Stores across the area are hosting a Hurricane Preparedness and Awareness event throughout the weekend.

There will be tables set up in all stores providing shelter information, preparation checklists, pet needs, as well as special needs and senior citizen registration forms.

These types of events with information distribution and registration set up near preparedness supply displays are a net positive as they do bring attention to the subject, the creation/replenishment of some shoppers’ emergency kits and occasionally fundraising for the non-profits. However, they end up being far short of what is necessary. That’s too bad since there is such great potential for what could be accomplished if the government, non-profit preparedness groups and businesses in the field really focused in a creative, sustained way on what they could do together to address the shortcomings in citizen disaster readiness.

The key is to restructure these kinds of events to give the public far more real, tangible and significant incentives (primarily financial but also logistical, educational and even entertainment) to prepare, which is something that business working with government and non-profits could do as part of an integrated, ongoing marketing campaign. The fact is that when we really want to change social behavior as a nation we do it through the carrot or the stick. The carrot is the preferable tool for this issue, but it needs to be used. And, thus far, incentives and vegetables have largely been missing from the preparedness effort, which helps explain the lack of progress.

There is a need to design and implement new citizen preparedness campaigns using strategic marketing partnerships between government and business with the goal of significantly increasing public readiness and societal resilience.

My proposal in a nutshell is that marketing campaigns and events be created at a national, state and local level to with government and non-profits working with companies in preparedness-related products businesses to offer major discounts tied to citizens taking actual readiness steps recommended by Ready.Gov and local emergency management offices.

It is a subject that I have thought a lot about, largely because I think that getting private sector far more involved in emergency citizen preparedness is a (maybe ‘the’) key to improving citizen readiness. I have also spoken extensively with government, non-profit and corporate officials about how they might work together on advance preparedness in a way that serves their (and the public’s) interest. My strong feeling is that to do so would not take much more than more attention and focus and would result in a win-win-win-win for those stakeholders and the citizenry.

At last week’s Red Cross Emergency Social Data Summit, FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate underscored the role of the private sector in disasters. “We have to figure out how leverage government and private sector resources to change outcomes.”

He said private sector involvement should be seen as a “bottom line” issue rather than just a feel-good pr move. That’s clear after a disaster as companies try to re-open quickly to serve customers in the community. And, that business-case approach should be similarly applied when it comes to advance preparedness. The fact is that the more prepared the public is, the better it is for the private sector. Business is key because as Fugate told me last year, “the bully pulpit is not enough”.

Government officials realize they need significant private sector involvement to market preparedness to the public, but have been unable to pull such an integrated program together as marketing is not government’s expertise. However, public preparedness needs to be developed and marketed as a consumer brand. Particularly since Hurricane Katrina, the corporate sector has become far more involved in disaster policy, but it has focused mostly (and often very successfully) on post-event recovery and response. Yet, there has been little attention given to have the private sector help create pre-event initiatives and messaging that would prepare citizens and institutions for emergencies in advance.

Government citizen preparedness campaigns over the past few years have raised awareness but not significantly enough to change societal behavior. This has been due to a lack of reach, frequency and sustainability of the communication, and the public’s inability or unwillingness to follow the actions recommended. No matter how good and robust the message, behavior will not change unless actions being recommended are made more turn-key, familiar and affordable. Government officials ask the public to buy supplies, make plans and educate themselves without offering them enough assistance to accomplish these not insubstantial tasks (and are asked to do so with even less incentives than other public sector campaigns provide).

Yet, the current conditions would appear to be auspicious for such an new corporate/government partnership to take on preparedness: the public is interested in becoming more prepared; major corporations are committed to the disaster issue and can offer products, resources and capacity. For them, preparedness provides excellent opportunity to ‘do good and do well’ increasing store traffic and selling products while improving community resilience; and non profit preparedness groups, most prominently the American Red Cross, have the experience and credibility to facilitate this partnership. And, as mentioned above, a priority of FEMA Administrator Fugate is to get the private sector involved in a way to “change outcomes”. Yet focus, coordination and leadership are still necessary “to connect the dots” for each stakeholder.

The range of disaster preparedness products from manufacturing companies that can be involved are endless: Bottled Water, Flashlights; Wireless Phones, Radios; Energy Bars; Canned Food; First Aid Kits. On the retail side, it can involve any store that sells these products, particularly ‘big box’ outlets and supermarkets. The campaign would also involve corporate trade groups, such as the Wireless Foundation and the Business Roundtable, which have been very involved in getting their members involved in disaster issues.

An example of the type of preparedness event I’m thinking about would include “In-Store Workshops” but with significant discounts and giveaways tied to information and actual completion of readiness steps:

* Big-Box/Grocery Stores Supply Kit Creation-Replenishment – This would be similar to the current preparedness in-store events. However, they would be far more involved and would offer consumers more benefits and assistance for coming in. There would be a specific area where employees along with local Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) and Red Cross volunteers would be answering readiness questions.

Advertisements in advance would invite individuals and families come in with emergency communications plans (or fill them out in the store) and in return they would receive a significant discount on supplies or free products (ie. if you purchase a case of bottled water, you would get your emergency supply thrown in). And if a customer signed up to volunteer to CERT or Red Cross Disaster Services volunteer, they would get a bigger discount.

In addition, customers would be provided branded bags so adults — and kids — can make/replenish their own ‘go-bag’ (if they didn’t want to buy a pre-made kit). Again, the stores would discount the supplies significantly and CERT, Red Cross and government  officials would be there to answer questions.

* Mobile Phone Retail Outlets – The mobile communications companies are eager to show their value of their products  to customers in emergencies so their retail stores would be excellent settings for preparedness events/trainings. Among the activities that could be set up: helping people register for government emergency text/e-mail alerts. I’d also like to see a event/photo-op with kids teaching their parents about texting and its role in an emergency. Here again, the companies would offer customers extra free text/phone minutes for completing the preparedness steps (I’d also like to see discounts on extra batteries though the companies do make excellent margins on the extras.)

I also think this setting would be a good place for people to learn about how the role of social media sites like Facebook and Twitter to help people in a crisis. can be very usewith be a place for families and friend also  and families and friends setting up social media sites, such as Twitter and Facebook, to teach how they can be used before and during emergencies.

Government could also increase the effectiveness of such an initiative by creating tax-free preparedness product periods as Virginia and Louisiana have (and we’re trying to do here in New York), which add more financial incentives, increase store buy-in and garner more media attention for preparedness.

The key is to pull all of these stakeholders together — connecting the information with accessible, useful and affordable products along with expert and peer-to-peer guidance –in a sustained, integrated way. I will be continuing to work on these partnership ideas and would be interested in any thoughts from readers.

New York City’s Office of Emergency Management (NYC-OEM) has organized an interesting partnership with several museums. Any New Yorkers who visit the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum, the Museum of Art and Design, or the FDNY Fire Zone this week get a discount on admission if they fill out and present a completed emergency reference card.

I wish that there were more institutions involved and the discount was a bit bigger, but this is a great and imaginative start by NYC-OEM. What’s also nice is that museums and other cultural venues should be considered when selecting a meeting place as part of your disaster plan.

