Nearly 90 percent of Americans anticipate a world catastrophe

WASHINGTON, DC – While the federal government shutdown may be over for now, it turns out that in the event of a major catastrophe, most Americans won’t be looking to the government for help anyway.

WASHINGTON, DC – While the federal government shutdown may be over for now, it turns out that in the event of a major catastrophe, most Americans won’t be looking to the government for help anyway.

According to a new survey released today, Americans feel that friends and family are more likely to be of help in the face of a cataclysm than the government or official agencies like the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

Overall, the survey results show that nearly 9 in 10 (88%) Americans think it’s likely that the world will experience a major catastrophe, with close to one-third (32%) of these folks believing it will occur less than a year from now. And even though they might have a bad rap on Capitol Hill, more Americans (53%) feel that the Republican Party would have more survivors over Democrats if the country experienced a major catastrophe.

“The survey results should inspire discussion on what a large-scale catastrophic shutdown of our country might really look like and how we could prepare for or even prevent it,” said Brad Dancer, SVP Program Planning and Research for NGC. “Hacking into urban infrastructures isn’t science fiction anymore; cyberthreats and the weaknesses of the grid are in the news every day and people are sensing the danger. My advice: pray in a blackout, but perhaps pray while prepared with food, water, flashlights and batteries.”

When it comes to gauging Americans’ mind-set related to broader, large-scale catastrophes that could cripple the country โ€” specifically such emergencies as blackouts and cyberattacks โ€” the results are about as encouraging as waiting for the next Congressional standoff!

Key findings include:

On Cyberattacks:

More than three in four (77%) Americans believe the U.S. is likely to be hit by a catastrophic cyberattack during their lifetime.

More than one-third (34%) thinks a catastrophic cyberattack could impact the nation by 2038.

Most American would point their fingers first at China as the culprit (36%), followed by North Korea (27%).

More than half of the nation (55%) thinks the U.S. is ill-equipped to defend against a potentially disastrous cyberattack.

On Blackouts:

If the lights do go out, praying will be more top of mind than sex:

Almost one-third (32%) of Americans think the U.S. is likely to experience a significant blackout within the next 25 years.
When it happens, most (46%) would first search for a flashlight, but a quarter (25%) would immediately pray. Only 5 percent would have sex!

Sixty-eight percent would prefer to be home during a catastrophic blackout, rather than somewhere possibly safer like a bomb shelter (5%) or police station (1%).

More Americans would most want to have a radio (25%) or a flashlight (25%) over a charged cell phone (20%), gun (20%) or can opener (10%) during a blackout.

Electric heat or air conditioner (25%) and Internet (24%) top the list of appliances or technology Americans would miss most during a catastrophic blackout. Far fewer say this about a phone (13%) or TV (13%).

On General Catastrophes:

Far more Americans (57%) would most rely on their family, friends or neighbors for help over FEMA or a government agency (14%) in a catastrophe.

Slightly more respondents (53%) said that the Republican Party would have more survivors over Democrats (47%) if the country experienced a major catastrophe.

On Preparedness:

Those in the Northeast (28%) cite Hurricane Sandy as the top event since 9/11 spurring thoughts about emergency preparedness, when compared to the rest of the country (15%).

Ten percent of Americans would choose a bottle or can opener to have on hand in a blackout over a flashlight, radio, fully charged cell phone or gun.

About the author

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Linda Hohnholz

Editor in chief for eTurboNews based in the eTN HQ.

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