When disaster strikes, are cities ready?
America’s cities are more prepared for emergencies since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, but a recent survey by the Washington-based U.S. Conference of Mayors (USCM) indicates that many city leaders think the federal government needs to help more. About 80 percent of the 183 cities responding to the survey said they have not received sufficient federal resources to improve communications interoperability for first responders. Most of the respondents, when asked to score their city’s improvement in disaster readiness on a scale of one to 10, answered 6.3. USCM started the survey and formed the National Action Plan for Safety and Security in America’s Cities in response to the Sept. 11 attacks and Hurricane Katrina.
On a scale of 1-10, how much has your city improved its disaster preparedness?
| Number of responses | |
|---|---|
| 1 | 1 |
| 2 | 2 |
| 3 | 4 |
| 4 | 8 |
| 5 | 48 |
| 6 | 25 |
| 7 | 52 |
| 8 | 28 |
| 9 | 7 |
| 10 | 4 |
| Source: USCM survey, Aug. 10, 2006 | |