The Obama Administration has said that public readiness is a priority and has taken steps to strengthen the involvement of Americans in their own homeland security. However, officials acknowledge that there is still a ways to go. I present these proposals to help move forward citizen preparedness on a local, state and national level. I hope these suggestions can be a useful addition to the policy discussion and have submitted it to the Federal Preparedness Task Force. As always, I welcome your feedback:

1) CREATE CITIZEN PREPAREDNESS TASK FORCE — The lack of progress to date on public readiness and engagement underscores the need to develop new ways of approaching the issue. DHS Secretary Napolitano should create a Citizen Preparedness Outreach Task Force to assess the current state of public readiness and work on developing new approaches. At present, there is no clear social education analog to civilian emergency preparedness that can be easily pulled off the shelf so it will take some work to develop an effective program. In fact, the Commission on the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation and Terrorism in its final report recommended the Administration make citizen engagement a priority. But Chairman Bob Graham told me that the ‘WMD Commission’ did not did not find anything suitable it could recommend, and that something new has to be developed.

2) BETTER DEFINE WHAT IT MEANS TO BE “PREPARED” “READY” AND/OR “RESILIENT” — An American Red Cross survey indicated that 93% of Americans are not prepared for disasters. The truth is that no one can be fully prepared, but there is a need to offer the public a clearer definition — including a minimum level — of preparedness. That might include creating a family communications plan and storing tangible supplies but also knowing more about potential threats that every American should know. That doesn’t mean overwhelming people with too much information, but making sure they are at least familiar with some basics. (For example, the first time citizens hear about a ‘dirty bomb’ from government officials should not be in the moments after one has been exploded.) In addition to the content questions, there is also a word meaning issue to deal with as well. The Obama Administration has been emphasizing the concept of societal resilience. Should emergency management officials be talking about citizen resilience in their communities rather than preparedness or readiness?

3) SUPPORT & REPORT ON STATE/LOCAL PREPAREDNESS EFFORTS — Provide adequate seed money for state and local government to bolster civilian preparedness programs and link the grants to performance. Encourage authorities to report publicly on their level of citizen preparedness and create metrics for better measuring civilian readiness. Find interested governors to take on leadership roles and create pilot models in their states. There is a need to employ both “bottom/up” and “top/down” approaches to disaster preparedness combining state, local and community leadership and citizen involvement with federal commitment and focus. Ensure that government authorities can competently respond to disasters but also more strongly emphasize the need for the public and local communities to be prepared and self-reliant, particularly in the first 72 hours after a disaster.

4) HIGHLIGHT & SPREAD MODELS FROM AROUND U.S. & OTHER COUNTRIES — There is a need to help promote and implement best practices from communities around the U.S. and draw, where applicable, particularly from British and Israeli experiences. One model may be the United Kingdom’s National Risk Register, which sets out publicly the government’s assessment of the likelihood and potential impact of a range of different public health, natural and terrorist risks. It is designed to increase awareness of the kinds of risks the UK faces, and encourage individuals and organizations to think about their own preparedness. The Register also includes details of what the Government and first responders are doing to prepare for those emergencies and the role of citizens in those plans

5) USE ‘CARROTS’ TO CHANGE PUBLIC BEHAVIOR – Provide a tax write-off for citizens to buy preparedness-related products as a way to promote participation and to signal governmental commitment. Encourage states to create tax-free periods as is being done in Virginia and Louisiana (and has been introduced in the New York legislature). Also, consider targeting assistance to citizens who cannot afford to prepare. The fact is that when we really want to change social behavior as a nation we do it through the carrot or the stick. The carrot is the preferable tool for this issue, but it needs to be used. And, thus far, incentives (and vegetables) have largely been missing from the preparedness effort, which helps explain the lack of progress. Similarly, preparedness disincentives in the law should be removed (ie. in some places, homeowners who retrofit their homes face higher tax assessments.)

6) BRING IN BUSINESS TO DEVELOP INTEGRATED ‘WIN-WIN-WIN-WIN’ PUBLIC PREPAREDNESS MARKETING CAMPAIGNS– Design and roll out a full service preparedness marketing campaign with help from the private and non-profit sectors. Galvanize business to take on disaster preparedness in the same way they have with disaster response, most notably in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina (ie. big box stores, packaged goods manufacturers, bottled water companies, wireless industry). Work with companies in preparedness-related businesses to offer major discounts tied to citizens taking actual readiness steps recommended by Ready.Gov and local emergency management offices.

For example, individuals and families come into ‘big box’ stores with emergency communications plans (or fill them out in the store) and in return they would receive a significant discount on supplies or free products (ie. if you purchase a case of bottled water, you would get your emergency supply thrown in for free). And if a customer signed up to volunteer for CERT or the Red Cross Disaster Services, they would get a bigger discount. Mobile phone retail stores would be excellent settings for preparedness events/trainings to help people register for government emergency text/e-mail alerts. I’d also like to see an event/photo-op with kids teaching their parents about texting and its role in an emergency. Here again, the companies would offer customers extra free text/phone minutes for completing the preparedness step.

7) DON’T BE AFRAID TO TELL THE CHILDREN — Put more emphasis on educating young people on preparedness by piggybacking on other related school-based social education efforts, most prominently fire safety. The challenge is the both the decentralization of the nation’s education system and the already high curricula demands on teachers. Yet, an effective fire education program was implemented in the schools beginning in the 1970’s, and there would seem to be a perfect fit to integrate a preparedness module into that existing program. The federal government should work with state and local officials as well as fire and education officials to determine how best to accomplish that objective.

FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate recently suggested expanding the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) program for young people. I believe that a decision to expand CERT-type training in the schools would be welcomed on a bipartisan basis.There should be more public briefings on how personal tech would be helpful in an emergency, before the emergency (including how Twitter, Facebook and one’s smart phone can be invaluable). Further, every governmental preparedness web site should add a cell phone and an extra battery (or other power source) to the basic components of their recommended disaster supply kit.  Many private companies are working on applications for citizen emergency communications. Those business efforts need to be integrated with official alerts (ie. the new iteration of the Emergency Alert System) and unofficial citizen-based social media (as well as the news media). Both the content and distribution channels of emergency communications are changing and new models need to be developed.

8 EMBRACE AND ACCELERATE PREPAREDNESS 2.0 – There is a need to better inform the public on the potential of 21st century personal technology to prepare for and respond to 21st century emergencies. We must make Americans more aware of the capabilities of the technology at their fingertips (ie. wireless devices, social media sites) in advance and integrate it into disaster planning and response. The public’s new ability to access and distribute information offers both an opportunity and a challenge to government authorities.

There should be more public briefings on how personal tech would be helpful in a crisis, before the crisis (including how Twitter, Facebook and one’s smart phone can be invaluable). Further, every governmental preparedness web site should add a cell phone and an extra battery (or other power source) to the basic components of their recommended disaster supply kit. Many private companies are working on content and distribution applications for citizen emergency communications. Those business efforts can complement official efforts (ie. the new iteration of the Emergency Alert System) and unofficial citizen-based social media (and well as the news media). One hugely promising initiative is CrisisCommons which over the past year has created groups of volunteers throughout the world to bring technology to bear on disaster response issues.

9) FIND POLITICAL, CELEBRITY PREPAREDNESS SPOKESPEOPLE – During the time that I have covered the topic of citizen emergency preparedness, one of the most surprising things I’ve found is that there is no major elected official who has taken the lead on the issue. It’s surprising for a number of reasons: natural disasters and terrorism dominate the headlines and will continue to for the foreseeable future; citizen preparedness is pretty much an unassailable, bipartisan, patriotic and community-building topic; and even the smallest interest in Washington has at least one political champion (but not public preparedness). And, with much to do, there is a great opportunity to have a positive policy and political impact. To some in the readiness community, the absence of star power on the issue has been one reason for the lack of public attention. Though celebrities have been eager to participate in fundraising efforts after catastrophes like the Haiti effort), there is no big star who is singularly identified as a spokesperson for emergency preparedness.

