Why We Think the Storm Will Skip Our House
More than half of Americans — 53% — believe they're less likely to be hit by a weather emergency than other people.
Read that again.
Not less likely than folks in a hurricane zone. Less likely than the neighbors. Same street. Same storms. Same power lines running down the same road.
Somebody's wrong.
Where the Number Comes From
4Patriots ran a national preparedness survey with Talker Research. Two thousand adults across America. [VERIFY: survey year — page says 2025 survey, footer reads 2025, follow-up polled in 2026]
Two more findings landed alongside it.
Nine in ten Americans say being ready for natural disasters and blackouts matters.
Fewer than half have a plan.
And four out of ten have already lived through a natural disaster.
Line those up and you see the whole problem. Almost everybody agrees it's important. Half as many have done anything about it. And a big share have already been through one.
This Isn't Foolishness. It's Human.
Nobody wakes up and decides to be unprepared.
"It won't happen to me" is the most natural thought a person can have. It's what lets you sleep at night. It's what gets you out the door in the morning without worrying about every last thing that could go sideways.
It's a fine way to feel.
It's a lousy way to plan.
Storms don't check the survey. They follow the weather, and the weather follows your ZIP code — not your gut.
The Part Worth Hanging On To
Here's what 4Patriots Co-Founder Erin Baler said about it:
"Every city and suburb in the country has its own extreme weather and most likely natural disasters to prepare for – from freezes in the Midwest, heat in Texas and hurricanes on the East Coast to fires and earthquakes out West. The good news is that preparedness and the peace of mind that comes with it is a skill that can be learned over time."
A skill. Not a personality type. Not a bunker in the backyard.
You learn it the same way you learned to drive or balance a checkbook. One piece at a time.
One Thing to Do This Week
Be one of the folks who has it written down.
We keep a free Disaster Preparedness Checklist for exactly this. Three sections — food and water, power and safety, and general supplies. Every box is a real thing you either have in the house or you don't.
Don't try to check all three sections at once. Pick the one you feel shakiest about and knock out three boxes this week. That's the whole ask.
Do that, and you've done more than half the country.
One heads-up on where folks land: 86% of Americans say a backup power source is critical for emergencies. It's the item almost everyone agrees on and almost nobody has handled.
The checklist is free. Print it, stick it on the fridge, and check the boxes as you go.
Get the FREE Disaster Preparedness Checklist →
To your survival,
Frank Bates