All I Want For Christmas Is … Peanut Butter, A Flash Light, A Can Opener, A Radio, A Fully Charged Cell Phone And Internet Access

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC CHANNEL SURVEY REVEALS WHAT AMERICANS REALLY WANT THIS HOLIDAY SEASON IS TO SURVIVE DOOMSDAY

Survey Tied to DOOMSDAY PREPPERS Airing Tuesdays at 9 PM ET/PT on National Geographic Channel

WASHINGTON, Dec. 17, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- This holiday season, forget toys, iPhones and other fancy gadgets and bring on the bug-out bags: flashlights, canned food and ham radios. Survival-based essentials could be what Americans really want under their trees this year – and most think they'll need it. According to a new survey released today by National Geographic Channel and Kelton Research, a majority of Americans believe the world will experience a major catastrophe, but more than half admit they're not prepared.

The survey, tied to National Geographic Channel's Doomsday Preppers (airing Tuesdays at 9 PM ET/PT) provides insights into who is preparing and how we're preparing if – and most people believe it's a matter of when – disaster strikes.

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. More than half (52%) admit they are not as prepared as they need to be for a potential catastrophe. And more than 8 in 10 (83%) of the nation thinks most Americans will be under-prepared in the event of a catastrophe.

Who is Preparing

• Fewer than three in ten (29%) Americans know someone who is preparing for a possible catastrophe; more of them live in the South (33%) or West (31%) than in the Northeast (25%) or Midwest (21%).

How We Prepare

• If Americans did prepare, their top choice of canned or jarred food to have on hand is peanut butter (29%) with far fewer opting for fruit (10%) or vegetables (7%).
• Ten percent of Americans would choose a bottle or can opener to have on hand in a blackout instead of a flashlight (25%), radio (25%), fully charged cell phone (20%) or gun (20%).
• Electric heat or air conditioner (25%) and internet (24%) top the list of appliances or technology Americans would miss most during a catastrophe. Far fewer say this about a phone (13%) or TV (13%).

What We're Preparing For

• Nearly one-third (32%) are more concerned than they were a year ago about a natural disaster hitting their town; that concern is greatest in the Northeast (42%) compared to the rest of the nation (30%).
• Terrorism still weighs heavily on American's minds as more than half (62%) think a terrorist attack is likely to happen in the U.S. in the next 25 years.

Once Catastrophe Hits

• Most Americans (68%) would prefer to be home during a catastrophic event, rather than somewhere possibly safer like a bomb shelter (5%) or with more food, like a grocery store (4%).
• Far more Americans would most rely on their family, friends or neighbors (57%) over FEMA or a government agency (14%) for help in a catastrophe.
• Over half the nation believes the Republican Party (53%) would have more survivors than the Democratic Party (47%) if the country experienced a major catastrophe.
• The number one song to play while stuck in the dark was overwhelmingly Bruce Springsteen's "Dancing in the Dark" (30%) – of course, they would need a wind up radio first!

So, if you find coal in your stocking this year…remember, a fuel source is not such a bad gift after all!

Happy Doomsday Survival!

The survey of 1,152 nationally representative Americans ages 18 and over was conducted online between September 27^th and October 2^nd, 2013, with a +/- 2.9 percent margin of error.

About Doomsday Preppers
National Geographic Channel's popular series Doomsday Preppers airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET/PT and follows Americans from across the country as they prepare to protect themselves and their families from what they believe is an impending disaster — whether it's nuclear fallout, financial collapse, power grid failure or something else. For more information, visit www.natgeotv.com/doomsday  and follow us on Twitter at @NGC_PR.

National Geographic Channels
Based at the National Geographic Society headquarters in Washington, D.C., the National Geographic Channels US are a joint venture between National Geographic and Fox Networks. The Channels contribute to the National Geographic Society's commitment to exploration, conservation and education with smart, innovative programming and profits that directly support its mission. Launched in January 2001, National Geographic Channel (NGC) celebrated its fifth anniversary with the debut of NGC HD. In 2010, the wildlife and natural history cable channel Nat Geo WILD was launched, and in 2011, the Spanish-language network Nat Geo Mundo was unveiled. The Channels have carriage with all of the nation's major cable, telco and satellite television providers, with NGC currently available in over 85 million U.S. homes. Globally, National Geographic Channel is available in more than 440 million homes in 171 countries and 45 languages. For more information, visit www.natgeotv.com.

SOURCE National Geographic Channel