10) GIVE THE PUBLIC MORE INFO SO THEY CAN BETTER PREPARE & PARTICIPATE – There is a need to better inform the public when it comes to disaster preparedness so they can not only ready themselves and their families but also be part of the policy debate. Let me mention two areas briefly:

a) Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD): In its report, the WMD Commission argues that the incoming Administration should make an effort to inform and engage the public on the subject of WMD’s. I agree. And, I suggest officials consider starting that process by defining (or redefining) what a WMD actually is. At present, it is most common to define a WMD for the public as a chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (or “CBRN”) weapon.

The Commission report, however, focuses primarily on the dangers of biological and nuclear terrorism, both of which could be absolutely catastrophic. By contrast, a chemical or radiological (better known as a ‘dirty bomb’) weapon could be very serious but would likely not cause as much lasting damage. In fact, both a chemical and radiological attack would likely be a one-shot event seriously impacting those directly near the event, closer in result to a ‘traditional’ terrorist bombing. A nuclear bomb or biological incident, however, could have wide and long-lasting ‘mass destruction’ impact to humans, property and the society itself. We don’t want the public — and the nation as a whole — to overreact to some threats and underreact to others.

b) Risk: I think it may be one of the most important homeland security subjects for both the government and the public, because it highlights some of the tradeoffs involved in determining how to allocate the nation’s security resources and the role of risk management in making those decisions. This is a debate which should include the public. Right now, Americans aren’t engaged in the discussion over the security, financial, logistical and time tradeoffs involved in our own homeland security.

We need to introduce risk management into homeland security which would lead us to ask and answer important questions: What improves our security and resiliency? And what can be done at a reasonable social and financial cost? Those answers should come not only from policymakers but with the guidance of the public itself.

The public should be asked: How much risk do you want to pay for? How much inconvenience do you want to deal with? These are dilemmas we deal with everyday in our lives; we need to bring that same approach to homeland security and disaster preparedness. FEMA’s Fugate has since his days in Florida made the point that natural hazards turn into natural disasters because of man-made decisions on development, including ubiquitous golf courses: “You can tee off in Tallahassee and play through to Pensacola,” he likes to say.  ”Unless the public understands we need to change where we develop and live, it won’t matter.” It is up to elected officials to present those choices, including building codes, levies and insurance incentives.

11) ‘SEE AND SAY’ SOMETHING MORE – Build upon the initial success of ‘See Something, Say Something’ -type citizen information campaigns by providing the public with more specific guidance on how to assist law enforcement and, without giving away sources and methods, offering more feedback on the information they have provided. Law enforcement officials are concerned about societal complacency nine years since 9/11, but have not determined how to communicate to the public a more candid – yet calm and balanced – picture of the threat and how they can best help. The Department of Homeland Security is expanding “See Something, Say Something” nationally, which is a positive development. However, there is still a need to better explain to citizens their role, particularly at a local level. One important question is how much of what new information and training given to law enforcement about terrorism prevention should also be provided to the public.

12) MEDIA SHOULD COVER PREPAREDNESS AS WELL AS DISASTERS – While the press does wall-to-wall coverage on natural disasters and has covered practically every aspect of terrorism story closely, it has largely overlooked advance public preparedness. By contrast, during the Cold War, magazines ranging from Life to Modern Farmer dedicated entire issues to civilian readiness. Obviously, the press’ role is not to serve as a publicity arm of the government, but it is a topic that deserves more attention. And without more media coverage, it will be difficult to break through to the public. One great example of the press as a unique asset is the list of preparedness tips and lessons learned from the disaster survivors that was collected by the New Orleans Times-Picayune.

13) GOVERNMENT PREPAREDNESS OUTREACH NEEDS TO BE FAR MORE INTERACTIVE — Right now, if a member of the public has a question about the preparedness process, there is nowhere to go. And, as someone who does a lot of public outreach on street fairs, radio or in community meetings I hear a lot of questions from average citizens about emergency readiness — ie. Shouldn’t buildings have mandatory emergency drills? Shouldn’t everyone have a solar charger in your ‘go-bag’ to be able recharge a cellphone or radio? Shouldn’t you have an evacuation family meeting spot outside of the City in case there is major disaster? In case of an emergency, where should we go for information? The emergency management community on a national, state and local level must overhaul its public information operations to be able to address those questions directly and lead the public through what can be a challenging process to undertake.

14) ‘DO ASK, DO TELL’: MAKE “PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY” MORE CENTRAL TO PREPAREDNESS MESSAGING — Instead of telling people to prepare because it is a responsibility (you need to do this), government has used a softer ask when it comes to trying to get the public to prepare. To me, the it is time to try to do more “telling” and less “asking”. I don’t believe the government should be afraid to explicitly tell the public that each of us can either hinder or help relief efforts by what they decide to do before and during a disaster. And, that it’s up to each of us to choose.

If indeed preparing for disasters is a responsibility of citizenship (which I think it should be), then it should been positioned that way. PSA’s saying that people are imperiling the lives of first responders and their fellow citizens, particularly the vulnerable (ie. the elderly, disabled) not to mention your own family might be treated with a little more urgency. Another potentially useful messaging approach was suggested to me by former Miss Utah Jill Shepherd who used citizen preparedness as her pageant platform. It can (and should) be included in the preparedness pitch that readying yourself and your family for disaster at home is a way civilians can contribute to the nation’s resilience and complement the work and sacrifice of those serving in the military. Preparedness may be the most important contribution most citizens can make to their nation’s security. Not only will civilians likely be the first on the scene of a major emergency, but the nation’s response will only be as strong as the readiness of the weakest link. We have entered the ‘pro-am’ preparedness era where the government needs to hand off some responsibility and the public needs to take it.

15) INTEGRATE EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS INTO OTHER COMMUNITY ISSUES — Emergency preparedness is an important issue, particularly during crises. However, it has a better chance of becoming ingrained into American society if it is viewed as part of other preparedness topics that are a more central part of Americans daily life, including public health (immunization), security (Neighborhood Watch), infrastructure and climate change, part and parcel of just being ready for any situation.

For example, the global warming campaign can and should be a model for civilian emergency preparedness in a variety of ways. The two efforts are complementary and should be linked closer together in the public’s mind — and actions. In both, society is being asked to mobilize in order to avert or mitigate potential disasters, and both are part of strengthening the nation’s general national resilience. Yes, global warming has some skeptics, but so does emergency preparedness — ironically they are often not the same people which may conveniently add to its complementary synergy.

16) EXPAND EMERGENCY DRILLING OPPORTUNITIES TO PUBLIC –Increase chances for citizens to participate in disaster drills, which would help people focus on the issue and work through the key questions everyone should ask before a disaster (ie. How will you get information and communicate with your family? Do you know the emergency plan of your children’s school?). Most every top homeland security/emergency management official I have interviewed has told me that broader public disaster exercises would be helpful in a number of ways, but there has not been a concerted effort to expand drilling opportunities to the public.

17) DETERMINE BEST USE OF CIVILIAN DISASTER VOLUNTEERS – Craig Fugate said recently that FEMA would be reevaluating the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT). I think that as part of that review government and non profit officials should be looking at how best to recruit and deploy disaster volunteers. Post-9/11 and Katrina — as well as with international incidents such as Haiti — there has been great interest among the public to be involved in crisis response. A key question is how that asset should be managed. Should it be the government? The Red Cross? Other non-profits and faith-based institutions? Business? Or a combination of the four? One hugely promising initiative is CrisisCommons which over the past year has created groups of volunteers throughout the world to bring technology to bear on disaster response issues.

