Households’ Evacuation Decision in Response to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita

Although evacuation has been recognized as an effective protective action in responding to a hurricane emergency, it is still not clear why some people leave but others do not. In order to better understand this issue, this study began with a statistical meta-analysis (SMA), which is a procedure that has never been conducted previously in the field of disaster studies. The SMA indicates that homeownership, official warning, risk area, seeing peers evacuating, expected hydrological impacts, and expected wind impacts have strong and consistent effects on evacuation decisions whereas female gender, black ethnicity, presence of children in the home, reliance on news media for storm information, reliance on peers for storm information, and hurricane intensity have weaker effects that might be due to mediation through psychological variables. Next, this study collected data from the Hurricane Katrina and Rita evacuations and extended the results of the SMA by testing the Huang et al. (2012) abbreviated protective action decision model (PADM). The results show that (1) a household’s evacuation decision, as predicted, is determined most directly by expected wind impacts and expected evacuation impediments. In turn, expected wind impacts and expected hydrological impacts are primarily determined by expected storm threat and expected rapid onset. Finally, expected storm threat, expected rapid onset, and expected evacuation impediments are determined by households’ personal characteristics, their reception of hurricane information, and their observations of social and environmental cues. (2) Surprisingly, expected hydrological impacts did not have as much of an impact on evacuation decisions as wind impacts—which are associated with expected injuries, job disruption, and service disruption. (3) Official warnings and risk area also had direct effects on households’ evacuation decisions, which can be explained as the peripheral route to persuasion that bypasses messages about the personal impacts hurricane impact (Petty & Cacioppo, 1986). (4) Unlike other hurricane evacuation studies, this one found that expected rapid onset had a significant effect on households’ evacuation decisions, perhaps because both Hurricanes Katrina and Rita had late-changing tracks that might have caused residents to be concerned being caught on the road by a rapidly approaching storm. (5) Supplemental information, such as environmental cues, risk area, and hurricane experience, have effects on individuals’ expectations of storm threat, wind impacts, and hydrological impacts that are similar to those of National Weather Service information that is disseminated through multiple information channels (e.g., news media and official warnings). This implies that households used other sources to place the National Weather Service’s hurricane information into an appropriate context. Nonetheless, some of the results conflict with the model presented by Huang et al. (2012), so further research is needed to determine whether the conflicting results can be replicated and, consequently, require revision of the model

Perceptions and Expected Immediate Reactions to Severe Storm Displays

The National Weather Service has adopted warning polygons that more specifically indicate the risk area than its previous county-wide warnings. However, these polygons are not defined in terms of numerical strike probabilities (ps). To better understand people’s interpretations of warning polygons, 167 participants were shown 23 hypothetical scenarios in one of three information conditions—polygon-only (Condition A), polygon + tornadic storm cell (Condition B), and polygon + tornadic storm cell + flanking nontornadic storm cells (Condition C). Participants judged each polygon’s ps and reported the likelihood of taking nine different response actions. The polygon-only condition replicated the results of previous studies; ps was highest at the polygon’s centroid and declined in all directions from there. The two conditions displaying storm cells differed from the polygon-only condition only in having ps just as high at the polygon’s edge nearest the storm cell as at its centroid. Overall, ps values were positively correlated with expectations of continuing normal activities, seeking information from social sources, seeking shelter, and evacuating by car. These results indicate that participants make more appropriate ps judgments when polygons are presented in their natural context of radar displays than when they are presented in isolation. However, the fact that ps judgments had moderately positive correlations with both sheltering (a generally appropriate response) and evacuation (a generally inappropriate response) suggests that experiment participants experience the same ambivalence about these two protective actions as people threatened by actual tornadoes

Immediate Behavioral Response to the June 17, 2013 Flash Floods in Uttarakhand, North India

