Disaster Officials Launch Initiative to Bring Life-Saving Information to Citizens in Hurricane-Vulnerable States

	The most alarming key findings represent “the first early-warnings” that concern emergency management officials:
	Of those surveyed: 53% don’t feel vulnerable to a hurricane or related tornado or flooding, 52% have no family disaster plan, 61% have no hurricane survival kit, 88% have taken no steps to make their homes stronger, And 16% said they might not or would not evacuate even if ordered to do so, leaving thousands of residents at grave risk in the path of any given storm.

Despite the historic and devastating hurricane seasons of 2004 and 2005, a new Mason-Dixon poll released today reveals a dangerously high percentage of residents in hurricane-vulnerable states still aren’t prepared, don’t take the threat of hurricanes seriously and have big gaps in what they know about hurricanes – even among those who live within 30 miles of the coast.

“Nearly two years after Hurricane Katrina shocked and horrified the nation, far too many residents are still unprepared for storms,” said Bill Proenza, director of the National Hurricane Center. “Last year’s below normal hurricane season may have resulted in coastal residents being lulled into a false sense of complacency. This hurricane season promises to be an active one, so it is imperative residents get ready before a storm catches them unprepared.”

The Mason-Dixon poll was commissioned by American Initiatives, an organization that today launched the 2007 National Hurricane Survival Initiative at a news conference at the National Hurricane Center in Miami, Florida. The initiative aims to educate residents living in hurricane-vulnerable states about the risks they face and the steps they must take to protect themselves and minimize damage.

• NEXT: Florida continues to be a leader in hurricane preparedness