Poll: East Coast Unprepared

Most residents along the East and Gulf coasts don’t plan to take even simple steps to protect themselves and their homes from hurricanes, despite the devastation caused by five hurricanes that struck the U.S. last year, according to a new poll.

Fifty-six percent of those surveyed said they felt “not too” vulnerable or “not at all” vulnerable, according to a Mason-Dixon poll. One in four would do nothing to prepare for a storm.

Despite last year’s record season, 47 percent of those surveyed had no disaster plan for the hurricane season that begins June 1 and runs through November, the poll found.

The poll also found that one in four residents believed they could evacuate flood-prone areas 30 minutes to an hour before a hurricane made landfall.

“That is dangerous folly,” said Max Mayfield, director of the National Hurricane Center. Flood-prone roads will likely become impassable, he said. Gridlock also could prevent a last-minute evacuation.