African Americans' decisions not to evacuate New Orleans before Hurricane Katrina: a qualitative study

Am J Public Health. 2007 Apr;97 Suppl 1(Suppl 1):S124-9. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2006.100867. Epub 2007 Apr 5.

Abstract

Objectives: We examined the psychosocial and personal factors that influenced African Americans' decision not to evacuate New Orleans, La, before Hurricane Katrina's landfall.

Methods: We conducted 6 focus groups with 53 African Americans from New Orleans who were evacuated to Columbia, SC, within 2 months of Hurricane Katrina.

Results: The major themes identified related to participants' decision to not evacuate were as follows: (1) perceived susceptability, including optimism about the outcome because of riding out past hurricanes at home and religious faith; (2) perceived severity of the hurricane because of inconsistent evacuation orders; (3) barriers because of financial constraints and neighborhood crime; and (4) perceived racism and inequities.

Conclusions: Federal, state, and local government disaster preparedness plans should specify criteria for timely evacuation orders, needed resources, and their allocation (including a decentralized distribution system for cash or vouchers for gas and incidentals during evacuation) and culturally sensitive logistic planning for the evacuation of minority, low-income, and underserved communities. Perceptions of racism and inequities warrant further investigation.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Black or African American / psychology*
  • Decision Making*
  • Disasters*
  • Female
  • Focus Groups
  • Humans
  • Louisiana
  • Male
  • Refugees / psychology*
  • Risk Factors
  • South Carolina
  • Urban Population