Evacuations as a Result of Hurricane Sandy: Analysis of the 2014 New Jersey Behavioral Risk Factor Survey

Details

• Alternative Title:
  Disaster Med Public Health Prep
• Personal Author:
  Kulkarni, Prathit A. ; Gu, Hui ; Tsai, Stella ; Passannante, Marian ; Kim, Soyeon ; Thomas, Pauline A. ; Tan, Christina G. ; Davidow, Amy L.
• Description:
  Objective:
  
  We characterized evacuations related to Hurricane Sandy, which made landfall in New Jersey on October 29, 2012.
  
  Methods:
  
  We analyzed data from the 2014 New Jersey Behavioral Risk Factor Survey. The proportion of respondents reporting evacuation was used to estimate the number of New Jersey adults who evacuated. We determined evacuation rates in heavily impacted and less-impacted municipalities, as well as evacuation rates for municipalities under and not under mandatory evacuation orders. We tested associations between demographic and health factors, such as certain chronic health conditions, and evacuation.
  
  Results:
  
  Among respondents, 12.7% (95% CI: 11.8%-13.6%) reported evacuating, corresponding to approximately 880,000 adults. In heavily impacted municipalities, 17.0% (95% CI: 15.2%-18.7%) evacuated, compared with 10.1% (95% CI: 9.0%-11.2%) in less-impacted municipalities. In municipalities under mandatory evacuation orders, 42.5% (95% CI: 35.1%-49.8%) evacuated, compared with 11.8% (95% CI: 10.9%-12.9%) in municipalities not under mandatory orders. Female gender (odds ratio [OR]: 1.36; 95% CI: 1.14-1.64), unmarried status (OR: 1.22; 95% CI: 1.02-1.46), shorter length of residence (OR: 1.28; 95% CI: 1.03-1.60), and living in a heavily impacted municipality (OR: 1.84; 95% CI: 1.54-2.20) were significantly associated with evacuation. History of stroke (OR: 1.61; 95% CI: 1.02-2.53) was the only chronic condition associated with evacuation.
  
  Conclusions:
  
  Approximately 880,000 New Jersey adults evacuated because of Hurricane Sandy. Those in heavily impacted municipalities and municipalities under mandatory evacuation orders had higher evacuation rates; however, still fewer than half evacuated. These findings can be used for future disaster planning.
  
  
• Subjects:
  Adolescent Adult Aged Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System Cyclonic Storms Female Humans Male Middle Aged Psychometrics Public Health Risk Factors Surveys And Questionnaires

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• Keywords:
  Evacuation Hurricane Hurricane Sandy New Jersey
• Source:
  Disaster Med Public Health Prep. 11(6):720-728
• Pubmed ID:
  28659220
• Pubmed Central ID:
  PMC6706855
• Document Type:
  Journal Article
• Funding:
  U01 TP000564/TP/OPHPR CDC HHSUnited States/
• Place as Subject:
  New Jersey
• Volume:
  11
• Issue:
  6
• Collection(s):
  CDC Public Access
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha256:0219e3c9cae64d6ca5f19edf5c64329949134899ce7ecfed9f4bf76bc0cc7739
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/80874/cdc_80874_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 160.86 KB ]