In the Year Since Katrina, Americans Are Stockpiling Emergency Supplies; Battery-Powered Radios, as well as Candles, Food and Water, Are Popular Items

Business Wire, August 28, 2006

CHARLESTON, S.C. -- In the year since Hurricane Katrina caused widespread devastation along the Gulf Coast, nearly four out of every five American adults say they have taken some precaution to prepare for an emergency. A national survey commissioned by American Media Services found that only 21 percent of Americans say they have not yet taken any precautions.

The survey found that a majority of Americans have bought candles or flashlights (62 percent) or checked the batteries for their emergency equipment (54 percent). Nearly half say they have stockpiled food and water (46 percent) and bought or checked a battery-powered radio (43 percent).

"Following Katrina, most Americans are taking advice seriously to stock up on emergency items - and that includes a radio for getting information locally," said Ed Seeger, President and Chief Executive Officer of American Media Services (AMS), which commissioned the survey. "Radio plays an essential role in emergency preparedness. We hope that 100 percent of Americans would be prepared for emergencies by having a battery-powered radio on hand, as well as other essential supplies."

Dr. Vincent Gawronski, a federal government consultant on disasters and a professor at Birmingham-Southern College, also encourages all Americans to stock up on emergency supplies. "When you think of the hurricanes in the South, the prevalence of wildfires in the West, tornadoes in the Mid-West, and harsh winters in North-East, no one is truly immune to natural disasters," said Gawronski. "I think that since Hurricane Katrina, more people are now taking emergency preparedness more seriously, but still too many people remain complacent or are in denial."

The survey found that 77 percent said they have a battery-powered radio in their homes, and 82 percent of those with a radio said they've checked the batteries at some point within the past year. In fact, nearly half (44 percent) said they checked the batteries within the past month, and another 19 percent said they checked within the past three months.

"I was surprised that not everyone has a working battery-powered radio in the home," said Gawronski. "This is a vital source of information during an emergency. As the survey results indicate, there seems to be a lot of confidence in local radio stations to provide emergency information."

The survey found that more than four out of five (84 percent) said they are confident their local radio stations would be able to provide the information they need to get through the emergency. Nearly two-thirds say they know which radio station to tune to in an emergency.

The telephone survey of 1,008 Americans adults was conducted Aug. 11-13, 2006, for American Media Services by Omnitel, the weekly omnibus survey by the national polling firm of GfK NOP of Princeton, N.J. The survey is considered accurate within plus or minus 3 percentage points.

With winds of 140 miles an hour, Katrina made landfall on the Gulf Coast on Aug. 29, 2005. According to the website of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, individuals should assemble a "kit of emergency supplies that will allow you and your family to survive for at least three days in the event an emergency happens. The kit should include basic items like water, food, battery-powered radio, flashlight and a first aid kit. Go to www.ready.gov for a complete list of recommended supplies."

AMS is a full-service radio brokerage, engineering and developmental engineering firm, and its developmental division leads the country in successfully implementing station upgrades by moving them into larger markets, dramatically increasing their value. Since its founding in 1997, AMS has increased the value of 21 stations across the country by $205.1 million, and more than $200 million in proposed rulemakings are currently pending before the FCC.