In the period preceding landfall of Hurricane Katrina, evacuation orders were made for all or parts of seven coastal Louisiana parishes, including New Orleans. In spite of hurricane warnings and evacuation mandates, thousands of individuals remained in the affected area. In the aftermath of Katrina, the lack of sufficient aid for the large number of people remaining in the New Orleans area contributed to the scope of the disaster. This project will explore the geographical, psychological, and social factors related to compliance with mandatory hurricane evacuation orders in southeastern Louisiana prior to hurricane landfall. Understanding of compliance and noncompliance regarding evacuation under a hazard situation is critical to risk management. Data will be collected through interviews with individuals who previously or currently reside in areas placed under mandatory evacuation orders prior to Katrina's landfall. Both those who evacuated and those who rejected an evacuation mandate will be included in the study. A survey conducted by the University of New Orleans (UNO) Survey Research Center that was released by the Southeast Louisiana Hurricane Task Force six weeks prior to Katrina explored some of these same questions and offers benchmark from which to examine actual behavior in relation to self reports of intentions prior to Katrina.
Understanding the geographical, social, and other factors illuminates human motivations and barriers germane to management of hurricane hazards. Such understanding can help public authorities and agencies dealing with emergency management to design more effective hurricane preparedness and evacuation communication programs. Results from this study also may be applicable to other hazards such as floods, forest fires, and chemical spills.
