Emergency preparedness spans household supplies, warning systems, evacuation planning and the outcomes communities face when hazards occur. The available U.S. evidence combines recent self-reported survey measures, older state and local assessments, a California wildfire study, and national fire-system estimates, so the figures below should not be treated as one directly comparable series.
Key Emergency Preparedness Statistics
The most useful headline measures are:
- In 2024, 69% of U.S. survey respondents had assembled emergency supplies.
- In 2024, 88% of U.S. respondents with assembled supplies said those supplies would last more than three days.
- In 2024, 61% of U.S. respondents with supplies said they would last more than one week.
- In 2024, 34% of U.S. respondents with supplies said they would last more than two weeks.
- In 2024, 18% of U.S. respondents with supplies said they would last more than one month.
- In 2024, 8% of U.S. respondents with supplies said they would last more than three months.
- In 2022, 42% of U.S. respondents intended to prepare for identified hazards but had not started.
- In 2024, 69% of Black or African American respondents had emergency supplies set aside.
- In 2024, 49% of U.S. adults aged 18–59 knew their evacuation routes.
- In 2024, 39% of U.S. adults aged 60 and older knew their evacuation routes.
- From 2006–2010, 53.6% of households in a 14-state U.S. module had a three-day water supply.
- From 2006–2010, 21.1% of households in that 14-state module had a written evacuation plan.
- In 2024, 1,388,000 fires were estimated for the United States.
- In 2024, 3,920 U.S. fire deaths were estimated.
- In 2024, 11,780 U.S. fire injuries were estimated.
- In 2024, U.S. fire dollar loss was estimated at $19.086 billion.
- In 2024, cooking accounted for 46.7% of U.S. residential-building fires.
Contents
- National household preparedness and readiness gaps
- Supplies, plans, alerts and evacuation data
- Preparedness statistics by race and resources
- Wildfire warnings and household readiness
- Fire incidents, injuries and losses
- Local response and community resilience
National Household Emergency Preparedness Statistics and Readiness Gaps
FEMA’s 2024 National Household Survey on Disaster Preparedness found that 69% of U.S. respondents had assembled emergency supplies. This is a self-reported survey measure, not a verified inspection of household kits. 2024 National Household Survey on Disaster Preparedness
Among respondents who had assembled supplies, reported duration declined as the time horizon lengthened:
| Reported supply duration | U.S. respondents with supplies, 2024 |
|---|---|
| More than three days | 88% |
| More than one week | 61% |
| More than two weeks | 34% |
| More than one month | 18% |
| More than three months | 8% |
These are conditional self-reports among people who said they had supplies. Duration was not independently verified, and the percentages should not be read as the share of all households with each duration.
The 2023 National Preparedness Report presents earlier FEMA survey measures of intention. In 2022, 42% of U.S. respondents intended to prepare for identified hazards in the future but had not started, while 14% said they did not intend to prepare.
The comparable “did not intend” share was 17% in 2017 and 9% in 2020; FEMA notes that historical survey comparisons can reflect changes in instrument and context. 2023 National Preparedness Report
Emergency Preparedness Data on Supplies, Plans, Alerts and Evacuation
An older CDC Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System module provides a useful view of specific household capabilities, but it covered 14 U.S. states in 2006–2010 and is not nationally generalizable according to the CDC limitation note. The estimates were self-reported:
- 94.8% of households had a working battery-operated flashlight.
- 89.7% had a three-day medication supply for everyone who required medication.
- 82.9% had a three-day food supply.
- 77.7% had a working battery-operated radio.
- 53.6% had a three-day water supply.
- 21.1% had a written evacuation plan.
The contrast between common equipment and less-common written planning is important, but these measures come from 2006–2010 rather than the 2024 FEMA survey. Household preparedness for public health emergencies—14 states, 2006–2010
A 2011 CDC assessment shows how local results can differ. In Knox County, Tennessee, 78% reported a working flashlight with batteries, 60% a battery-operated radio with batteries, 84% three-day nonperishable food supplies, 39% a three-day water supply, and 74% three-day prescription-medication supplies.
In Davidson County, Tennessee, the corresponding figures were 87% for a flashlight, 55% for a radio, 82% for food, 54% for water, and 91% for prescription medication. The same local assessment found that 63% in Knox County and 87% in Davidson County planned to bring pets during an evacuation.
