BEFORE THE DISASTER
Being of low SES, in the United States and around the world, may affect how people understand disaster risk, prepare for disasters, and respond to warnings and evacuation orders. Research suggests that people of differing socioeconomic statuses may prepare for a disaster differently.
Perception of Disaster Risk
In a review of research on disasters as experienced by people in poverty, Fothergill and Peek (2004) report mixed findings related to perception of disaster risk. They cite some studies (Flynn, Slovic, & Mertz, 1994; Pilisuk, Parks, & Hawkes, 1987; Palm & Carroll, 1998) that found that people who were poorer and with lower incomes perceived more risk and felt more concern regarding both natural and technological disasters. However, they note, other research (Vaughan, 1995; Greene, Perry, & Lindell, 1981) has found people of lower SES and working class people whose jobs involve exposure to risk— those with fewer resources, presumably, than those of higher SES and people of middle or other classes with greater access to resources—to be less cognizant of the risks associated with their work. Still other research they mention found no effect of education or income on risk perception (White, 1974). Given the range of findings in this area, Fothergill and Peek conclude that “a characteristic such as socioeconomic status should be considered as a possible contributor to, and predictor of, how risks are perceived and interpreted (Vaughan, 1995)”—but Fothergill and Peek do not predict what the relationship of SES to risk perception will be in most situations (Fothergill & Peek, 2004).
Disaster Preparedness
Some research has found Americans of low SES to be less prepared than other Americans for disasters. To provide appropriate context for this finding, it is important to note that Americans in general are not well-prepared for disasters. The National Center for Disaster Preparedness at Columbia University conducted a national survey in which nearly two-thirds of respondent households (65 percent) reported having no disaster plans or having plans that are not adequate (Sury et al., 2016). And according to national survey data from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), less than half of Americans are familiar with local hazards, fewer than 40 percent have created a household emergency plan and discussed it with household members, and only about half (52 percent) reported having disaster supplies at home (FEMA, 2014).
Fothergill and Peek report on research that has found people in poverty, with low incomes, and with
less education to be less prepared for disasters (Turner, Nigg, & Paz, 1986; Vaughan, 1995; as cited in Fothergill and Peek, 2004). They point out that this finding may relate to the fact that some preparedness actions are costly, and possibly too costly for people in poverty to afford (for example, purchasing earthquake or flood insurance or strengthening a home for greater earthquake resilience) (Palm & Carroll, 1998; Fothergill, 2004; as cited in Fothergill and Peek, 2004). In a paper about the effects of Hurricane Katrina on New Orleans, Louisiana residents Masozera, Bailey, and Kerchner (2007) report that districts of the city with high percentages of people in poverty also had low percentages of people with flood insurance.
On the other hand, Fothergill and Peek also relate that researchers investigating preparedness behavior prior to Hurricane Andrew (which took place in August 1992) found no association between
|
