A separate survey

A separate survey released in May by the National Hurricane Survival Initiative (www.hurricanesafety.org) also revealed a high percentage of residents in hurricane-vulnerable states aren’t prepared, don’t take the threat of hurricanes seriously, and have significant gaps in what they know about hurricanes–even those who live within 30 miles of the coast. Of those surveyed:

• 56% don’t feel vulnerable to a hurricane or related tornado or flooding,
• 60% have no family disaster plan,
• 68% have no hurricane survival kit,
• 83% have taken no steps to make their homes stronger,
• 13% said they might not or would not evacuate even if ordered to leave.
• More than one in four said it’s government’s responsibility to provide water, food, medicine and shelter in the first few days after a hurricane–or weren’t sure who should be responsible. Actually, officials say every resident should have a three-day supply of food, water and medicines.
• Nearly half said they would not wait for officials to declare it safe to return, but would return to a hurricane-struck area as soon as the storm passed.
• Nearly half said their employers likely would not know where they were going or how to reach them after a storm. Yet officials say recovery depends on businesses having a plan to get back into operation quickly after a storm, which requires knowing how to reach their workforce.
• 94% didn’t know that garage doors are the structural component most likely to fail during a hurricane. They can be strengthened at modest cost with a reinforcement kit.
• 70% wrongly thought most tornadoes occur within three miles of the eye of the storm. In fact, tornadoes associated with hurricanes are spawned in rain bands that can occur hundreds of miles from the storm’s eye.
• 81% did not know that storm intensity is the least reliable forecasting projection. Actually, a Category 1 or 2 storm could be a Category 4 or 5 at landfall.
• 50% believed masking tape would help keep windows from shattering; however, it offers no protective value at all.
• 67% thought candles or kerosene lamps are good to use in the event of a power failure. In fact, they are significant safety hazards.

The survey was conducted by Mason-Dixon Polling & Research of 1,100 adults in Atlantic and Gulf Coast states between April 26 and May 2. Margin for error of +/- 3 percent.