Many unprepared for a disaster

0 Comments | USA TODAY, May, 2007 | by Brad Heath

Many Americans haven't taken basic steps to prepare for a natural disaster and have little confidence the federal government is ready to help them if one strikes.

The findings come as the nation braces for a summer that government forecasts predict could bring a worse-than-normal onslaught of hurricanes, tornadoes and wildfires. The first named storm of the year formed Wednesday off the Atlantic coast as fires burned from Florida to Los Angeles and President Bush toured a Kansas town flattened by a tornado.

When it comes to preparing for such disasters, a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll found 41% of people don't have a stockpile of food and water, and 27% don't have an extra supply of medicines, both of which the Federal Emergency Management Agency says are basic...