Evacuation decision-making : Building a model to account for risk-taking preference
Abstract
One of the most stressful decisions a coastal emergency manager may face is the decision to order a large-scale evacuation for a hurricane. Even in a best-case scenario, evacuations are not a panacea. They are unpopular, expensive, disruptive and highly vulnerable to their own hazards. These issues become even more daunting when exacerbated by high populations in vulnerable areas, limited evacuation routes and a lack of nearby shelter space, which combine to create extremely long evacuation clearance times. Add forecast errors and uncertainty to these and one begins to understand the complexity of the decision-making process. These were the challenges faced by the authors as they tried to define and document the evacuation decision-making process in Lee County in Southwest Florida.
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Author's Biography
Celeste Fournier is an emergency management coordinator for Lee County. Ms Fournier has presented at the Florida Governor’s Hurricane Conference and the National Hurricane Conference on topics including tourism and costal community hurricane preparedness, healthcare facility disaster preparedness, and evacuation decision-making. In 2012, the Florida Emergency Preparedness Association certified Ms Fournier as a Florida Professional Emergency Manager. In 2014, she was co-recipient of the Florida Governor’s Hurricane Conference Innovation Award for her work in hurricane evacuation decisionmaking and the development of the Surge Evacuation Decision-Making Matrix.
Gerald Campbell is the Emergency Manager for Florida Gulf Coast University. With extensive experience in both the private and public sectors, Mr Campbell has filled significant roles in more than a dozen federally declared disasters. Mr Campbell is a member of the Florida Emergency Preparedness Association and has made multiple presentations at the Florida Governor’s Hurricane Conference and the National Hurricane Conference. In 2014, he was a co-recipient of the Florida Governor’s Hurricane Conference Innovation Award for his work in hurricane evacuation decision-making and the development of the Evacuation Decision-Making Matrix.
Citation
Fournier, Celeste and Campbell, Gerald (2017, June 1). Evacuation decision-making : Building a model to account for risk-taking preference. In the Journal of Business Continuity & Emergency Planning, Volume 10, Issue 4. https://doi.org/10.69554/QZCQ4480.
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