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WATCH Is Your Home Ready for Japan-Style Earthquake?

Unlike desperate countries like Haiti, many experts agree that so far Japan, a developed country, has fared well overall in disaster preparedness, which is measured by the country's immediate response following an earthquake and tsunami.

But many may wonder whether Americans are as prepared to handle such natural disasters.

The United States has experienced an average of 50 natural disasters each year in the last decade, more than 560 total, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The agency documented eight natural disasters this year already, mostly severe winter storms and flooding.

Click HERE to see a list of the items that should be in a basic emergency kit.

While there are national and local emergency plans in place, making the big picture response look satisfactory, experts say it's likely that most Americans themselves are not prepared to handle emergencies.

Indeed, many state and federal government organizations have their own set of challenges. A survey released Monday by the American Medical Association suggested many state health departments have no plan in place to assess human radiation exposure should a radiation emergency similar Japan's nuclear plant explosion should take place.

But experts say what could be as concerning is that family preparedness fares far worse than any governmental infrastructure.

"It's really in the personal preparedness phase rather than the response phase that we need to be paying more attention," said Jonathon Links, director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Public Health Preparedness in Baltimore.

In fact, according to Links, most cities and towns across the United States have experienced some type of natural disaster. Yet, it is estimated that only about 10 percent of households are prepared to handle emergencies.

Emergency Preparation is Both Physical and Mental, Experts Say

For many families, the answer is simple, says ABC News' chief health and medical editor, Dr Richard Besser.

According to Besser, the top items necessary for families to keep on reserve in case of a disaster is a pack that includes a flashlight, radio, food, water, a heavy duty breathing mask, light sticks, and a first aid kit. Relief agencies like the Red Cross or FEMA offer emergencies preparation kits which include these essentials for anyone to purchase.

But the hard part, says Links, is getting folks to buy in to preparedness. For years, health communicators have worked to develop campaigns to motivate citizens to set up a personal plan should there ever be a disaster. But many consumers don't listen, he said, until an actual disaster occurs.

One of the major reasons is that many don't believe what has been happening abroad can happen at home, he said.

"The essence of the model is you have to convince people that there's a threat, and that there's something they can do about it," Links said.

And while it seems difficult to motivate many to physically prepare for emergencies, mental preparation may prove even more difficult.

"When people hear fearful messages of what might happen, they're more likely to tune it out," Links said.

That's why Links and his colleagues are working with faith-based organizations to help implement preparation measures among their community members. Many people are more likely to listen to their faith community than a government organization, he said. And not only can the community advocate for physical preparation, it can also build mental resiliency, he said.

"Communities trained in mental health become public health extendors," Links said. "When you've trained them pre-event, they can help during an event."

However, in many cases, community preparedness begins with the engagement of its individual members. Besser said he encourages everyone to pull together an emergency kit before an actual threat surfaces. And Links agreed.

"If we Americans did a better job of that, we'd be more self-reliant and would not need to rely as heavily on governmental infrastructure to save us," Links said.

Visit the Red Cross to purchase a emergency kit.

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WATCH Japan Quake: Radiation Effects On Body

Evacuees from the 13-mile-radius danger zone surrounding Japan's Fukushima nuclear plant are being screened for radiation.

Japanese health authorities confirmed that at least 22 people have been exposed to radiation following the hydrogen explosion at the plant's No. 1 reactor building early Saturday morning. Up to 160 more are suspected to have been exposed while waiting for evacuation in the nearby town of Futabe, according to Ryo Miyake, a spokesman from Japan's nuclear agency.

A cooling system malfunction at the plant's No. 3 reactor last night could lead to a similar explosion, but Yukio Edano, the nation's Chief Cabinet Secretary, said, "If there is an explosion, however, there would be no significant impact on human health," according to The Associated Press.

Workers wearing masks and protective clothing are using handheld scanners to measure radiation on the nearly 180,000 people who have fled the 450-square mile zone.