The 2013 Uttarakhand flash flood was such a surprise for those at risk that the predominant source of information for their risk was environmental cues and, secondarily, peer warnings rather than official warnings. Of those who received warnings, few received information other than the identity of the flood threat. A survey of 316 survivors found that most people\u27s first response was to immediately evacuate but some stayed to receive additional information, confirm their warnings, or engage in evacuation preparations. Unfortunately, engaging in these milling behaviors necessarily delayed their final evacuations. Mediation analysis revealed that psychological reactions mediated the relationship between information sources and behavioral responses. Further analyses revealed that immediate evacuation and evacuation delay were both predicted best by information search and positive affect, but correlation analyses indicated that a number of other models were also plausible. Final evacuation was best predicted by immediate evacuation and, to a significantly lesser extent, household together. Overall, results suggest that the Protective Action Decision Model (PADM) should be considered a useful framework for examining household responses to flash floods in developing countries like India. It supports the conclusion that a household\u27s first warning source is a function of two distinct detection and dis- semination systems within a community—an official system and an informal system. However, it fails to capture what pre-impact emergency preparedness entails for rapid onset events in a developing country context. Further research is needed to determine the relative importance of situational and cultural characteristics in producing these observed differences

From Data Transparency and Security to Interfirm Collaboration-A Blockchain Technology Perspective

In recent years, blockchain technology has gained significant attention and recognition in both academic and practical contexts, due to its remarkable attributes of scalability, security, and sustainability. However, despite the growing interest, there is still a lack of exploration regarding the potential of blockchain to improve data transparency, enhance information security, and facilitate knowledge sharing. To address this gap, this study conducts a focused review of recent studies to examine precisely these aspects of blockchain technology. Various paradigms that highlight how the utilization of blockchain can enhance data transparency, bolster information security, and enable seamless knowledge sharing among organizations, are identified and proposed. These advancements surpass the capabilities of traditional methods of storing and sharing information

Perceptions and Reactions to Tornado Warning Polygons: Would a Gradient Polygon Be Useful?

To better understand interpretations of National Weather tornado warning polygons, 145 participants were shown 22 hypothetical scenarios in one of four displays deterministic polygon, deterministic polygon + radar image, gradient polygon, and gradient polygon + radar image. Participants judged each numerical strike probability (ps ) and reported the likelihood of taking seven different response actions. The deterministic polygon display produced ps that were highest at the centroid and declined in all directions from there. The deterministic polygon + radar display, the gradient polygon display, and the gradient polygon + radar display produced ps that were high at the centroid and also at its edge nearest the tornadic storm cell. Overall, ps values were negatively related to resuming normal activities, but positively correlated with expectations of resuming normal activities, seeking information from social sources, seeking shelter, and evacuating by car. These results replicate the finding that participants make more appropriate ps judgments when polygons are presented in their natural context of radar images than when the polygons are presented in isolation and that gradient displays appear to provide no appreciable benefit. The fact that ps judgments had moderately positive correlations with both sheltering (a generally appropriate response) and evacuation (a generally inappropriate response) provides experimental confirmation that people threatened by actual tornadoes are conflicted about which protective action to take

A Statistical Meta-Analysis of the Design Components of New Urbanism on Housing Prices

The principles of New Urbanism such as increased density, mixed land uses and street connectivity are often recommended in response to the typical conditions of suburban developments. Much current empirical research has begun to test whether these principles can increase property values. The findings of these empirical studies have, however, been quite inconsistent. This research attempts to quantitatively synthesize these conflicting findings through a statistical meta-analysis. This study found that a lower density, decreased street connectivity and a closer proximity to a transit stop contributed to increased housing premiums, while mixed land uses were not shown to always do so

Toward a Multi-stage Model of Hurricane Evacuation Decision: An Empirical Study of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita

This study extended previous research by testing the Protective Action Decision Model (PADM) on hurricane evacuation decisions during Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. An examination of this mediation model shows that a household’s evacuation decision, as predicted, is determined most directly by expected wind impacts and expected evacuation impediments. In turn, expected wind impacts and expected hydrological impacts are primarily determined by expected storm threat and expected rapid onset. Finally, expected storm threat, expected rapid onset, and expected evacuation impediments are determined by households’ personal characteristics, their reception of hurricane information, and their observations of social and environmental cues. These results are generally consistent with the PADM and reinforce the importance of testing multi-stage multi-equation models of hurricane evacuation

