National Survey from Etón Corporation Reveals Most Americans Are Not Prepared for Emergency Situations

PALO ALTO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Etón Corporation (www.etoncorp.com), a leading creator of high-performance, green-powered consumer products, announces the results of a national survey surrounding preparedness in the United States. Promoting safety awareness for September National Preparedness Month, the results reveal that most Americans have experienced an emergency or severe weather situation and are aware of the dangers—but have not taken any steps to become prepared.

“At Etón, we create products that cause consumers to think about preparedness before they are faced with a disaster. We’ve already seen severe weather hit much of the country this year and it’s our goal to reach as many Americans as possible with messages of safety and preparedness.”

Completed in August 2012, the survey included responses from more than one thousand adults, revealing their awareness of potential natural disasters and the steps (or lack of steps) they have taken to prepare themselves and their families.

“The results reveal surprising information about how ill-prepared most families are to protect themselves against natural disasters – and it comes at a critical time, as September marks the annual National Preparedness Month,” said Esmail Amid-Hozour, CEO of Etón Corporation. “At Etón, we create products that cause consumers to think about preparedness before they are faced with a disaster. We’ve already seen severe weather hit much of the country this year and it’s our goal to reach as many Americans as possible with messages of safety and preparedness.”

Overall, the survey suggests that American families are aware of the dangers, but not fully prepared for emergency situations that they are bound to face in the future:

Half of the respondents don’t know if their local government has an emergency disaster plan, meaning local governments are not keeping preparedness top of mind for their communities.
61 percent of respondents have experienced an emergency situation (extended blackout, hurricane, tornado, etc.), yet more than half of respondents do not have an emergency kit at home and one third don’t believe they need one.
Only 13 percent have taken steps to become fully prepared, with one third of respondents taking zero steps. 55 percent of Americans do not have an emergency kit for emergency situations at home, listing the most popular reasons why as being ‘don’t know what to include in an emergency kit,’ ‘I have no time to put together an emergency kit,’ and ‘don’t think I need to have an emergency kit.’

However, the survey did reveal that some Americans are trying to take steps towards preparedness. Out of the mere 13 percent of respondents taking steps to become fully prepared, most listed creating an emergency disaster kit at home as the most important:

97 percent have a flashlight in the emergency kit
57 percent have a weather radio in the emergency kit

Before a disaster or emergency – like a hurricane, tornado, severe weather or extended blackout – hits, Etón recommends taking preparedness measures such as: having a home emergency safety kit, creating a disaster plan and regularly informing all family members of the plans once they are in place. Etón also offers consumers a full line of safety products including self-powered radios that combine a flashlight, radio and mobile device charger to provide information, light and power when needed most.

The data was collected August 10-14, 2012 from 1,005 respondents aged 18 and older.

For more information on Etón Corporation and its line of safety products, visit www.etoncorp.com.

About Etón Corporation: For more than 25 years, Etón Corporation has developed and manufactured products that enable people to be informed, entertained and safe. Our vision is to emphasize design, performance and use of nature’s energy to power durable products that will provide information, entertainment and protection anywhere. For more information on Etón Corporation, please visit www.etoncorp.com.