Emergency equipment spans household supplies, lighting, radios, medication, first-aid items, blankets, multipurpose tools and portable generators. The measures below cover U.S. household surveys, participant studies, reported fatal cases and disaster records across different periods and definitions.
Key Emergency Equipment Statistics
The most useful figures across the available preparedness and hazard data include:
- In 2024, 69% of respondents in a U.S. household survey had assembled emergency supplies.
- Among 2024 U.S. respondents with assembled supplies, 88% said their supplies would last more than three days.
- Among 2024 U.S. respondents with assembled supplies, 34% said their supplies would last more than two weeks.
- In 2006–2010, 94.8% of households in a 14-state U.S. survey reported a working battery-operated flashlight.
- In 2006–2010, 53.6% of households in the 14-state U.S. survey reported a three-day water supply.
- In 2006–2010, 21.1% of households in the 14-state U.S. survey reported a written evacuation plan.
- In the CDC workforce preparedness study reported in 2015, 84% of advanced-knowledge participants reported a first-aid kit.
- In that CDC study, 29% of participants with strong self-efficacy beliefs reported an emergency kit, compared with 8% among participants with weak self-efficacy beliefs.
- From 2011–2021, generators accounted for 624 of 710 reported non-fire carbon-monoxide incidents involving engine-driven tools in the United States.
- From 2011–2021, 814 of 900 reported deaths in the CPSC engine-driven-tool dataset were associated with generators.
- The reported annual average for 2017–2019 was 68 generator incidents and 85 generator deaths per year in the United States.
- From 2011–2021, 87% of reported generator-related carbon-monoxide decedents were age 25 or older.
- From 2011–2021, 83% of reported engine-driven-tool carbon-monoxide deaths occurred at residential locations.
- Among the 900 reported deaths from 2011–2021, carbon-monoxide alarm status was unknown or unreported in 74% of cases.
- Of 513 generator cases with known fuel type from 2011–2021, 506, or 99%, involved gasoline-fueled generators.
- The United States recorded 27 billion-dollar weather and climate disasters in 2024.
- Those 27 disasters produced $182.7 billion in estimated 2024 losses.
- The 2024 billion-dollar disasters were associated with at least 568 fatalities.
- More than 61,000 U.S. wildfires burned 8.8 million acres in 2024.
Contents
- Household emergency equipment and self-sufficiency
- Emergency kit statistics for essential supplies
- Preparedness knowledge, beliefs and demographics
- Portable generator safety and carbon-monoxide deaths
- Emergency equipment use, locations and alarm outcomes
- Disaster trends and the need for emergency equipment
Household Emergency Equipment and Self-Sufficiency Statistics
FEMA’s 2024 National Household Survey on Disaster Preparedness Findings measured whether respondents had assembled supplies and how long those supplies were expected to last. These are self-reported household-survey results, not a census of U.S. households.
| Self-reported supply duration | Share among respondents with assembled supplies | Period and population |
|---|---|---|
| More than three days | 88% | 2024, U.S. household survey |
| More than one week | 61% | 2024, U.S. household survey |
| More than two weeks | 34% | 2024, U.S. household survey |
| More than one month | 18% | 2024, U.S. household survey |
| More than three months | 8% | 2024, U.S. household survey |
Overall, 69% of respondents said they had assembled supplies in 2024. The duration figures describe respondents’ estimates of their own supplies, so they do not establish whether supplies would actually support a household for the stated period.
Source: 2024 National Household Survey on Disaster Preparedness Findings.
