Why African Americans didn't evacuate before Katrina

Even after African Americans realized that the hurricane posed a serious threat, many chose to stay because they believed that they could ride out the storm as they had done in previous years, lacked the money to leave, feared crime in their neighborhoods or needed to care for elderly or disabled relatives.

The results of the study are published this week in a special online supplement of the current issue of the American Journal of Public Health. The supplement addresses disaster preparedness.

Dr. Keith Elder, a researcher at the Arnold School of Public Health and the study's lead author, said many of the residents also feared police reprisal if they crossed into affluent parishes to reach shelters or get to evacuation routes.

"The people in the lower Ninth Ward, who were so severely affected by the storm, believed that they had to look out for themselves and could survive the storm as they had done for many years," he said. "Evacuees also said that there was confusion about the severity of the hurricane because of conflicting evacuation orders from the mayor and the governor. When evacuation orders came, it was too late for many people to leave."

The researchers conducted focus groups with 53 African Americans who were evacuated to Columbia, S.C., from New Orleans. The interviews were done within two months of Hurricane Katrina.

Dr. Sudha Xirasagar, an Arnold School of Public Health researcher and one of the study's authors, said federal, state and local emergency-management agencies must develop preparedness plans that address the needs of minority and low-income people, including plans that include timely evacuation orders, maps that clearly identify evacuation routes and vouchers or cash for gasoline and other essential items.

"Planning must adequately address the needs of under-served communities," Xirasagar said. "What happened to the residents in New Orleans could happen to people in many coastal areas of the United States."

In fact, Charleston, S.C., isn't that different from New Orleans, Elder said.

"Charleston ranks high in its vulnerability," Elder said. "You have a large number of minorities, many of whom are elderly, live in poverty or have less education. They clearly are at risk if a hurricane threatens the coast."

The AJPH report is timely, Xirasagar said, given the recent predictions that the 2007 hurricane season will have more storms than 2006.

"This is the time for everyone to examine their disaster plans and make arrangements for those who are most vulnerable," Xirasagar said.

Additional study also is needed, Elder said, to examine what "receiving cities" can do to assist people when they are evacuated.

"In Columbia, for example, evacuees said that the transition was much easier than they imagined," he said. "We need to look at the needs of the receiving cities and know what went right for those who had positive experiences. This is valuable information for future disasters."

The study was funded by the University of South Carolina's Office of Research, which awarded $400,000 for 18 research projects on the societal and environmental impact of Hurricane Katrina. - University of South Carolina