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By Robert M. Stein, Leonardo Dueñas-Osorio, Birnur Buzcu-Guven, Devika Subramanian and David Kahle

Abstract

In this study, we present evidence supporting the view that people's perceived risk to hurricane-related hazards can be reduced to a single core that spans different hurricane-induced risk types, and that evacuation behavior is strongly dependent on whether one perceives a high risk to any type of hurricane-related hazards regardless of the hazard type. Our analysis suggested that people are less sensitive to risk type than they are to the general seriousness of the risks. Using this single score, representing a composite risk measure, emergency managers can be informed about the severity of the public's risk perceptions and might better craft their public directives in ways that minimize disruptive evacuations and achieve greater compliance with government directives.

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