Hurricane Floyd Symposium (2009)
http://hdl.handle.net/10342/1686
2024-03-19T02:10:56ZTrauma Written in Plywood and Flesh: Hurricane Graffiti, Post-Katrina Tattoos, and the Value of Narratives to Hazards Research
http://hdl.handle.net/10342/1740
Trauma Written in Plywood and Flesh: Hurricane Graffiti, Post-Katrina Tattoos, and the Value of Narratives to Hazards Research
Alderman, Derek H.; Ward, Heather; Gentry, Glenn
Dr. Alderman explained that narratives are an important way to understand how people were impacted by a hurricane. Graffiti and tattoos are visually evocative narratives written on plywood and flesh as opposed to paper. Hurricane graffiti can serve as a practical tool or as an indicator of tensions and needs. Post-hurricane tattoos serve as memoirs, vehicles for retelling hurricane stories, and as a way to express trauma. A visual content analysis was used to identify specific themes evident in hurricane graffiti inscriptions. Some of the major themes included history, defiance, desperation, territoriality, humor, politics, and prayer. An example of graffiti as history is a piece of graffiti outside of a store that said, "1) Charles, 2) Frances, 3) Ivan, 4) For sale." An example of graffiti as defiance is, "Take a hike Ike." An example of graffiti as desperation is, "We need power!" An example of graffiti as territoriality is, "Looters will be killed." An example of graffiti as humor is, "Santa’s naughty list: Charles, Frances, Ivan."
In the tattoo study, tattoo artists were interviewed. One artist, Tom, decided to get a tattoo of an X on his leg after Hurricane Katrina, which references the rescue symbol. This tattoo, like many tattoos, elicits stories from others, allows him to retell his story, and serves to provide a collective memory. Narratives are significant because they are personal and social and provide tremendous insight. For this reason, these types of narratives are important to natural hazards research.
2009-09-18T00:00:00ZPreserving Assets in Low-Income Communities Affected by Disaster
http://hdl.handle.net/10342/1739
Preserving Assets in Low-Income Communities Affected by Disaster
Rausch, Christina; Windley, Tiki
MDC helps organizations and communities close gaps that separate people from opportunities and helps people to try to find a path out of poverty through education, work, and asset-building. The group has been active in disaster preparedness for low-income communities, which are typically less prepared and suffer greater loss. Preparation is a way that people can build and preserve their assets in the face of disaster. Many low-income people own businesses and cannot recover after a disaster. When a disaster hits a small business, people become unemployed, which leads to less consumer spending, making it tough on the community because the tax base decreases. The barriers to resilience in low-income communities include lack of access to capital and affordable insurance. MDC took a community development approach to creating disaster preparedness in low-income communities. They identify barriers for socially vulnerable communities and came up with solutions . They recommended improvement to land-use planning in hazardous areas and sufficient buy-outs when necessary. There is a need to reduce the costs of mitigation and provide insurance-sponsored mitigation. The researchers suggested developing relationships with trusted community agents, more effective disaster plans, and expanding access to financial products for recovery. Public–private partnerships and microloans could be critical in recovery for low-income communities.
2009-09-18T00:00:00ZFatal Tradeoff? Toward a Better Understanding of the Costs of Not Evacuating from a Hurricane in Affected Landfall Counties
http://hdl.handle.net/10342/1738
Fatal Tradeoff? Toward a Better Understanding of the Costs of Not Evacuating from a Hurricane in Affected Landfall Counties
Czajkowski, Jeffery; Kennedy, Emily
The researchers examined an economic behavior model of the evacuation decision. Hurricane fatalities decreased each decade until the 2000s, when deaths increased due to Hurricane Katrina. As more people move into coastal region, we need a new look at the cost of evacuation compared to the value of waiting. For mitigation and minimization of fatalities, the researchers examined the creation of an Ike dike that costs $40 million and questioned its value. The researchers modeled fatalities as related to the direct and indirect factors of storm characteristics, socioeconomic factors, forecasting technology, evacuation, and time. Most research is focused on coastal counties, but deaths often occur inland. For Floyd, of the 70 fatalities, only three were direct coastal fatalities. The researchers compared deaths from different storms, 93% with zero fatalities. They found a lowering of fatalities over time and high levels of evacuations. As evacuation levels rise, there were less fatalities. If there was no evacuation for Hurricane Andrew, the model predicted ten additional deaths. Early storms cause more fatalities, and fewer fatalities occur among people with higher median incomes. As forecast error is worsens, expected fatalities decrease because more people are warned and are better prepared. Although this research focused on the coastal region, an important extension would be to look at inland communities and compare with rainfall data.
2009-09-18T00:00:00ZA Methodology to Inject Sea-Level-Rise-Enhanced Storm Surge Modeling into the Long-Range Comprehensive Plans of Coastal Communities
http://hdl.handle.net/10342/1737
A Methodology to Inject Sea-Level-Rise-Enhanced Storm Surge Modeling into the Long-Range Comprehensive Plans of Coastal Communities
Fraziers, Tim G.; Yarnal, Brent; Wood, Nathan
This project implemented a comprehensive vulnerability assessment framework that used mapping and stakeholder input to create long-range land-use plans that took into account sea-level rise. They compared regular storm surge maps with sea-level-rise-enhanced storm surge maps in Sarasota, Florida, which is in the county with the second oldest population in the nation. The researchers used the SLOSH model with sea-level rise to predict flood inundation. They found that the storm surge inundation area increased and doubled the number of vulnerable elderly people. When looking at mitigating and planning for the future, they found that a category five hurricane places the entire population of the county in the storm surge zone. Using tax parcel information, the researchers found that several communities would not be very resilient since most of the buildings are in the storm surge zone. The researchers separated focus groups into planners, engineers, environmental advocates and business managers, and assigned them the task of looking at the hazard and finding solutions. When the groups saw the storm surge maps, they concluded that location of development was not appropriate. Overall the groups felt that the current urban plan needed to be revised and that urban boundaries should be relaxed to encourage development in less hazardous zones. The community also needed to relocate infrastructure and develop alternative evacuation routes in response to the impacts expected from sea-level rise.
2009-09-18T00:00:00Z