Majority of Homeowners Are Unprepared For Disasters

Majority of U.S. Homeowners Are Unprepared For Disasters

September 10, 2018 – Despite the U.S. experiencing its highest number of billion-dollar disasters in 2017, a new survey found two-thirds of American homeowners are still unprepared in the event of a disaster. BELFOR Property Restoration (BELFOR), the global leader in disaster recovery and property restoration, commissioned the survey to measure household disaster preparedness and awareness in support of National Preparedness Month, recognized every September.

The representative national survey of U.S. homeowners revealed an alarming lack of preparedness for both natural and man-made disasters. Among the most significant findings:

• 60 percent of respondents have not created a disaster preparedness plan.
• Nearly half (47 percent) have not made a preparedness plan because they have never thought about it. In addition, a third said they haven’t made a plan because of not knowing what to do or not having had time.
• 45 percent of respondents – almost half – don’t know what items they should have on-hand in the event of an emergency. For those who did, the top-three items were food, water and flashlights.

“It was shocking to find the results of BELFOR’s disaster preparedness survey showed U.S. homeowners are lacking the resources and awareness to prepare their homes, businesses and families for devastating situations,” said Sheldon Yellen, CEO of BELFOR. “At BELFOR, we’re usually meeting people on one of the worst days of their lives which is why we are so passionate about ensuring people are ready for when, not if, disaster strikes. BELFOR is dedicated to promoting preparedness efforts and strives to educate and motivate our customers as well as all homeowners, business owners and families to take action to prepare and protect themselves.”

The BELFOR survey also found that out of all types of disasters – natural or man-made – only 8 percent of respondents were most concerned by flooding and 7 percent were most concerned with hurricanes, even though floods are the most common and costly natural disaster and the 2017 Atlantic hurricane season reached $265 billion in damages in the U.S. Of those surveyed, tornadoes (25 percent), fires (20 percent) and power outages (19 percent) ranked as the leading concerns.

About BELFOR Property Restoration

BELFOR Property Restoration is the worldwide premier disaster restoration company serving 31 countries with more than 300 offices employing more than 8,000 full-time experienced restoration specialists who are dedicated to “Restoring More Than Property.” BELFOR Property Restoration provides residential, commercial and industrial customers every service needed to help return to normal operations following disaster. From structural damage repair and clean-up to the recovery and restoration of equipment and vital documents, BELFOR Property Restoration has a rapid and proven response. For more information, please visit BELFORUSA.com. For immediate assistance, please call BELFOR Property Restoration's 24/7 Emergency Hotline: 800-800-BELFOR. “Like” BELFOR on Facebook and “Follow” @BELFOR on Twitter.