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Volume 9 Journal of Earth Science & Climatic Change Natural Hazards Congress 2018
July 26-27, 2018
July 26-27, 2018 Melbourne, Australia
2nd International Conference on
Natural Hazards and Disaster Management
Why evacuate when they do? Household behavior pre and post-watch and warning announcements
during hurricane events
Praveen Maghelal1, Sudha Arlikatti2 and Walter Gillis Peacock3
1Khalifa University, UAE
2Rabdan Academy, UAE
3Texas A&M University, USA
The spate of high intensity Atlantic hurricanes-Harvey, Irma and Maria, that made landfall in the United States in 2017,
refocused attention on the importance of hurricane warnings and associated decisions to evacuate. Evidence suggests
that the timing of evacuation decisions and actual evacuation vary and are influenced by various behavioral, awareness
and household characteristics. It is important to understand the influence of these factors on the household’s decision to
evacuate and to actual evacuation, especially in relation to the timing of the official announcements of watch and warning.
This study, therefore, empirically investigates the relationship of the social cues, source of information, access to channels,
warning messages and household characteristics on pre-evacuation decision processes and both decisions to evacuate and
actual evacuation. The Protective Action Decision Model framework was used to guide the data collection of Hurricane
Rita (2005) evacuees from the coastal counties of Texas USA and to investigate if the characteristics of evacuees vary with
the pre-watch, post-watch/pre-warning and post warning announcements. Multivariate regression was used to predict the
probability to evacuate in one of these three time-periods using the evacuee responses for both; decisions to evacuate and
actual evacuation. Preliminary investigation reveals that several households (e.g. licensed drivers), perception (e.g. risk of
reaching destination safely) and behavioral variables (e.g., evacuating in multiple groups) influence the odds that a household
would evacuate in post-warning and post-watch period in comparison to the pre-watch period. Recommendations to reduce
delays and congestion from last minute evacuations and ensure the safety of not only the coastal residential populations but
also emergency management personnel responding to their needs are offered. Recommendations are made to reduce delays
and encourage earlier evacuation.
J Earth Sci Clim Change 2018, Volume 9
DOI: 10.4172/2157-7617-C2-043