Predicting Residents’ Responses to the May 1-4, 2010, Boston Water Contamination Incident

This study examined 110 local residents’ warning sources, warning channels, warning receipt times, message content, risk perception, and behavioral responses (warning confirmation, and consumption of untreated tap water, boiled water, bottled water, and personally chlorinated water) during the May 1-4 2010 Boston water contamination incident. Most residents received warnings from peers and news media and these warnings mentioned 2.35 of five recommended elements of a warning message—most commonly the threat and the recommended protective action. TV was the most frequent channel for additional information, partly because it was the most frequent channel of routine information, but the Internet was also a common channel for additional information. Consumption of untreated tap water declined, consumption of personally chlorinated water remained negligible, and consumption of boiled water and bottled water increased during the incident. Warning receipt from an authority increased consumption of boiled water, whereas receipt of a less specific warning tended to increase consumption of bottled water. The distribution of warning times followed a logistic (S-shaped) distribution, with the largest increase taking place during prime TV news time (4-6pm). These results call attention to the need to increase the number of comprehensive warning response studies on rapid onset disasters to provide the basis for developing a comprehensive theory that can explain similarities and differences in responses to the full range of environmental hazards

‘Drop, Cover and Hold On’ or ‘Triangle of Life’ Attributes of Information Sources Influencing Earthquake Protective Actions

A well-known fact is that an earthquake or earth shaking does not cause injuries and deaths. Rather, buildings and infrastructure systems collapsing on people do. Hence, reputable government organizations from countries prone to high earthquake risks are heavily invested in advising their populations on immediate lifesaving protective actions (PAs). One such action is the ‘Drop, Cover and Hold on’ strategy proven to have saved countless lives. Unfortunately, in recent years another action known as the ‘Triangle of Life’ has been trolled through internet sites and hearsay. It is believed that adopting such an unsubstantiated erroneous action is likely to put people at greater risk during an earthquake. Thus, there is a need to extend studies to understand factors that influence people’s decisions to take certain PAs over another for earthquakes. This research does that through an empirical study of 647 residents from Mianyang City in the Sichuan province of China. The results indicate that if a PA is easy to understand, mentioned often by multiple sources and easy to access, then people will adopt it. But a striking finding is that people are also likely to be influenced by wrong information, depending on who is providing such information and through which medium (e.g. social media). These findings suggest that the Chinese government needs to provide gate keepers who are dedicated, trained personnel who can monitor misinformation on various Internet sites and address them. In parallel they can provide regular, up to date public advisories on immediate PA through multiple legitimate government, private and non-profit sector sources and channels

Local Residents’ Risk Perceptions in Response to Shale Gas Exploitation: Evidence from China

In 2014, China became the world’s third country to accomplish shale gas commercial development, following the United States and Canada. China still however lacks a comprehensive analysis of its public’s concerns about potential environmental risks of shale gas exploration, particularly those of local residents near extraction sites. This paper specifically aims to explore risks perceived as associated with shale gas development in the Changning-Weiyuan area of Sichuan Basin, by conducting a face-to-face household survey with 730 participants interviewed. Some 86% of respondents reported their belief that shale gas exploitation causes more than three types of negative impacts, the most commonly perceived being noise, underground water contamination and geological disruption. Associated variables that were statistically significant predictors of risk perception include demographic characteristics (age, gender, education), environmental awareness level, landslide experience, awareness of past shale gas accidents, information sources, general knowledge about shale gas, and perspectives on whether negative impacts can be observed and controlled, along with trust in the central government and the petroleum company. Our findings implications are discussed, with the goal of informing both central and local authorities’ policy development in protecting local residents from risks of shale gas exploitation and better communicating risks to residents