Impacts of hurricane experience on risk perception and evacuation

Abstract

Hurricanes are capable of catastrophic widespread destruction, posing a serious risk to human life that is best mitigated by early and complete evacuation of the storm’s path. This study seeks to understand the impact of hurricane experience on individuals risk perception and evacuation planning so future evacuation orders can be better tailored to increase evacuation rates and prevent loss of life during devastating hurricanes like Dorian (see Fig. 1). I conducted an online survey through Google Forms questioning 20 family members living in the Caribbean about their hurricane experience, forecast trust, and evacuation plans. Respondents volume of experience was compared to their responses on key questions in the survey, finding that greater experience correlated with lower forecast trust, risk perception, and evacuation likelihood. The conclusion can be drawn from my research that populations experienced with hurricanes will require targeted evacuation orders to bypass their lowered risk perception.