Brown Shakara, Parton Hilary, Driver Cynthia, Norman Christina
Bureau of Communicable Disease, New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, New York, NY, USA.
Bureau of Epidemiology Services, New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, New York, NY, USA.
PLoS Curr. 2016 Jan 29;8:ecurrents.dis.692664b92af52a3b506483b8550d6368. doi: 10.1371/currents.dis.692664b92af52a3b506483b8550d6368.
In anticipation of Hurricane Sandy in 2012 New York City officials issued mandatory evacuation orders for evacuation Zone A. However, only a small proportion of residents complied. Failure to comply with evacuation warnings can result in severe consequences including injury and death. To better ascertain why individuals failed to heed pre--emptive evacuation warnings for Hurricane Sandy we assessed factors that may have affected evacuation among residents in neighborhoods severely affected by the storm.
Data from a mental health needs assessment survey conducted among adult residents in South Brooklyn, the Rockaways, and Staten Island from December 13--18, 2012 was assessed. Several disasters related questions were evaluated, and prevalence estimates of evacuation and evacuation timing by potential factors that may influence evacuation were estimated. Measures of association were assessed using chi--square and t--test.
Our sample consisted of 420 residents of which, only 49% evacuated at any time for Sandy. Evacuation was higher among those who witnessed trauma to others related to the World Trade Center attacks (66% vs. 40%, p=0.024). Those who reported extensive household damage after Sandy, had a higher rate of evacuation than those with minimal damage (83% vs. 30%, p<0.001). Among those who evacuated, evacuation before the storm was lower among residents living on higher floors (56% vs. 22%, p=0.022).
Given that warnings to evacuate were issued before Sandy made landfall, evacuation among residents in South Brooklyn, the Rockaways and Staten Island, while higher than the overall Zone A evacuation rate, was less than optimal. Continued research on evacuation behaviors is needed, particularly on how timing affects evacuation. A better understanding may help to reduce barriers, and improve evacuation compliance.
预计2012年飓风“桑迪”来袭时，纽约市官员发布了强制疏散令，要求A区居民撤离。然而，只有一小部分居民遵守了命令。不遵守疏散警告可能会导致包括受伤和死亡在内的严重后果。为了更好地确定为何个人没有听从飓风“桑迪”的预防性疏散警告，我们评估了可能影响受风暴严重影响社区居民疏散的因素。
对2012年12月13日至18日在南布鲁克林、洛克威和斯塔滕岛的成年居民中进行的心理健康需求评估调查的数据进行了评估。评估了几个与灾害相关的问题，并估计了可能影响疏散的潜在因素导致的疏散率和疏散时间。使用卡方检验和t检验评估关联度。
我们的样本包括420名居民，其中只有49%的人在“桑迪”来袭的任何时候进行了疏散。在那些目睹了与世贸中心袭击相关的他人创伤的居民中，疏散率更高（66%对40%，p = 0.024）。那些报告“桑迪”过后家庭遭受广泛破坏的居民，疏散率高于破坏最小的居民（83%对30%，p < 0.001）。在那些进行了疏散的居民中，住在较高楼层的居民在风暴来临前疏散的比例较低（56%对22%，p = 0.022）。
鉴于在“桑迪”登陆前就发布了疏散警告，南布鲁克林、洛克威和斯塔滕岛居民的疏散率虽然高于A区的总体疏散率，但仍不尽人意。需要继续研究疏散行为，特别是时间安排如何影响疏散。更好地理解这一点可能有助于减少障碍，提高疏散的依从性。