Officials have set up evacuation centers bordering the zone and are working to establish decontamination facilities.

Depending on the level of contamination, evacuees are being advised to dispose of clothing and shower.

"They're doing the same thing we would be doing," said ABC News chief medical editor Dr. Richard Besser. "They'll be monitoring them to see if they have radiation on them. They can decontaminate them."

Potassium iodide pills can help guard against thyroid cancer, Besser said.

Iodine is taken up by the thyroid -- a butterfly-shaped gland in the neck that produces hormones that regulate metabolism. Radioactive iodine in environment after a nuclear accident can cause thyroid cancer. But potassium iodide can block the radioactive iodine from entering the gland.

"One of the things after Chernobyl, you saw massive numbers of cancers in children. The radioactive iodine got into the grass, the cows ate the grass, it got into the milk," Besser said. "If there is a big fallout, they'll tell people not to drink milk or eat food from that area."

Children and pregnant women are most at risk, Besser said.

Japan's Nuclear Fears: No Meltdown Yet

Although the steel container protecting the plant's No.1 reactor was not damaged in the explosion, radiation levels near the plant rose to roughly twice that which constitute an emergency situation, according to Japanese officials. This prompted a doubling of the evacuation radius from the initial six miles.

Radiation levels outside the plant rose again after the malfunction in the No. 3 reactor Saturday night, but soon began to fall, according to Edano.

The explosion in the No. 1 reactor occurred when a build-up of steam was released in an effort to safely decrease pressure. A similar controlled release is planned for No. 3.

"We don't call this situation meltdown," government spokesman, Nori Shikata told "This Week" anchor Christiane Amanpour Sunday morning. "This is a regulated controlled situation. The release of minute radioactive material is based on our efforts to take pre- cautionary methods."

"Whether or not there will be further leaks, the people will be away from danger," Besser said.

Jacky Williams, director and core leader of the Center for Biophysical Assessment and Risk Management Following Irradiation at the University of Rochester Medical Center, called the 12-mile evacuation radius an "extremely conservative safety zone to protect against fallout."

The radiation dose following the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings was cut in half every 200 meters from ground zero, Williams said.

But the fallout from a Fukushima could vary greatly depending on the nature of any leak -- whether it's through an explosion of the core, as in Chernobyl, or a slow, controlled release of pressure-building gases. It also depends on the wind.

"Members of the public are not in imminent danger at a distance of 20 kilometers, so long as they are not downwind," Williams said.

The plume from the Chernobyl explosion drifted over large parts of Europe and the Soviet Union, prompting the evacuation of more than 300,000 people.

The scene dredges up memories of the Three Mile Island accident near Harrisburg, Pa., in 1979.

The partial meltdown at the Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating Station, which ended nuclear power construction in the United States, has never been definitively linked to deaths or cancer. But radiation exposure following the Chernobyl meltdown has been directly implicated in more than 50 deaths and suspected in many more.

Japan's Nuclear Fears: Long Term Health Effects Uncertain

The true extent of the disaster's effects, such as the cancer risk posed by widespread low- level radiation, remains unclear.

"No one has yet conclusively assessed this question 25 years after the Chernobyl Accident," said John Williams, professor of nuclear and energy engineering at the University of Arizona.

The acceptable level of radiation exposure, up to 10 millisieverts per year, is based on a "no threshold" model, which assumes a direct relationship between radiation dose and cancer risk and implies anything beyond natural levels is harmful. But some experts argue that low- level radiation may be less harmful on a per unit basis.

Japanese authorities deny that the exposures reported so far pose any health risks.

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Disaster Preparedness: Could the U.S. Hold Water? By LARA SALAHI March 14, 2011

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Fukushima Evacuees Screened for Radiation By KATIE MOISSE and ABC NEWS MEDICAL UNIT March 13, 2011

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Disaster Preparedness: Could the U.S. Hold Water?

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