Fugate said that FEMA is considering major changes in the CERT program, including creating a shorter training course which could be offered to more Americans and significantly expanding training for schools and other youth groups in order to better imbed preparedness into society for the long-term. I’ve always felt that CERT training is less about the skills you learn and more about awareness about the community and the various emergency authorities (and identifying citizen crisis organizers in advance). To me, CERT is just basic citizenship training for the 21st Century, which I think every American should get a chance to receive. I might suggest that the smaller reduced curriculum be called something along the lines of “Citizen Resilience Training”.

18) ESTABLISH AN OFFICIAL PREPAREDNESS DAY — Create a National Preparedness Day to focus public attention before disasters, including briefing citizens, conducting drills, and filling emergency kits. A helpful model is Japan’s Disaster Prevention Day held on September 1st, the anniversary of the catastrophic 1923 Tokyo earthquake. Earlier this month, 670,000 Japanese participated in emergency drills around the country. China, since its 8.0-magnitude 2008 Sichuan Province earthquake, has also held two national disaster prevention days with nationwide drills.

If we as a nation feel it is really important for the public to develop emergency plans, it would be far more effective if everyone was doing that at the same time — rather than asking individuals to do it on their own. This ‘preparedness day’ would also be the time that we all asked the questions about planning then practiced and updated those plans. It would be useful for both responders and the public. I might suggest September 11th be made the U.S.’s official Day. It would seem to be appropriate to honor the memories of those who died by action, particularly something aimed at making sure America is never as unprepared again.

19) CREATE CITIZEN PREPAREDNESS OFFICE – Establishing a national citizen preparedness/resilience office to highlight and help coordinate efforts around the U.S. and ensure citizen preparedness remains a priority. Right now, there is not an identifiable place in the federal government that has responsibility for coordinating the public’s role in preparedness. Work with American Red Cross to create an effective advocate for the general public on emergency preparedness in the same way disabled and pet groups have done for the disaster needs of their communities over the past several years.

20) BUNDLE CITIZEN PREPAREDNESS PROPOSALS TOGETHER INTO “CITIZEN PREPAREDNESS INITIATIVE” – For too long, well meaning public preparedness efforts have gotten lost or have been ignored by the public. That’s in large part because they have not been packaged and presented as being specifically directed to citizens. But if the government would assemble these small disparate proposals listed above into an overall citizen preparedness package it would have a better chance of getting attention and gaining some traction. Ultimately, making inroads on citizen preparedness is less a matter of money than it is of focus and attention.

Under the New York bill, citizens would be able to buy emergency supplies without paying state sales tax between September 1st-11th and purchase pre-made “Go-Bags” tax free throughout the month. The bill would also declare September as “Emergency Preparedness Month” in New York. It was originally introduced by New York State Assemblyman Jonathan L. Bing as Bill A00783.

I had met with Assemblyman Bing’s staff to discuss emergency preparedness in his Manhattan district (where I live) as well as the State as a whole. I recommended that a tax free holiday on emergency supplies, which is being tried successfully by a couple states to increase public interest and action on preparedness, would be good for the Empire State. As Bing has long been involved in the issues of emergency preparedness and response, he thought a tax free period could have a significant impact on citizen preparedness, and decided to introduce legislation.

According to the proposed legislation, the tax-free period for supplies would run from September 1-September 11 commemorating the time between the anniversaries between Hurricane Katrina and 9/11. “Go-Bags” would be exempt all month but only if they met certain minimum requirements and were sold for $75 or less. Some of the individual emergency items would have similar price restrictions.

Storing supplies are just one step in becoming prepared, but getting people to take that initial step is crucial. In addition, a special tax holiday makes it more likely a) private businesses will add their marketing expertise and capacity to the preparedness effort and b) the media will provide coverage of the issue. Officials in Virginia and Florida, both of which recently implemented this idea, say results have been positive.

The bill has been introduced in the Assembly with twenty other sponsors as well as in the Senate. New Yorkers should contact your local legislators to encourage them to support the legislation. Those in other states should ask their elected officials to consider the idea.

The first letter was a “second notice” that I had “failed to return the Annual Window Guard Notice form previously sent you…failure to complete and return this form will result in your apartment being inspected by Management…” I usually return the form immediately but was in the hospital when I received it initially. I quickly sent the form back, in part because I’m responsible and in part because it’s the law. The other letter from my landlord was a copy of my apartment building floor’s Fire Safety Plan. The fact that these in the law offers an incentive for the landlord and in turn the tenant to follow them.

I mention these letters because they are just more examples of how government uses either sticks or carrots to accomplish social objectives. I am not in favor of making citizen preparedness part of the law, but as readers know I do favor using carrots. Without using either, it is not surprising that our public readiness numbers are so low.

According to the agency’s press release:

…Through July 19, Georgians who visit ready.ga.gov and sign up to use Ready Georgia’s interactive planning tool not only get a customized checklist of emergency supplies and a tailored emergency communications plan, but they are also entered to win one of 200 state-of the-art, digital alert Midland radios – a critical life-saving tool – from WSB-TV.

In addition to being able to win a radio from WSB-TV, Kroger stores statewide are also giving Georgians the opportunity to purchase NOAA Weather Radios at a discount. Throughout hurricane season, Kroger will offer weather radios for just $29.99 (regularly $49.99). A list of Georgia locations can be found at Kroger.com.

GEMA/Homeland Security director Charley English says that NOAA Weather Radios are as crucial to family safety as smoke detectors or alarm systems. In Georgia, 29 transmitters broadcast throughout the state, and approximately 98 percent of Georgia’s population lives within range of a NOAA Weather Radio transmitter.

I like this government-business linkage, because the public is being offered significant incentives — a free or 40%-off a weather radio — to prepare (though of course I would like to see a more extensive partnership.)

200 NOAA weather radios like this are being given away by Ready Georgia.

According to a story on the Red Cross website about the Ft. Belvoir gathering:

Those participating in the preparedness event received Red Cross bags filled with important items such as a mini lantern, glow sticks, an Eton emergency radio, Red Cross vintage first aid kit, emergency water storage system, multipurpose tool and a family guide to first aid.

In addition, senior preparedness leaders from the Red Cross had a table with personal items—pet food, toothbrushes, snacks and children’s toys—to remind people of the kinds of things they might want to take if they had to evacuate due to an emergency or disaster. They reminded participants of the need to bring prescriptions as well as extra cash to use in the event that ATMs are not working due to power failures.

Now, there is no group that deserves free preparedness supplies than military families. But the fact that they are receiving emergency kits gratis underlines the challenge of getting the rest of the public to purchase theirs.

The Governor’s Island bike helmet giveaway is one of a series of safety events held by the City’s Department of Transportation. It is another example of a public service campaign that uses an incentive (as part of a win-win partnership with the private sector) to accomplish its goal.

However, to date, governments have tried to achieve citizen preparedness largely without any carrots or sticks. It’s just not realistic. We need to integrate incentives — such as Ft.Belvoir-type events — into readiness programs for the broader  public.

A military family at Saturday’s American Red Cross preparedness event at Ft. Belvoir (Photo: Daniel Cima)

As these holidays are viewed as successful by Louisiana and Virginia, I do not understand why other states do not adopt the idea (and that the federal government explore ways to use the federal tax code to push citizen readiness).

In fact, the importance of preparedness was underscored yesterday by reports that the upcoming hurricane season may be very busy.

