Many More U.S. Households Ready for Disasters: CDC THURSDAY,
Sept. 13 (HealthDay News) -- Many households in the United
States are ready should a disaster -- such as a hurricane or
earthquake -- strike, federal officials said Thursday. Almost 90
percent of those surveyed said they had a three-day supply of
medications, nearly 83 percent had enough food for three days
and 54 percent had a three-day supply of water, according to the
U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "However, the
majority of American citizens don't have an evacuation plan,
which is critical," said CDC health scientist and lead author,
Summer DeBastiani. Only 21 percent said they had a written
evacuation plan, according to the findings published in the
Sept. 14 issue of the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report
(MMWR). Most of those who were prepared were English-speaking
and better educated, the researchers found. The study, conducted
in 14 states over five years, is part of CDC's Behavioral Risk
Factor Surveillance System, which