Minors Can Have Major Effects: Household Hurricane Preparation Insights from Alabama

Abstract

Abstract While debate about large-scale climate change policy continues, household protective responses to climate-related risk are an increasingly important, potentially less contentious, tool to mitigate some climate impacts. Household actions to prepare for disasters like hurricanes are likely important for personal protection in geographically and socially vulnerable regions with less political appetite for government intervention. To understand social vulnerability in household-level hurricane preparation in this context, residents (n = 915) from the United States Gulf Coast state of Alabama were surveyed about their extreme event experiences, attitudes, and behaviors following the record-breaking 2020 hurricane season. On average, two-thirds of respondents took at least one hurricane preparedness action. Lower levels of preparedness were found for women, and higher levels for households with children, as well as changes in event-related climate change concern, personal harm, and disruption from COVID-19. Race/ethnicity, educational attainment, nor income was related to preparedness.