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Survey: Many hit by Katrina won't
evacuate for next storm
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MIAMI (AP) Nearly one-fourth of
people in areas affected by Hurricane Katrina would refuse to evacuate for a
storm if told to, a survey released Wednesday by Harvard University
found.
Even after their experience with the hurricane that
devastated New Orleans and the Gulf Coast
in 2005, 23% of people in Katrina-affected areas would not evacuate, the
Harvard School of Public Health study found. Overall, 27% of coastal residents
in eight states agreed.
"We think that's a serious number," said Robert Blendon, the Harvard professor who directed the survey.
"It's not just somebody that's somewhere near a coast that never had a
problem. These are people who have been hit either by Katrina previously or by
another major hurricane in the last five years that damaged their
communities."
Blendon said two primary factors
motivated respondents' opinion: their faith in the stability of their homes and
their fears of an evacuation.
"People are convinced that their house could survive
almost anything," Blendon said. "And a
concern of people is that there is a danger in evacuating. They're not sure
that they can get out safely."
The survey found residents of hurricane-prone areas worry
most about having sufficient gas, medical care and fresh water to survive a
storm. But in a sign of post-Katrina times, 44% also said they fear violence.
In the wake of that storm, the world saw television images of looters and heard
widely publicized but mostly untrue rumors of rapes and murders.
"There are a series of worries but violence is
clearly one of them," Blendon said.
Harvard's telephone survey was conducted by ICR, an
independent research company, from May 27 to June 23. It included a sample of
adults living in counties within 20 miles of the coasts of Texas,
Louisiana, Mississippi,
Alabama, Florida,
Georgia, South
Carolina and North
Carolina. The margin of error was plus or minus 2.8
percentage points.
