Who obeys/disobeys hurricane evacuation orders?
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/14/opinion/hurricane-maria-staying-home.html
With Hurricane Florence running its course in the Carolinas this weekend, the author of this New York Times opinion piece explores the reason why people choose to disobey hurricane evacuation orders. The author explores a variety of reasons people have chosen to stay in mandatory evacuation zones. Factors that play into a person’s decision to stay during the hurricane include the person’s financial situation or health, attachment to the area and their neighbors, means to stay relatives in other states and whether they believe in the government’s ability to offer sufficient aide in the aftermath of the storm. The author’s “call to action” in the article was primarily aimed at the state and federal disaster preparation offices to better identify and help those who may choose to stay.
What stands out to me about this article is how the social network of the individual really influences that person’s decision to stay. For example, the article notes how individual with relatives they can stay with (aka a strong connection) are more likely to obey evacuation orders. Additionally, individuals who feel as if they have a strong connection with their neighbors, who choose not to evacuate, are more likely to stay during a hurricane. As the article notes, there is a strong “attitude of interdependence” among people who choose to stay. Strong ties to the community and weak or absent ties to communities unaffected by the hurricane would may indicate an individual who is likely to stay. Although the author remains vague in how the government can help aide individuals who belong to the “interdependent cultures of many working-class coastal communities” in evacuating, I think a good first step in identifying at-risk communities would be to look at social networks on social media platforms. Components of the graph with weak ties to the communities unaffected by the hurricane may need more attention from disaster preparation offices.