Disaster Preparedness

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Imagine trying to survive for a month, a week or even two days without electricity or water. One year ago, New Orleans residents didn’t have to imagine, and those who experienced the assault and wake of Hurricane Katrina will tell you that not having something as simple as a working flashlight or a gallon of potable water was more than an inconvenience.

Emergency preparedness at the personal level was one of Katrina’s many lessons. While Northwest Arkansas is immune to tropical storms, the potential for a devastating tornado is always present. According to a survey by the University of Arkansas Survey Research Center, 56 percent of Northwest Arkansans say they are prepared or very well prepared for a natural disaster such as a tornado, flood or earthquake.

How are they prepared? The survey -- a representative sample of residents from Benton, Washington, Carroll and Madison counties -- showed that four out of five respondents have a first-aid kit at home, and the same percentage of residents claims to have a three-day supply of nonperishable food per person at home. Furthermore, almost all Northwest Arkansans have either candles and matches or flashlights with spare batteries, and nearly 70 percent report having a battery-powered radio with spare batteries. A third of all Northwest Arkansas residents have three gallons of bottled water per person at home. Only 1 percent has none of these emergency supplies.

“I think Hurricane Katrina may have opened many eyes,” said Molly Longstreth, director of the research center. “There is little time to pack when leaving one’s home in an emergency, even if it’s in advance of an impending problem, so having these supplies on hand could make a difference. Considering the space required for storage, it’s rather remarkable that a third of all Northwest Arkansans has three gallons of bottled water per person in the home.”

In the fall of 2005, ABC News asked similar questions nationwide. At that time, a third of all U.S. residents said they had three gallons of bottled water per person at home and slightly over 70 percent had battery-powered radios with spare batteries. Like Northwest Arkansans, four out of five respondents also had a first-aid kit and a three-day supply of nonperishable food per person at home.

In the local survey, men tended to feel more prepared for disaster than women: 65 percent of men feel either prepared or very well prepared for a natural disaster, while only 51 percent of women do. More than three-fourths of Madison County residents report that they are prepared or very well prepared. Benton and Carroll counties follow with 61 and 60 percent, respectively, while only 49 percent of Washington County residents say they are prepared or very well prepared for a natural disaster.

Established in 1998, the UA Survey Research Center conducts surveys and evaluations for a variety of organizations and is dedicated to providing high-quality, nonbiased information. For more information on the center and its research, go to http://survey.uark.edu/ .

The center has conducted two Northwest Arkansas Omnibus Surveys, which are service-oriented polls designed to measure Northwest Arkansans’ perceptions about a variety of topics, including economic conditions, health care and other issues or events that affect local and state residents. Previous surveys have gauged Northwest Arkansans’ sentiments about rising gas prices and the effects of Hurricane Katrina. Each survey also contains basic questions from the Index of Consumer Sentiment, a national poll that measures consumers’ attitudes about current and future economic conditions.

Conducted in both English and Spanish, the surveys use random-digit dialing to contact a wide sample of residents from Washington, Benton, Carroll and Madison counties. Data are collected via a sophisticated, state-of-the-art, computer-assisted telephone interviewing system. Interviewers are highly trained, and information received during the process remains confidential. Longstreth said the center’s findings are accurate within a range of 4 percentage points.