As was discussed in the previous post, incentives can be crucial in efforts to change public behavior whether it be against smoking or for preparedness. A study in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine found that New York’s distribution of free nicotine patches has turned out to be an effective lure to get smokers to quit.

According to the City’s Health Department’s press release:

Bolstered by a new Web-based application form, this year’s Nicotine Patch and Gum Giveaway Program exceeded participation goals by nearly 20%. Approximately 2,500 New Yorkers enrolled each day – the highest average daily enrollment ever. Since 2003, the agency has distributed nicotine patches and gum to more than 200,000 New York City smokers during annual giveaways, enabling an estimated 70,000 to quit permanently.

“Although most New York City smokers have already quit, smoking remains the city’s biggest health problem,” said Dr. Thomas Farley, New York City Health Commissioner. “Cigarettes kill more than 7,500 New Yorkers every year, and thousands more suffer smoking-induced strokes, heart attacks, lung diseases and cancers. Our anti-smoking media campaigns have motivated thousands of New Yorkers to quit smoking – and the Nicotine Patch and Gum program has given many the extra support needed to succeed.”

During the Virginia holiday, sales tax is eliminated for preparedness-related products that cost up to $60 or on generators $1,000 or less from May 25-31.

Suit calls the week a “‘man-made’ opportunity to promote preparedness” in a manner that solely an awareness-oriented readiness week cannot. She says it gives preparedness advocates “something to talk about with the public” —  a tangible benefit — rather than just pleading with them to prepare every hurricane season.

Normally, when government wants to influence social behavior, it goes beyond words and employs carrots and/or sticks: incentives (retirement savings, recycling) or disincentives (it’s ‘click or ticket‘). The former, incentives, is far more appropriate for preparedness. But to date, with the exception of these tax free holidays tried by a couple of states, government has not used any incentives on preparedness. So, it’s not surprising the public has by and large not acted, and the nation has not made enough progress on citizen readiness. In Virginia, using a ‘carrot’ — one of the public sector’s levers (the tax code) — sent a message to Commonwealth residents as well as its media and private sector that government is serious about this policy objective.

Suit says that the “retail community has taken the week and run with it”. A number of major retailers have integrated preparedness products into their overall marketing promotion this week: Walmart will use ReadyVirginia flyers as bag stuffers, Target will run newspaper advertising and place point of purchase info on exempt items, Kroger will run newspaper advertising and make in-store displays. Lowe’s will take out newspaper advertising and make in-store displays of tax exempt items.

Lowe’s will also be giving customers an additional 10 to 15 percent discount on these hurricane-related products when they shop during the holiday (see ad below). The holiday is also sponsored by the Virginia Chamber of Commerce and state Retail Merchants Association. Profit incentive for private sector makes it more likely they will work hard to promote and distribute products to the public. rather than just putting up signs encouraging people to buy supplies.

Though Suit clearly believes that the holiday is a success, it is difficult to evaluate with a reliable metric either how much the public’s preparedness has increased or the tax holiday’s revenue impact as the state cannot measure sales tax it does not receive. I (and the retailers) would argue that bringing more people into the stores — particularly during difficult economic times — results in incremental sales and taxes on non-emergency items.

Louisiana, the only other state with a tax free preparedness period (May 29-30), did a study that estimated that the weekend cost $2 million in lost tax revenue on emergency products. But I think a better indicator is the enthusiasm of retailers for the holiday, which they believe brings in new (and taxed) revenue in other parts of their stores. And to Virginia’s Suit, who is responsible for preparing a state which has been hit hard by hurricanes, says, “we can’t afford not to do it.” What also needs to be counted in any fiscal evaluation is the amount of paid corporate advertising and increased media coverage, particularly in comparison to the infrequent and inconvenient rotation that the unpaid preparedness PSA’s usually receive.

A Lowe’s newspaper advertisement in today’s Richmond Times-Dispatch promoting Virginia’s Hurricane Preparedness Holiday,

As Virginia’s experience has shown, there much more that could and should be done to create preparedness partnerships with private sector on the local and national level. This week, during FEMA’s webinar kicking off National Preparedness Month, a participant on the call asked officials from the Ready Campaign if the government would be working with businesses to make emergency supplies available for activities during the Month. It’s a great question. But at present, the answer is no, which is missing a great opportunity.

As has been frequently discussed on this blog, government should be reaching out to manufacturing and retail companies in the preparedness field (ie. food, wireless devices, bottled water, big box stores) to work out marketing/promotion tie-ins that would offer free or deeply discounted products — in addition to the sales tax break — as part of preparedness information activities. (As the government has limitations working directly with companies, it would want to include the American Red Cross to work with the sponsors).

For example, why not partner with wireless communications retailers to provide a discount on cell batteries or phones (or free minutes) if people brought in a completed family communications plan into the stores? Or big box store could offer an extra free emergency supply six pack of bottled water with the purchase of a case. Or discounts to fill ‘go-bags’? Here again is a perfect opportunity for a win-win-win for the public, business and government emergency management departments. Businesses want to do more around preparedness because it gives them the opportunity to do good and do well (as this press release from Target indicates). As with most obstacles to citizen preparedness, it takes focus and coordination more than money to move forward.

President Obama just issued a proclamation declaring the 23rd-29th National Hurricane Preparedness Week. But while well meaning the document, to be frank, is just perfunctory words: “I urge individuals, families, communities, and businesses to take time to plan for the storm season before it begins.” By contrast Virginia Governor’s McDonnell’s Preparedness Week announcement has the same exhortations of the President, but it comes along with some tangible initiatives to make it easier for the public to actually follow the recommendations. And all that is necessary is to pass the law and then some organizing by the Commonwealth’s Department of Emergency Management.

In his proclamation, Obama says:

“The National Hurricane Center at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, as well as the Federal Emergency Management Agency, recommend taking several important steps to ensure safety. These precautions include: developing a family disaster plan; maintaining an emergency supply kit; securing homes, businesses, and belongings; and learning evacuation routes.”

But a survey released by the U.S. Homeland Security Department’s Citizen Corps last year indicates that most Americans are ignoring both FEMA and NOAA and, for that matter, the President himself who made the same request of Americans to prepare last year. The ask would be far more effective if the Administration had already worked with the private sector to provide supplies for the public, had passed legislation allowing citizens to write off emergency supplies, or had established a day when Americans would rehearse their plans.

Now, that might sound to some people as a lot, particularly relative to what the government does now on preparedness. But if officials are serious about citizen readiness — and I think they are — then government has to followup those words with actions. If not, then let’s not expect citizens to be prepared in advance and make our disaster response plans reflect that. (I also don’t think most Americans would object to targeted, inexpensive and useful initiatives on disaster preparedness.)

Suit, a former state legislator said the tax holiday enjoys bipartisan support in the legislature. It was originally signed by a Democratic governor and is being continued by his Republican successor. Virginia is one of two states (along with Louisiana) that have a tax holiday for preparedness products. The idea is not a panacea, but Suit says any state that wants to being more attention citizen preparedness should try it.

Here in New York, I recommended it to my local State Assemblyman Jonathan L. Bing. He introduced a bill which would create which would create a ‘tax holiday’ for preparedness supplies and “Go-Bags,” in the New York State House. Under the legislation, New Yorkers would be able to buy emergency supplies without paying state sales tax between September 1st-11th (the period between the anniversaries of 9/11 and Katrina) and purchase pre-made “Go-Bags” tax free throughout the month.

