After 9/11, the Red Cross, NYC Emergency Agencies, and Ad firms came up with some very soft toned (and mildly humorous) public service announcement TV commercials that ran locally. They were titled "What's in your Go Bag"? The "Go Bag" commercials were essentially "teasers" which cajoled viewer into calling a toll-free number for a printed Ready NY Guide, or to visit the city's emergency website.

The commercials were sensitive to local viewer’s reactions. They had to be, especially in the NY local market. Maybe they were too sensitive. I think the message was watered down. To be fair, though, the producers had to be very careful not to scare the public either.

Here is a link to the info they recommended:
http://www.nyc.gov/html/oem/html/readynewyork/ready_guide.html

After 9/11, I considered how I could prepare for my family and myself. I gravitated towards the Red Cross website, then the NYC website, then was amazed at all the info I stumbled upon after Google brought me to this site.

I would be shocked if 1 in forty of my fellow New Yorkers was minimally prepared. I know that many of the helpful people in these forums carry flashlights, and pocketknives everyday as part of their preparedness plan. Some go further with mini-kits etc. I think, however, that if more people in NY and elsewhere were to make even the smallest steps of collecting a few necessities it would go a long way if something serious happened again. Some water, energy bars, radio, and flashlight tucked in a drawer would be a great start for most.

I could not believe how poorly some of my neighbors were prepared during this summer’s subsequent blackout. I was even more surprised to see all the people spending the early hours of the blackout in bars.