. Participation-oriented activities were reported by fewer respondents: 28% had participated in an emergency drill and 23% had volunteered to help their community prepare.
These figures describe different parts of preparedness, so they should not be combined into a single household readiness score. A respondent may have supplies without an evacuation route, or an emergency plan without a drill. The value of the breakdown is that it shows which individual actions households reported taking.
How preparedness differs by age and gender
FEMA’s 2024 survey also reports differences by age. Among respondents ages 18–59, 81% were aware of preparedness information, compared with 71% among respondents ages 60 and older. Disaster experience was reported by 49% of those ages 18–59 and 36% of those ages 60 and older.
The pattern changes for several concrete preparedness measures. Emergency supplies were set aside by 67% of respondents ages 18–59 and 72% of respondents ages 60 and older. Homeowners or renters insurance was reported by 66% of the younger age group and 88% of the older age group. An emergency plan was reported by 58% of respondents ages 18–59 and 52% of respondents ages 60 and older.
| FEMA 2024 survey measure | Ages 18–59 | Ages 60+ |
|---|---|---|
| Awareness of preparedness information | 81% | 71% |
| Reported disaster experience | 49% | 36% |
| Emergency supplies set aside | 67% | 72% |
| Homeowners or renters insurance | 66% | 88% |
| Emergency plan | 58% | 52% |
The survey also reports results by gender. Awareness of preparedness information was 76% among women and 80% among men. Emergency supplies were set aside by 64% of women and 73% of men. An emergency plan was reported by 52% of women and 61% of men.
For Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish respondents, 73% reported having emergency supplies set aside, compared with 68% for non-Hispanic respondents. These are survey-group percentages for the stated categories and period; they do not explain why the groups differ or predict an individual household’s preparedness.
Emergency kit and workplace shelter statistics
Ready.gov’s Build a Kit guidance gives a specific water baseline: one gallon of water per person per day. The same guidance says a basic emergency kit should include at least three days of non-perishable food. Ready.gov recommends building a kit for at least three days, with a possibility of a longer supply period in remote or hard-to-reach areas.
Those quantities apply to the people a household is preparing for. The water figure is a per-person, per-day amount, while the food guidance is expressed as a minimum duration. Ready.gov does not turn these two figures into a universal household total because household size and circumstances vary.
Workplaces are part of the same preparedness picture. Ready.gov says people should be prepared to shelter at work for at least 24 hours. That workplace duration is distinct from the basic home-kit guidance of at least three days.
Together, the figures identify three planning horizons: at least 24 hours for sheltering at work, at least three days of non-perishable food for a basic emergency kit, and potentially longer kit coverage for remote or hard-to-reach areas. The source presents these as preparedness recommendations, not forecasts of how long a particular emergency will last.
Ready.gov alerts and text-message numbers
The FEMA App can be configured for weather alerts for up to five different locations anywhere in the United States, according to Ready.gov Get Tech Ready. That capacity can support people who monitor more than one place, such as a home, workplace, school, or family location.
Ready.gov Get Tech Ready identifies 43362 as the short code for FEMA text alerts. The available commands are specific:
- Text PREPARE to 43362 to receive preparedness tips.
- Text SHELTER plus a ZIP code to 43362 to search for open shelters.
- Text LIST to 43362 to see all subscribeable keywords.
- Text STOP to 43362 to unsubscribe at any time.
These commands are operational details supplied by Ready.gov, not survey percentages. Keeping the short code and command words together makes the alert system easier to use when a household is preparing its communication plan.
Flood safety numbers that matter
Ready.gov Floods gives two clear moving-water thresholds. Six inches of moving floodwater can knock a person down. One foot of moving water can sweep a vehicle away. Ready.gov Thunderstorms & Lightning repeats the warning for flooded roads and advises turning around.
Flood hazards can result from five listed sources: rain, snow, coastal storms, storm surges, and dam or water-system overflow. Flash floods can arrive with no warning. Floodwaters can also produce three major types of disruption identified on the Ready.gov page: outages, transportation disruption, and building damage plus landslides.
Insurance and timing are separate parts of flood preparedness. Ready.gov says homeowner’s insurance does not cover flooding. A flood insurance policy typically takes up to 30 days to go into effect. That waiting period is a policy timing detail, not an estimate of when flooding will occur.
The practical thresholds are therefore small compared with the size of a vehicle or roadway: six inches can affect a person on foot, and one foot can affect a vehicle. The guidance supports a simple decision when a road is flooded: turn around rather than attempting to cross.
Wildfire and weather preparedness indicators
Ready.gov Wildfires says wildfires can happen anywhere, anytime. The page identifies higher wildfire risk when there is little or no rainfall, because bushes, grass, and trees dry out. High winds can spread wildfires.
Ready.gov also defines a Fire Weather Watch as a condition in which fire weather is possible over the next 12 to 72 hours. The 12-to-72-hour window is a planning period for watching conditions; it is not a prediction that a wildfire will occur.
The Ready.gov home page identifies lightning as a leading cause of injury and death from weather-related hazards. This places lightning awareness alongside flood and wildfire planning as part of everyday preparedness. The FEMA 2024 survey’s 68% alert-signup figure gives a household-level measure connected to that goal: 68% of respondents reported being signed up to receive alerts and warnings.
The survey also found that 59% knew their evacuation routes, 53% had a plan to communicate with neighbors, and 28% had participated in an emergency drill. Those three figures connect information with action: knowing a route, coordinating locally, and practicing a response are separate steps that households may complete at different times.