OIRA, according to the piece, has “the power to review every significant new rule that emerged from…[federal] agencies and to decide whether the benefits (in health, safety or environmental protection) were greater than what it would cost society to comply.” Cost/benefit analysis is central to the current climate change debate but it also very relevant to disaster preparedness decisionmaking. The article continues:

For years, Sunstein has wrestled in his writing with the difficulty in estimating the possibility of catastrophe — studies of insurance markets have found that we tend to ignore small risks until their probability passes a certain threshold, at which point we overspend wildly to prevent them. Our public assumptions about costs and benefits are often similarly out of whack.

We probably spent too little on air security before the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, Sunstein says. Afterward we have struggled to calibrate the appropriate response. Likewise, the threat of catastrophic climate change bedevils even experts. How do you account for a small but real chance that the global sea level will rise by 20 feet?

The “nudge” in the magazine’s headline refers to a 2009 book Sunstein wrote with Richard H. Thaler called Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness, which according to the Times article (written by Benjamin Wallace-Wells):

elaborated a philosophy called “libertarian paternalism.” Conservative economists have long stressed that because people are rational, the best way for government to serve the public is to guarantee a fair market and to otherwise get out of the way. But in the real world, Sunstein and Thaler argue, people are subject to all sorts of biases and quirks. They also argue that this human quality, which some would call irrationality, can be predicted and — this is the controversial part — that if the social environment can be changed, people might be nudged into more rational behavior.

The book describes a “nudge” as:

any aspect of the choice architecture that alters people’s behavior in a predictable way without forbidding options or significantly changing their economic incentives. To count as a mere nudge, the intervention must be easy and cheap to avoid. Nudges are not mandates. Putting the fruit at eye level counts as a nudge. Banning junk food does not.

I’ve long felt that changing public behavior on citizen preparedness requires the kind of smarter presentation, better integration, small incentives, and more rigorous attention to create effective and targeted nudges along the lines of what Sunstein discusses in his book. Instead of using nudges on preparedness, most government bodies have relied solely on ‘call to action’ pleas. As a top FEMA official underscored last month, it has not worked. In fact, I would argue that when it comes to citizen preparedness for the range of threats the nation faces, we still don’t even fully understand — let alone have applied — the actual choice architecture of the citizenry.

There are a couple of elements of the campaign I particularly like. First, is that it gives the participants some tangible — albeit not enormous — incentive to participate. Second, it has integrated Twitter and Facebook and made things easy for users to promote the campaign to others. The bad news is that I just heard about it, and the Challenge (which is tied to Washington’s Disaster Preparedness Month) ends on April 30th. If you want more information on the campaign, click here.

During the Holiday, citizens can purchase emergency preparedness-related supplies without paying the 5% state sales tax. According to the Virginia Department of Taxation, in 2009 consumers saved $2.3 million in taxes on preparedness products up 5% from the year before.

A key to the tax free preparedness week has been the state’s ability to recruit several major retailers to participate in a significant way. It has turned the Holiday into a win-win proposition. For the stores, it’s more people in their stores buying preparedness (and other) products. For the state, preparedness gets the type of marketing muscle rarely is given to the issue, including full-page newspaper, radio and tv advertisements.

In addition, the state is also reaching out to local TV meteorologists for their support, as research shows that Virginians consider their local weather forecaster to have a great deal of influence on preparedness actions. They will also be partnering with Radio Disney to reach families during live events planned throughout May. This type of multi-platform approach, supported by real financial savings, is the way to break through to the public on preparedness.

This blog has long been an advocate of the use of incentives to spur public preparedness. To me, it is unrealistic to expect the public to prepare for disasters –that incur not insignificant economic and logistical cost — without some kind of enticement. In this society, when the government wants to influence social behavior it does so through incentives or disincentives (though the carrot is more appropriate than the stick on this issue). What we do know is that solely putting information on websites — promoted largely by PSA’s running in donated time —  has proved not adequate to move the needle substantially.

I would urge officials at the local, state and federal levels consider a tax free holiday or other incentives (ie. tax writeoffs) — along with integrated private sector marketing support — as a way to really get the attention of Americans and show they are serious about preparedness. (In New York State, a bill establishing September as a tax free month was introduced in part on the prompting of this blog. It is currently awaiting action by the legislature.)

A selection committee from across the Department will select the best ideas and will incorporate them into a national public education campaign to be launched in the fall. The Challenge is open to Americans of all ages with parental consent required for participants under the age of 18. Proposals should be submitted electronically by April 30, 2010.

Selected participants of the Challenge will be invited to an event in Washington, DC, at their own expense, in late May or early June. Selected participants may be invited to work with the Department in the planning of the National Cybersecurity Awareness Campaign that will launch during National Cybersecurity Awareness Month in October. For more information on entering the challenge, click here.

In 2007, I met with Assemblyman Bing staff to discuss emergency preparedness in his Manhattan district (where I live) as well as the State as a whole. He thought the idea of a tax free period could have a significant catalytic impact on citizen readiness and decided to introduce legislation. The tax-free period for supplies would run from September 1-September 11 commemorating the time between the anniversaries between Katrina and 9/11. “Go-Bags” would be exempt all month but only if they met certain minimum requirements and were sold for $75 or less. Some of the individual emergency items would have similar price restrictions.

An important part of personal preparedness is having requisite supplies as well as a “Go Bag” — a collection of items packed in an easy-to-carry, accessible knapsack – that can be ready in a matter of seconds. Storing supplies are just one step in becoming prepared, but getting people to take that initial step is crucial. In addition, a special tax holiday makes it more likely a) private businesses will add their marketing expertise and capacity to the preparedness effort and b) the media will provide coverage of the issue. Officials in Virginia and Florida, both of which recently implemented this idea, say the results have been positive.

The bill has been introduced in the Assembly with twenty other sponsors and has been referred to committee for consideration. New Yorkers should contact your local legislators to encourage them to support the bill. Those in other states should ask their elected officials to consider the idea.

Also, here in New York City, a long-time elected official Mark Green now running for Public Advocate has included the idea in his platform, “100 Ideas for a Better City,” as #35 — Encourage emergency preparedness by creating a tax holiday on emergency supplies during the month of September:

“The New York City Office of Emergency Management recommends that residents prepare for emergencies by buying and storing certain basic emergency supplies as well as creating “Go Bags.” Unfortunately, few have the requisite emergency supplies. Fewer still have heard of a “Go Bag,” which is a collection of items you may need in the event of an emergency packed in an easy to carry container that is accessible in case you need to leave your home in a hurry. By providing an initial New York City sales tax holiday from September 1 through September 11 for individual emergency supplies, with a sales tax holiday for pre-made “Go Bags” for the month of September, we can encourage New Yorkers to begin to be prepared for whatever emergency they may face. New York State Assembly Member Jonathan Bing has introduced legislation on this issue and Florida enacted a similar tax free period aimed at hurricane preparedness in 2006.

I hope the increased profile of the idea will soon result in some action here and across the nation.

FULL-PAGE LOWE’S NEWSPAPER ADVERTISEMENT PROMOTING VIRGINIA’S TAX-FREE HURRICANE PREPAREDNESS WEEK (ABOVE).

Laura Southard from the Virginia Department of Emergency Management sent me a report from one of its preparedness events which enlisted Radio Disney to reach out to families in a creative way:

“Between the two Radio Disney events Monday, I would say nearly 100 families were reached through a fun, game show-style “Get Ready Virginia” event. Every parent received a goody bag containing Ready Virginia information, including a template for making a family emergency plan, kids’ game sheets, and a flyer listing the hurricane/flood season items exempt from sales tax. This is the first time we have used special events to drive home the need for families to take action, so we are anxious to see how response pans out over the summer and into the fall. Just look at the faces of all the kids and parents and you can see they had fun. Interestingly, the kids knew a lot about how to get ready for emergencies. It will be curious to see if their knowledge will translate into current family readiness — or will show up in the next generation.”

