RAPID: Trajectories of Social Vulnerability among Houston Area Households: A Pre- and Post-event Study of Hurricane Harvey

2017年8月25日，飓风“哈维”袭击了德克萨斯州休斯顿大都市区，造成了前所未有的破坏。截至2017年9月4日，估计有超过15.6万所房屋被毁，至少60人死亡。初步的损失估计显示，影响可能会超过1000亿美元，使哈维成为美国历史上损失最大的灾难。本项目考察了影响飓风哈维引发的洪水经历、影响和休斯顿地区家庭短期恢复的潜在因素。该项目利用了在哈维飓风之前从休斯顿地区家庭的代表性样本中收集的关于他们对飓风和洪水的脆弱性的基线数据，并涉及从这些家庭中快速收集哈维飓风后的调查数据。通过阐明飓风“哈维”期间和之后的灾前因素如何影响家庭的经历、影响和短期恢复，该项目为社区脆弱性与复原力的决定因素提供了新的见解。正如飓风哈维所证明的那样，当遭受极端事件时，人们的决策在社区建筑环境的脆弱性中起着至关重要的作用。通过收集和检查来自同一家庭样本的事前和事后调查数据，本研究项目提高了我们对潜在社会脆弱性在大规模灾害期间和之后的社区复原力和恢复中的作用的认识。本项目的研究目标是收集飓风哈维后休斯顿的数据，以进一步了解社会脆弱性如何在洪水经历、影响和短期恢复中表现出来。该项目利用了2012年从600个随机选择的休斯顿地区家庭收集的调查数据，并重新调查了他们的哈维飓风引发的洪水经历、影响和短期恢复（2017年10月）。根据最新的联系信息，该项目将从飓风哈维时仍居住在休斯顿地区的家庭中收集第二波调查数据。根据这些调查数据，多元统计模型将使用2012年和2017年调查得出的解释变量来预测研究家庭的洪水经历、影响和短期恢复。

Hurricane Harvey hit the Houston, Texas, metropolitan area on 25 August, 2017 and caused unprecedented damage. As of 4 September, 2017, estimates indicate that over 156,000 homes were destroyed and at least 60 people died. Preliminary loss estimates suggest that impacts could well exceed $100 billion, making Harvey the costliest disaster in U.S. history. This project examines underlying factors influencing Hurricane Harvey-induced flood experiences, impacts, and short-term recovery across Houston area households. The project leverages baseline data collected before Hurricane Harvey from a representative sample of Houston area households regarding their vulnerability to hurricanes and flooding, and involves the rapid collection of post-Harvey survey data from those same households. By clarifying how pre-event factors shape households' experiences, impacts, and short-term recovery during and immediately following Hurricane Harvey, the project provides new insights into determinants of community vulnerability versus resilience. As was demonstrated during Hurricane Harvey, people's decision making plays a critical role in the vulnerability of a communities' built environment when subjected to extreme events. Through the collection and examination of a pre- and post-event survey data from the same sample of households, this research project advances our knowledge of the role of underlying social vulnerability in community resilience and recovery during and immediately following large-scale disasters.The research objective of this project is to collect data in Houston following Hurricane Harvey to further our understanding of how social vulnerability manifests in flood experiences, impacts, and short-term recovery. The project leverages survey data collected from 600 randomly selected Houston area households in 2012, and involves re-surveying them regarding their Hurricane Harvey-induced flood experiences, impacts, and short-term recovery (in October 2017). Based on updated contact information, the project will collect a second wave of survey data from households still residing in the Houston area at the time of Hurricane Harvey. With this survey data, multivariate statistical models will be used to predict flood experiences, impacts, and short-term recovery across study households using explanatory variables derived from the 2012 and 2017 surveys.