2023 Results of National Household Survey on Disaster Prep

Every year since 2013, FEMA has conducted a survey on how well American households are prepared for disasters. The results for 2023 have just been released.

Here are the key findings:

• 51% believe they are prepared.

• 57% took 3 or more actions to prepare.

• 50% believe that taking steps to prepare for a disaster will help them get through the disaster and are confident in their ability to take those steps.

• 89% of respondents said they had received information about preparedness.

• People who had received information about how to prepare were 5 times more likely to take at least 3 preparedness actions.

• Most common actions:

  • 48% assembled or updated supplies.

  • 37% made a plan.

• Least common actions:

  • 12% planned with neighbors.

  • 14% got involved in their community.

2022 Actions vs. 2023 Actions

Numbers are shown in percentages of respondents.

The Relationship Between Preparedness Awareness and Taking Action

The chart compares awareness of emergency preparedness info. with taking at least 1 of 12 prep actions.

The Relationship Between Risk Awareness and Taking Action

The chart compares the percentages of people aware of their risk with those unaware in terms of taking at least 1 of 12 basic action steps.

The Relationship Between Disaster Experience and Disaster Prep

The chart compares people with disaster experience and no disaster experience in terms of their preparation (taking at least 1 of 12 basic prep steps).

Age Comparison in Terms of Self-Belief and Preparedness Actions

The chart compares two age groups in terms of how prepared they believe they are vs. how prepared they actually are.

Awareness of Risk in High-Risk Areas

The chart shows the percentage of people living in specific high-risk areas who have awareness of that risk.

The survey, which gathered more than 7,600 responses, was conducted between February and mid-March. Data were collected using a web-based survey written in English and Spanish. Download the complete results here. See last year’s results here.

Wanting to upgrade your preparedness? Join Bainbridge Prepares in a year-long event, Prepare in a Year 2024, launching January 1.