Ready Virginia/Radio Disney family preparedness event in Richmond, Virginia tied to the state’s hurricane preparedness tax holiday week (above).

One of the reasons that I am an advocate of these tax free weeks is that they provide an opportunity for government to get the private sector and their marketing operations involved in public preparedness. For example, in Virginia, ‘big-box’ chains Lowe’s and Target took out full-page ads in Sunday newspapers to promote the readiness week — a win/win/win for the businesses, the public and government emergency management officials.

Full-page Lowe’s newspaper advertisement promoting Virginia’s tax free hurricane preparedness supplies week (above).

During those periods, sales tax will be lifted on purchases of preparedness-related supplies and equipment including batteries and flashlights; bottled water and coolers; tarps, plastic sheeting and duct tape; smoke detectors and fire extinguishers; portable radios; cell phone chargers; first aid kits and more. Portable generators and inverters also are included. A complete list for Virginia can be found at: www.tax.virginia.gov/web_pdfs/Exempt_Products.pdf. In these recessionary times, Virginia is promoting the week for both its preparedness and cost value. As the Ready Virginia web site suggests:

“It’s smart to get ready for hurricane and flash flooding season, which arrives June 1st. And it’s smart to save money. You can do both by shopping for such products as batteries, food storage containers, generators, first aid kits, bottled water, radios and more between May 25 and 31. When you do, you won’t pay sales tax on many useful products that cost up to $60 or on generators costing $1,000 or less. That’s a savings of 5 percent.”

Ready Virginia is kicking the tax free week off with events at stores and a Radio Disney partnership. According to the Virginia Emergency Management official Laura Southard: 

“We are partnering with Radio Disney for hurricane season to target families with young children in the Hampton Roads and Richmond regions. (This is one demographic group that is likely to take steps to prepare.) Our effort, called Get Ready Virginia, includes a series of fun, family-oriented gameshow events. We start Monday with an event at a Wal-Mart in Richmond and another at a hardware store in Virginia Beach to kick off the sales tax holiday. Other events will be held throughout the summer and fall. Parents will be given goody bags that include Ready Virginia materials, including a blank family emergency plan that they can discuss and fill out. The campaign also includes public service announcements and 30-minute public affairs programs on the two Radio Disney stations in Virginia.”

I am a great supporter of these tax-free periods because they provide an incentive for the public to prepare and result in greater attention (particularly from retailers and the media) to the often overlooked subject of citizen preparedness. Last year, I suggested to my local assemblyman Jonathan Bing that the idea should be considered here in New York. And Bing recently introduced legislation in the state house to establish a tax-free period between the anniversaries of Hurricane Katrina and 9/11.

It is my contention that the two efforts are complementary and should be more linked closer together in the public’s mind — and actions. In both, society is being asked to mobilize in order to avert or mitigate potential disasters, and both are part of strengthening the nation’s general national resilience. In fact, it is likely that climate change is contributing to the frequency and scale of natural disasters that will require a more prepared nation. Yet, Americans have largely embraced one cause and ignored the other. 

Spokesperson Laura Southard says this year the Department is making a bigger effort to sell both the economic and social benefits of the holiday to the private sector — not only for retailers who sell the emergency products but also to newspapers who could use it as an advertising opportunity. “I have solicited the sales managers at all the major dailies in the state so they can pitch this great advertising opportunity to their clients. It’s win-win for the newspapers, the retail advertisers and the customers. I am not paying the papers anything; I just prompted them to use the tax holiday as an advertising incentive.  Of course, I’ve asked them to use the Ready Virginia logo and Web site, if possible, on any ads that their clients may run.”

Appealing to profit motive — particularly in this economic environment — is smart. The more you can show businesses it’s in their self interest to get involved in preparedness the more attention they will give it  and in turn the more likely that their readers and customers will hear about the special week. In fact, preparedness offers the private sector way to both ‘do good and do well’. Says Southard: “Newspapers need advertising … Retailers need customers … Consumers need to save money … and it goes without saying that everyone needs to prepare for emergencies.”

So far, the state is partnering on the week with the Retail Merchants Association, the Virginia Chamber of Commerce, The Federal Reserve Bank in Richmond and Kroger supermarkets. I believe this type of holiday should be implemented nationwide. (Though at present there is only one other state currently doing so, Louisiana, which is holding their second tax-free weekend at the end of the May.) Here in New York, legislation has recently been reintroduced in the State Assembly to establish a tax-free period between the anniversaries of Hurricane Katrina and 9/11.

The campaign includes displays in McDonald’s restaurants throughout the state with information focusing on floods, tornadoes, lightning, emergency preparedness and NOAA weather radios. There are also severe-weather themed tray liners and drive-thru bag stuffers. In addition, many emergency managers hold events locally throughout April.

What I like (or to borrow McDonald’s current ad slogan, what I’m lovin’) most about this campaign is that the business sector, in this case a high-profile consumer retailer like McDonald’s, is centrally involved and identified with the effort in communities around the state. On this blog, I have frequently called on the private sector to get into preparedness in the same way it has done with disaster response, such as after Hurricane Katrina. I also like that the campaign is holding a contest for the safe room and the radios, which is a creative way to gain attention for the issue and provides a good incentive for people to register for readiness information. 

To be eligible to win the safe room — a concrete and steel reinforced room that can provide greater protection for residents in the path of severe storms and tornadoes — you must be the owner of the single family home in Oklahoma where it will be installed. The radios are being given away every week in April.

Ronald McDonald along with local emergency preparedness officials kickoff the McReady campaign in Midwest City, Oklahoma.

The warnings must be clear, unambiguous and consistent – even if the information on the ground is not. They need to come from many different channels (most people check with four or five sources before evacuating prior to a hurricane). And it is crucial that they be repeated – again and again. Most important, warnings need to be honest. The public does not tend to panic in the face of a crisis. To the contrary, most people become obedient when given clear direction – on burning airplanes and soon-to-be-flooded coastlines.

People also prefer that officials err on the side of caution, says John Sorensen, an evacuation expert at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee. If storm warnings turn out to be wrong, people do not refuse to evacuate the next time around – provided officials explain why the first warning proved incorrect. “People are well aware of the fact that science is wishy-washy,” says [disaster expert Dennis] Mileti. “It’s the scientists who think they need to make it perfect.”

Most warnings are inadvertently written for emergency planners, not regular people – and that doesn’t help. For example, most people will never remember the difference between a tornado watch and a tornado warning. Likewise, people have become familiar with the ranking of hurricanes on a scale from 1 to 5, and since Hurricane Ike was a Category 2, many people disregarded it. But that scale measures only wind – not storm surge, which is often far more dangerous.

The other challenge that exacerbates the human bias to linger is the ambient noise in our lives. “We have warnings from all directions – about fire, about drugs,” says Martin Lindstrom, author of “Buyology: Truth and Lies About Why We Buy.” “We put up a filter and say, ‘This won’t happen to us.’ So to communicate in an ordinary way will not work.” These filters can be penetrated, but only if emergency communications are written to work the way the human brain works.

This year, people in harm’s way will probably not hear the “certain death” warning, no matter how bad things get. After Hurricane Ike, the Weather Service decided to change its approach. “We had to be careful of not being overly deterministic,” says Walt Zaleski, warning coordination meteorologist at the Weather Service’s regional headquarters in Fort Worth. “There’s always a possibility you’re going to have somebody survive, and people will say, -Look! There you go! You told us we were going to die, and we didn’t!’ Then for the next storm, they won’t react.” Now, people living in high-risk areas will be warned only that they “may die” if they don’t evacuate.

