The American Red Cross is offering a new way to make sure your house and company are disaster ready.

The Mid-Illinois Chapter of the American Red Cross launched a ready rating program. It's a free assessment companies, schools, and homeowners can use to help see how prepared they are for disasters. The disasters being looked at range from power outages and medical emergencies to fires and floods. Mid-Illinois Chapter Executive Director Carl Baker says the Red Cross does not see any of the results, only the company sees what changes they can make.

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The Mid-Illinois Chapter of the Red Cross is hoping that 50 companies take the assessment by  October. Tara Winters of the Red Cross says 42 percent of businesses do not go back into business after a disaster has hit. She adds the assessment will let companies know where they need to change their disaster plans.

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Baker says it's a free tool to help give back to the community. Recent studies have shown that only two out of ten Americans have disaster plans for their homes. Baker feels this number needs to change and hopefully the assessment will help.

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The ready rating program was started by the St. Louis chapter in 2008 and was picked up by nine other chapters such as Dallas and Chicago within the following years.

For more information on the ready rating program or to do the assessment, go to midillinoisredcross.org.