Emergency Kit Statistics for Food, Water, Medication, Lighting and Radios
CDC’s survey of 14 states covered 2006–2010 and asked households about specific equipment and three-day supplies. The results were self-reported, and the water definition was one gallon per person per day.
| Item or preparedness measure | Reported share | Definition or population |
|---|---|---|
| Working battery-operated flashlight | 94.8% | Households; working batteries required |
| Three-day prescription-medication supply | 89.7% | Households with medication users |
| Three-day nonperishable food supply | 82.9% | Food for everyone without refrigeration or cooking |
| Working battery-operated radio | 77.7% | Households; working batteries required |
| Three-day water supply | 53.6% | One gallon per person per day |
| Written evacuation plan | 21.1% | Households; plan quality was not measured |
State results varied within the 14-state sample. Montana reported the highest three-day food-supply rate at 88.1%, while Nevada reported the lowest at 78.5%; Pennsylvania had the highest medication-supply rate at 93.7%, while Nevada had the lowest at 80.7%.
Louisiana had the highest water-supply rate at 67.1%, compared with Nebraska’s 45.5%. Louisiana also had the highest written evacuation-plan rate at 54.0%, while Pennsylvania had the lowest at 15.0%; these are sample-state comparisons, not national rankings.
Source: Household Preparedness for Public Health Emergencies — 14 States, 2006–2010.
Language-group differences were also reported in the same survey. Spanish-interview households reported food supplies at 68.2%, medication supplies at 51.7% among eligible households, radios at 56.5%, flashlights at 74.7% and water supplies at 64.5%; the corresponding English-interview figures were 83.2%, 90.6%, 78.1%, 95.2% and 53.6%, respectively.
These comparisons describe language groups in the survey and do not demonstrate a causal language effect. They also come from 2006–2010 rather than the 2024 FEMA survey.
Emergency Equipment Data by Preparedness Knowledge and Beliefs
A CDC workforce preparedness study, with its study period reported in 2015, compared equipment ownership and supplies across preparedness-knowledge and belief groups. It was a participant study, not a representative national household sample.
| Measure | Advanced or strong group | Basic or weak group |
|---|---|---|
| Multipurpose tool | 83% advanced knowledge | 58% basic knowledge |
| Emergency blanket | 67% advanced knowledge | 42% basic knowledge |
| First-aid kit | 84% advanced knowledge | 59% basic knowledge |
| Emergency kit | 30% strong risk perception | 21% weak risk perception |
| Emergency kit | 26% strong preparedness beliefs | 14% weak preparedness beliefs |
| Emergency kit | 29% strong self-efficacy | 8% weak self-efficacy |
| Three-day food supply | 59% strong self-efficacy | 29% weak self-efficacy |
| Three-day water supply | 46% strong self-efficacy | 18% weak self-efficacy |
The differences are associations within the study. They should not be interpreted as proof that knowledge, risk perception, preparedness beliefs or self-efficacy caused equipment ownership.
Source: Influences of Preparedness Knowledge and Beliefs on Household Disaster Preparedness.
Portable Generator Safety and Carbon-Monoxide Fatality Statistics
CPSC recorded 710 fatal non-fire carbon-monoxide exposure incidents and 900 deaths associated with engine-driven tools from 2011–2021 in the United States. The dataset is a reported minimum count, 2020–2021 reporting was incomplete, and it is not a complete census of incidents.
Generators accounted for 624 incidents and 814 deaths. Reported generator-associated deaths were 96 in 2011, 49 in 2012, 59 in 2013, 49 in 2014, 77 in 2015, 75 in 2016, 83 in 2017, 76 in 2018, 95 in 2019, 103 in 2020 and 52 in 2021.
| Period | Generator measure | Reported result |
|---|---|---|
| 2017–2019 | Average annual incidents | 68 |
| 2017–2019 | Average annual deaths | 85 |
| 2011–2021 | Generator incidents | 624 |
| 2011–2021 | Generator deaths | 814 |
The 2017–2019 average is a CPSC-reported derived measure; recent-year totals may increase as reporting becomes more complete. Source: Fatal Incidents Associated with Non-Fire Carbon Monoxide Poisoning from Engine-Driven Generators and Other Engine-Driven Tools, 2011–2021.
Age and demographic composition also differed from the comparison population. People age 25 or older represented 87% of generator-related decedents, versus about 68% of the U.S. population; people older than 44 represented 60% of all engine-driven-tool deaths, versus 41% of the population.
