If you only had a couple of minutes to grab what’s most important to you before evacuating during an emergency, what would you take? That’s what a new survey asks 2-thousand U.S. adults in honor of National Preparedness Month.
Respondents were given 60 seconds to choose items from the FEMA emergency preparedness checklist, along with a few other household items and asked which they would take if a natural disaster was heading straight toward their home and they had to evacuate quickly.
- A cell phone with a backup charger and battery tops the list (50%)
- Important family documents, like insurance policies and identifications (45%), prescription medications (36%), food (36%) and water (33%) all rank high on the list.
- People would take family photos or albums (30%) over a first-aid kit (28%) and a flashlight (28%), both of which FEMA recommends.
- Laptops (26%) beat out a complete change of clothing (24%), a sleeping bag or warm blanket for each person (21%) and sturdy shoes (15%).
The survey also reveals:
- Nearly two-thirds of Americans say they take emergency preparedness more seriously now than they did 10 years ago.
- Over a third (36%) believe they’re the most prepared person they know, followed by their partner or spouse (14%) and their mom (11%).
- Many people are also taking overall preparedness more seriously, including having an evacuation plan (86%) and security products at home, like waterproof or fireproof safes (81%).
- But some Americans still keep their most important items in their wallet (24%), in a closet (24%), or in a drawer (22%).
- If it meant they got to keep their most prized possessions forever, two in five would be willing to sleep on the floor for the rest of their lives, while 11% would gladly empty their entire bank account. And 20% of millennials would even pass on getting married in order to never lose their most important things.
Source: Talker