Interest in Individual Preparedness Increases
U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Office of the Press Secretary
Contact: 202-282-8010
For Immediate Release
October 19, 2005
In the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and National Preparedness Month 2005, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) today announced a significant rise in traffic to its Ready campaign website, Ready.gov, and calls to its toll-free phone line, 1-800-BE-READY during the month of September.
The Ready.gov website, an integral part of Homeland Security's Ready campaign, received more than 17 million hits and nearly 290,000 unique visitors in September, making it the busiest month for the website since December 2003. The previous 2005 monthly average was 6.9 millions hits and nearly 169,000 unique visitors per month. In addition, in September more than 42,000 Ready brochures were downloaded from the website, nearly five times the 2005 monthly average. The campaign's toll free phone line also saw increased traffic and information requests, with more than 3,100 calls and over 98,900 brochures requested.
In September, Listo.gov, the website of Listo, the Spanish-language version of Ready, also received a significant increase in visitors, logging more than 300,000 hits and 10,000 unique visitors. Prior to September, the 2005 monthly average was 259,000 hits and approximately 7,500 unique visitors.
In addition to the rise in hits to the Ready America portion of Ready.gov, the Ready Business section of the website saw a dramatic spike in visits during the course of the month, garnering approximately 830,000 hits, more than doubling the previous monthly average of over 369,000 hits. The increased interest in business-specific preparedness materials made September 2005 Ready Business' most successful month in its year of existence.
The Ad Council has declared Ready one of the most successful public service advertising campaigns in its 63-year history. Since its launch in February 2003, the campaign has generated more than $453 million in donated media support. As of September 30, 2005, the campaign's website has received more than 1.9 billion hits and 20 million unique visitors; its toll-free number has received more than 241,000 calls and more than 4.6 million brochures have been requested or downloaded from the website.
Ready is designed to educate and empower Americans to prepare for and respond to emergencies including natural disasters and potential terrorist attacks. Ready asks individuals to do three key things to prepare: get an emergency supply kit, make a family emergency plan, and be informed about the different types of emergencies that could occur and their appropriate responses.
The Ready campaign is a national public service advertising campaign produced by the Advertising Council in partnership with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. It is designed to educate and empower Americans to prepare for and respond to emergencies including natural disasters and potential terrorist attacks. Individuals interested in receiving a "Get Ready Now" brochure may call 1-800-BE-READY or visit Ready.gov for more information. Citizen Corps, Homeland Security's grassroots effort, localizes Ready's preparedness messages and provides local opportunities for citizens to get emergency response training, participate in community exercises and volunteer to support local first responders. To learn more and to get involved, contact your nearest Citizen Corps Council by visiting CitizenCorps.gov.
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