Hurricane Andrew 10 Years Later: Implications for Disaster Mitigation

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Proposal: CMS-0100155PI: Betty MorrowInstitution: Florida International UniversityDate: May 25, 2001ABSTRACT CMS0100155 "Hurricane Andrew 10 Years Later: Implications for Disaster Mitigation"Due to the extensive losses, Hurricane Andrew is widely recognized as a watershed event, placing disaster resistance and mitigation visibly on the political agenda. The ultimate goal of this project is to inform national mitigation efforts through an assessment of the extent to which vulnerabilities evident prior to or emerging after this major disaster remain nearly 10 years later.This project focuses on several dimensions of community and household status as they relate to disaster vulnerability and resilience. At the community level, this project will: 1) Document changes in demographics, economic and business base, and political structure looking at those areas directly impacted and the rest of Miami-Dade County; 2) Determine the extent to which the policies and practices instituted during reconstruction resulted in increased disaster resilience of the community; 3) Analyze whether there have been any lasting improvements in the political power of previously marginalized groups; 4) Compare the recovery levels of various sections within the impacted region and explore possible explanations for any found differences. On the household level, the focus will be twofold: 1) to assess the vulnerability-related status of the "Families of Andrew"; and 2) to assess the current disaster resistance of households county-wide. A primary focus will be decisions regarding housing, shutters, insurance, and risk planning and preparation in general. The findings from this milestone project will make a major contribution to the field and to a safer nation. A clearer understanding of community and household issues associated with long-term recovery from a major disaster in a diverse metropolitan area will result in more effective models of disaster mitigation and response.