Consider recent disasters such as Superstorm Sandy or Hurricane Katrina. Why do you believe that people decide to stay instead of evacuating when told to do so? Is it because of their culture?

Is it fear of the unknown? Are there other reasons? Is it because disaster management officials and the media have “hyped up” storms in the past that amounted to nothing, decreasing the public’s fear?

As noted by Resnick (2018), no matter how dire the warnings, it is unlikely that 100% of people will ever evacuate a potential disaster area. Although the failure of people to obey demands by authorities that they leave the area are often demonized as a selfish acts, quite often the reasons for their inaction are far more complicated than might appear on the surface. As seen during the events of Hurricane Katrina, sometimes people simply do not have the logistical or financial means to drop everything and to leave the area until it is deemed safe to return. They may not have adequate fuel, a car, a place to stay, or a place where they can care for elderly or disabled relatives or their pets. They may be elderly or disabled themselves. They may be uncertain of the safety and quality of conditions of shelters.

However, even more affluent individuals still may elect to stay and ignore warnings, for fear of losing their property in the wake of looting or destruction. From a psychological perspective, people may desire a sense of control over their valuable property. There may also be a culture of remaining in the face of extreme storms, as is common in the Florida Keyes (Resnick, 2018). The variable nature of weather forecasting may be a final factor. In areas that are repeatedly hit by severe storms, it is inevitable that a large storm will be forecast and the promised impact will not be felt in the area (Resnick, 2018). The failure of much-hyped storms to materialize can lull people into a false sense of security and lead them to believe that it would be better to simply not go through the cost and inconvenience of evacuating when it is not likely to be necessary.

References

Resnick, B. (2019).Why some people never evacuate during a hurricane, according to a

Psychologist. Vox. Retrieved from: https://www.vox.com/science-and- health/2017/8/25/16202296/hurricane-florence-2018-evacuation-psychology