These were two-county local CASPER results, not nationally representative estimates. Assessment of Household Preparedness Through Training Exercises—Two Metropolitan Counties, Tennessee, 2011
Emergency Preparedness Statistics by Race, Resources and Participation
FEMA’s 2024 survey reports descriptive subgroup estimates for supplies, alerts and insurance. These figures describe self-identified race groups and should not be treated as causal comparisons; subgroup estimates may also have sampling error.
| Self-identified group | Supplies set aside | Signed up for alerts and warnings | Homeowners or renters insurance |
|---|---|---|---|
| American Indian or Alaska Native | 73% | 68% | Not supplied |
| Asian | 68% | Not supplied | 78% |
| Black or African American | 75% | 69% | 63% |
| Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander | 53% | 49% | 40% |
| White | 68% | 70% | 77% |
The supplies measure ranges from 53% among Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander respondents to 75% among Black or African American respondents in the supplied groups. Alert registration ranges from 49% to 70% where reported, while insurance possession ranges from 40% to 78% where reported.
Insurance possession does not establish adequate disaster coverage. The FEMA figures are survey estimates rather than policy reviews, claims data or measures of whether coverage would meet a household’s losses. 2024 National Household Survey on Disaster Preparedness
Wildfire Warning Statistics and Household Readiness
Wildfire preparedness evidence combines national age-group measures with a focused California study. In FEMA’s 2024 U.S. survey, 49% of adults aged 18–59 knew their evacuation routes, compared with 39% of adults aged 60 and older.
These are self-reported age-group measures and are not wildfire-specific prevalence estimates. 2024 National Household Survey on Disaster Preparedness
A peer-reviewed California study surveyed 326 residents across 16 wildland–urban interface communities. The 2025 publication describes a mixed-mode sample, and its abstract reports some preparation findings qualitatively rather than as a complete statewide prevalence estimate, so those qualitative statements should not be converted into additional percentages. Before the flames: California WUI residents’ understanding of fire weather warnings and personal preparation around wildfire
The two sources answer different questions: FEMA supplies a broad U.S. age comparison, while the California research focuses on residents of selected WUI communities. Neither establishes a single national wildfire-readiness rate.
Emergency Preparedness Outcomes: Fire Incidents, Injuries and Losses
USFA estimated 1,388,000 U.S. fires in 2024, including 343,000 residential-building fires. The same national estimates put fire deaths at 3,920, fire injuries at 11,780 and direct fire dollar loss at $19.086 billion in 2024; the dollar figure does not represent total economic disruption.
| 2024 U.S. fire outcome | Estimate |
|---|---|
| All fires | 1,388,000 |
| Residential-building fires | 343,000 |
| Fire deaths | 3,920 |
| Fire injuries | 11,780 |
| Direct fire dollar loss | $19.086 billion |
Cooking accounted for 46.7% of residential-building fires in 2024, while electrical malfunction accounted for 7.7%. These are estimated cause categories based on fire reporting systems, and rounded categories may not be directly comparable with other datasets. USFA Statistics
USFA’s 2014–2023 comparison also shows differing trends by residential fire cause. Residential cooking fires decreased 11%, residential heating fires decreased 31%, residential other-unintentional/careless fires increased 42%, and residential electrical-malfunction fires increased 2% over that period.
The trend comparisons are derived from USFA series whose methodology or definitions can change across estimates. Residential Building Fire Causes (2014–2023)
Emergency Preparedness Statistics for Local Response and Community Resilience
Fire-department response data describe the workload surrounding emergencies, not household preparedness itself. In 2024, EMS and rescue accounted for 65.1% of U.S. fire-department responses, while fires accounted for 3.7%.
Other 2024 response categories included 11.8% good-intent calls, 8.0% false alarms and 7.7% service calls. These are NFIRS 5.0 categories and should not be interpreted as success rates or direct outcome measures. USFA Statistics
USFA also classified 2024 fires by general property use. Outside fires represented 49.3% of fires, residential structures 23.4%, vehicles 13.0%, and nonresidential structures 9.4%.
| General property use | Share of U.S. fires, 2024 |
|---|---|
| Outside fires | 49.3% |
| Residential structures | 23.4% |
| Vehicles | 13.0% |
| Nonresidential structures | 9.4% |
The categories are NFIRS-based and rounded, so percentages may not total exactly 100%. Taken together with the household surveys, they show why preparedness statistics need careful definitions: a supply kit, an evacuation plan, an alert subscription, an insurance policy and a fire-department response are different measures of readiness and emergency experience.