RAPID: Social and Geophysical Influences on Evacuation Decision Making for Hurricane Irma

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This RAPID award will support rapid-response research that documents and analyzes the effect of social and geophysical influences on hurricane evacuation decision making by collecting real-time data during an evacuation of people in the days prior to the landfall of Hurricane Irma in Florida in September 2017. The ephemeral data collected just prior to a disaster occurrence will enhance basic understanding of the role that geophysical and social factors play in influencing decisions by evacuees in the face of natural disasters. By integrating both geophysical and social factors, the project will provide new insights relating individuals to preparedness and recovery services as a way to promote community resiliency. Hazard managers will be able to integrate this new knowledge into more targeted disaster-education campaigns, and project findings will provide new information and insights regarding the ways that the growing interest in social media and mobile technology affects preparedness. Furthermore, outcomes from this research will be useful to federal, state, and local agencies and to first-responders to aid future decision making for hazards other than hurricanes.Regardless of investments in resources to improve emergency communication and planning strategies, understanding human behavior is paramount to a successful evacuation effort. This basic research project will use real-time data collection to provide new data and perspectives about the actual evacuation decision-making process rather than a more traditional retrospective approach that relies on potentially distorted memory recall. The investigative team will conduct surveys with evacuees to learn about the geophysical and social influences that have factored in their decision to evacuate. A mixed-methods approach will be used to analyze factors that impact evacuation status as well as relationships between the dependability of social connections and social demographics. New knowledge regarding the closeness of social connections and dependability social networks at the time when decisions are made to evacuate will enable hazard managers to engage in more targeted and effective disaster education campaigns. The new knowledge about factors that influence evacuation decision making also will be valuable beyond disaster planning and management, providing new insights in other domains, such as public health, social work, and behavioral health.