RAPID: Tornado Hazard Perception and Warning for the April 27, 2011, Tornado in Tuscaloosa, Alabama

University Of Alabama Tuscaloosa, Tuscaloosa AL

Investigators

Abstract

This project will perform an in-depth layered analysis of risk perception and communication in multiple socioeconomic groups where severe damage occurred during the April 27, 2011 EF-4 tornado events in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. The research will compare the use of social media with traditional outlets as information sources about the impending event. The tornado destroyed lower-economic sections of town that housed African-American and Hispanic neighborhoods, and this research will investigate how these vulnerable socioeconomic groups and older residents reacted compared to the more mobile and younger populations at the university and what forms of communication they used during the event. Computer-based survey methods (using iPads for those remaining in shelters) with closed and open-ended questions will help illuminate the communication lines used by these various groups and the impacts of previous severe weather event "close-calls" on the behavior of residents during this disaster. Key to this research is the way people think about, and understand, the risk they face during well-forecasted severe weather events. Access to warnings through various media (local TV, radio, warning sirens, social media like Twitter, etc.) and how people in the storm's path behaved as a result of the warnings is the crux of this research. The project will investigate how differences in socio-demographic groups may drive the need for diverse methods of warning communication. Results from this research will inform community officials and weather forecasters on better communication methods to ensure safety and reduce loss of life in future events.