Good points here:
Supporting Findings
• Given the growing frequency and severity of disasters and other risks, there needs to be an increase in individual accountability, enterprise, and community investment in resilient infrastructure.
o Thereisamisconceptionthateventsoccurinfrequently.
o Thereneedstobemoreindividualaccountabilityforpreparedness.
• Resilience at the state and local level will be critical to enable people to shelter in place and
facilitate faster recovery. Any event that requires a mass evacuation will use up critical resources,
clog transportation pathways, and reduce the workforce necessary for infrastructure recovery.
• Electricity, fuel, clean drinking water, wastewater services, food/refrigeration, emergency medical
services, communications capabilities, and some access to financial services have been identified as critical lifeline services that would be needed to sustain local communities and prevent mass migration.
• People no longer keep enough essentials within their homes, reducing their ability to sustain themselves during an extended, prolonged outage. We need to improve individual preparedness.
o Mostpreparednesscampaignscallforcitizenstobepreparedfor72hoursinanemergency, but the new emerging standard is 14 days.
o Forexample,Washington,Oregon,andHawaiihaveastandardthatindividualshaveenough food and water to support themselves for 14 days. These efforts could serve as a model for federal and state preparedness resources, campaigns, and training.
o Theideaofindividualpreparednessisnotanewconcept.Civildefense,anoldertermused to elevate a level of individual preparedness and activate communities, used to be more widely accepted.
o FEMAoffersanumberoftools,resources,andguidanceonemergencypreparedness, including recent efforts focused on better financial preparedness for disasters, and working with interagency partners on activity books and courses to educate students on emergency preparedness.