Over the past 50 years, evacuations have, in fact, gotten much more effective. Forecasts are more accurate and timely. Warnings are more vivid, as are storm graphics. TV and new technology such as reverse 911 calls can distribute warnings much more efficiently – whatever the warnings may say. Those systems will be tested again. So far, 2009 is predicted to be a busier-than-average hurricane season, with 14 named storms. Death is not yet certain.

Now, obviously there are differences between emergency preparedness and safe sex preparedness. But one similarity between both (and other social education campaigns) is that if you want to change citizen behavior sometimes you need to offer some kind of encouragement to those citizens to do so. Yet, to date when it comes to emergency preparedness, that type of incentive and creativity is for the most part not being employed.

Federal, state and local government web sites all recommend that the public store extra emergency supplies for emergencies, which is not an insubstantial financial commitment, particularly in these economic times. But there has not been a concerted effort to provide citizens with a start in that direction. I’m not saying that the government should be responsible for fully preparing every American. Instead, it just means giving people a little something to get their attention and encourage them to begin the process, as has been done in other social marketing areas. 

Of course, a condom retails for about $1.39/each over (or maybe more precisely, under) the counter while in the preparedness area the necessary items are more costly. That’s where I think we need to get the private sector — which showed its interest and capacity in post-disaster response after Hurricane Katrina — far more involved in preparedness cause marketing partnerships. In fact, I think not involving business more directly in preparedness campaigns over the past few years has been a huge missed opportunity. The idea would be to set up partnerships in which the public would get some free preparedness supplies while providing promotional attention and more traffic for firms in the emergency preparedness business categories (ie. big box stores, safety/construction supplies firms, food and bottled water companies, etc.). A nice potential win-win situation that should capitalized upon. 

Governments cannot just list items on a web site for the public to buy and store, and realistically expect most people to follow those directions. And predictably, they haven’t. If we want citizens to take preparedness seriously and actually go through the process, federal, state and local governments need to offer the type of encouragement, creativity and focus that the City of New York has shown on its safe sex campaign.

The role of incentives was underscored by former White House Terrorism Adviser Fran Townsend on this blog last year. I also included some incentive-based ideas as part of my preparedness recommendations for the “New Year and New Administration”:

*CREATE TAX-FREE PERIODS FOR CONSUMERS TO PURCHASE PREPAREDNESS SUPPLIES. PROVIDE A TAX WRITEOFF TO CITIZENS TO PURCHASE PREPAREDNESS-RELATED PRODUCTS AS A WAY TO ENCOURAGE PARTICIPATION AND TO SIGNAL GOVERNMENTAL COMMITMENT. ALSO CONSIDER TARGETING ASSISTANCE TO CITIZENS WHO CANNOT AFFORD TO PREPARE.

*BRING IN BUSINESS TO HELP SELL PREPAREDNESS – DESIGN AND ROLL OUT A FULL SERVICE PUBLIC PREPAREDNESS MARKETING CAMPAIGN WITH HELP FROM PRIVATE SECTOR. GALVANIZE BUSINESS TO TAKE ON DISASTER PREPAREDNESS IN THE SAME WAY THEY HAVE WITH DISASTER RESPONSE, MOST NOTABLY IN AFTERMATH OF HURRICANE KATRINA.

In sum, I believe that government using its incentives at its disposal in a small, but demonstrative, manner while tapping the private sector’s resources (and self interest) can help accelerate citizen preparedness.

Under the legislation, New Yorkers would be able to buy emergency supplies without paying state sales tax between September 1st-11th and purchase pre-made “Go-Bags” tax free throughout the month. The bill would also declare September as “Emergency Preparedness Month” in New York. 

Last year, I met with Assemblyman Bing’s Chief of Staff, Benjamin Kallos, to discuss emergency preparedness in his Manhattan district (where I live) as well as the State as a whole. I recommended that a tax free holiday on emergency supplies had been tried by several states to increase public interest and action on preparedness. 

Kallos researched the issue and then met with local CERT team members, including my ESNA-CERT team chief, Jay Schofield, and deputy chief, Dave Gillespie, for their input. As Assemblyman Bing has long been involved in the issues of emergency preparedness and response, he thought a tax free period could have a significant impact on citizen preparedness, and decided to introduce legislation. 

According to the proposed legislation, the tax-free period for supplies would run from September 1-September 11 commemorating the time between the anniversaries between Hurricane Katrina and 9/11. “Go-Bags” would be exempt all month but only if they met certain minimum requirements and were sold for $75 or less. Some of the individual emergency items would have similar price restrictions.

An important part of personal preparedness is having requisite supplies as well as a “Go Bag” — a collection of items packed in an easy-to-carry, accessible knapsack – that can be ready in a matter of seconds. Storing supplies are just one step in becoming prepared, but getting people to take that initial step is crucial. In addition, a special tax holiday makes it more likely a) private businesses will add their marketing expertise and capacity to the preparedness effort and b) the media will provide coverage of the issue. Officials in Virginia and Florida, both of which recently implemented this idea, say early results were positive.

The bill has been re-introduced in the Assembly with twenty other sponsors and has been referred to committee for consideration. New Yorkers should contact your local legislators to encourage them to support the bill. Those in other states should ask their elected officials to consider the idea.

Though they have no sales figures yet to report, officials from both states say they considered their tax free initiatives successful citing an increased amount of attention to preparedness from both the public and the media. The officials said they are optimistic that the event will only get bigger as it becomes more established in the years to come.

These positive reports should help efforts here in New York and around the nation to implement similar tax-free periods as a way to encourage citizen preparedness. As I wrote about in May, I worked with my local State Assemblyman Jonathan Bing on legislation he introduced in the New York state legislature in May. Under the Bing bill, New Yorkers would be able to buy emergency supplies without paying state sales tax between September 1st-11th (commemorating the period after Hurricane Katrina and the 9/11 attacks) and purchase pre-made emergency “Go-Bags” tax free throughout the month. 

In Louisiana, where they created their first ever tax free preparedness weekend at the end of May just before hurricane season began, Veronica Mosgrove, Communications Director for the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness, said the weekend turned out to be a “good idea”. She said “amazingly there is still a lot of apathy even in Louisiana” about preparedness. So the state was looking for different approaches to communicate and encourage people to prepare as part of the Louisiana’s new “Get A Game Plan” civilian education campaign.

“Anything that inspires people to get prepared is a success,” says Mosgrove, making the point that there is not one silver bullet for preparedness, you’ve got to try a lot of different things to break through.”

In Virginia, where the last week of May, “Hurricane and Flooding Preparedness Week”, was tax-free for the first time this year Department of Emergency Management Public Outreach Coordinator Laura Southard, told me that she was encouraged by their initial foray, though she sees opportunities to improve it next year: ”This was our first year, and we learned we’ve got to do more to get the word out. Some retailers told us they wanted to see more activity, and obviously, we do, too, because it means people are getting their families ready for the season.” But she says that the public responded to the idea as another aspect of their Ready Virginia campaign. ”Saving money usually prompts people to take action.” She says that a similar state tax-free school supplies weekend took a couple years to build awareness among the public so she expects the same dynamic with preparedness.

These positive reports from Louisiana and Virginia would appear to bolster the efforts here in New York and in other areas of the country to implement these tax-free opportunities for their citizens to increase their preparedness.