How About Now: Changes in Risk Perception Before and After a Hurricane
Abstract
Much of the damage caused by hurricanes is influenced by risk reduction behaviors in affected residents such as evacuation and implementation of mitigation strategies. Risk reduction behaviors are often voluntary and heavily influenced by how at-risk an individual personally feels, a concept known as risk perception. This thesis examines how risk perceptions change before and after a hurricane by comparing data from two surveys conducted in Sarasota County, one before and one 6 months after Hurricane Irma, a category 3 storm that narrowly missed Sarasota County. Both surveys asked almost identical questions about residents’ hurricane risk perceptions, evacuation behaviors, mitigation plans, and attitudes about self-efficacy. For each question found in both surveys, unpaired t-tests were conducted on the 2016 and 2018 responses to determine whether significant changes in risk perceptions occurred before and after Hurricane Irma (ɑ =0.05). The results suggest that Hurricane Irma had a notable impact on hurricane risk perception.
Changes were most evident in reported levels of self-efficacy -- residents were less likely to feel able to sufficiently prepare for or recover from hurricane impacts after Hurricane Irma. Respondents also were more likely to believe individuals are responsible for preparing for hurricane impacts, as opposed to public or government institutions (e.g., city governments). Residents also reported feeling more informed about the potential impacts of hurricanes after Irma, although they were not more likely to feel at risk of injury or loss of property.
Citation
Billman, Matthew Austin (2020). How About Now: Changes in Risk Perception Before and After a Hurricane. Master's thesis, Texas A&M University. Available electronically from https : / /hdl .handle .net /1969 .1 /200774.