People younger than 25 represented 12% of engine-driven-tool victims, versus 32% of the population. Men represented 79% of all engine-driven-tool deaths and 77% of generator deaths, while non-Hispanic Black/African American victims represented 23% of generator carbon-monoxide victims, compared with an estimated 12% of the U.S. population.
The population comparisons use an approximate midpoint population estimate and are not incidence rates. Race and ethnicity fields were based on available records.
Emergency Equipment Use, Locations and Alarm Outcomes
CPSC’s 2011–2021 reported fatality records show where engine-driven-tool carbon-monoxide deaths occurred and what is known about alarms. The percentages describe reported fatal cases, not population-adjusted risk.
- Cold months accounted for 43% of engine-driven-tool carbon-monoxide deaths, transitional months for 32% and warm months for 24%; rounded percentages may not total exactly 100%.
- Residential locations accounted for 83% of engine-driven-tool carbon-monoxide deaths, including fixed homes, detached structures and nontraditional residences.
- Fixed-structure residences accounted for 70% of deaths; this category includes houses, mobile homes, apartments and attached structures.
- Only 7% of generator-related deaths occurred in external or detached structures at home locations, including garages and sheds.
- Urban areas accounted for 56% of engine-driven-tool carbon-monoxide deaths, while non-urban-core areas accounted for 44% under USDA RUCA categories.
Alarm data are limited by missing information. Alarm status was unknown or unreported in 74% of the 900 deaths; where status was known, an alarm was present in 17% of fatal engine-driven-tool incidents and 15% of fatal generator incidents.
Among fatal incidents with an alarm present, the alarm was known to have sounded in 11 of 28 engine-driven-tool incidents. These known-status subsets cannot establish an alarm failure rate or alarm effectiveness for all generators.
Of 513 generator cases with known fuel type, 506, or 99%, involved gasoline-fueled generators. Fuel type was unknown in 111 of the 624 generator incidents.
Power outages caused by weather or power-distribution problems accounted for 114 generator incidents and 157 deaths. Providing power to temporary locations such as trailers, boats, campers or campsites accounted for 108 incidents and 138 deaths; both classifications are based on case records rather than population exposure rates.
Disaster Trends and the Growing Need for Emergency Equipment
NOAA’s disaster records describe hazard scale and loss exposure, not equipment ownership, sales or effectiveness. The billion-dollar series includes only events exceeding the loss threshold.
The United States experienced 27 billion-dollar weather and climate disasters in 2024, with $182.7 billion in estimated losses and at least 568 associated fatalities. The 2015–2024 period contained 190 such disasters, at least 6,300 deaths and approximately $1.4 trillion in damage.
From 1980–2024, the record contained 403 billion-dollar weather and climate disasters and more than $2.915 trillion in total cost, expressed in 2024-CPI-adjusted dollars. These totals exclude events below the threshold and are not a complete measure of all weather losses.
| 2024 hazard indicator | Reported result | Scope |
|---|---|---|
| Billion-dollar disasters | 27 events | United States |
| Atlantic named tropical cyclones | 18 storms | Atlantic basin |
| Landfalling hurricanes | 5 storms | United States landfalls |
| Confirmed tornadoes | At least 1,735 | United States |
| Wildfires | More than 61,000 | United States |
| Wildfire acreage | 8.8 million acres | United States |
The 2024 confirmed tornado count was 142% of the 1991–2020 average of 1,225, although the count was still subject to confirmation when reported. The 8.8 million wildfire acres were 26% above the nearly seven-million-acre 2001–2020 average.
Across the 1980–2024 billion-dollar-disaster series, NOAA classified 32 droughts, 45 floods, 9 freezes, 203 severe storms, 67 tropical cyclones, 23 wildfires and 24 winter storms. These categories are event counts within a thresholded series, not direct measures of emergency-equipment demand.
Sources: Assessing the U.S. Climate in 2024 and U.S. Billion-Dollar Weather and Climate Disasters 1980–2024 Annual Summary.