Abstract
Understanding of the recovery phase of a disaster cycle is still in its infancy. Recent major disasters such as Hurricane Sandy have revealed the inability of existing policies and planning to promptly restore infrastructure, residential properties, and commercial activities in affected communities. In this setting, a thorough grasp of housing recovery decisions can lead to effective post-disaster planning by policyholders and public officials. The objective of this research is to integrate vignette and survey design to study how family bonds affected rebuilding/relocating decisions after Hurricane Sandy. Multinomial logistic regression was used to investigate respondents’ family structures before Sandy and explore whether their relationships with family members changed after Sandy. The study also explores the effect of the aforementioned relationship and its changes on households’ plans to either rebuild/repair their homes or relocate. These results were compared to another multinomial logistic regression which was applied to examine the impact of familial bonds on respondents’ suggestions to a vignette family concerning rebuilding and relocating after a hurricane similar to Sandy. Results indicate that respondents who lived with family members before Sandy were less likely to plan for relocating than those who lived alone. A more detailed examination shows that this effect was driven by those who improved their relationships with family members; those who did not improve their family relationships were not significantly different from those who lived alone, when it came to rebuilding/relocation planning. Those who improved their relationships with family members were also less likely to suggest that the vignette family relocate. This study supports the general hypothesis that family bonds reduce the desire to relocate, and provides empirical evidence that family mechanisms are important for the rebuilding/relocating decision-making process.
Highlights
Understanding of the recovery phase of the disaster cycle is still in its infancy [1,2]
This study supports the general hypothesis that family bonds reduce the preference for relocating and provides empirical evidence that family mechanisms are important for the rebuilding or relocating decision-making process
Respondents with improved family relationships were less likely to plan for their own relocation or suggest the vignette family relocate than those who lived alone; in contrast, those who had similar or less close family relationships were not
Summary
Understanding of the recovery phase of the disaster cycle is still in its infancy [1,2]. A thorough grasp of recovery can lead to effective post-disaster planning, which is essential to enable communities to recover from natural and man-made catastrophes in a timely fashion. Severe hurricanes cause considerable damage to houses and properties, in addition to causing casualties. Many people will be displaced; some will return to rebuild or repair their residences, and some will have no plan to return [4,5]. Whether to relocate or stay in the community and rebuild after a hurricane is an important decision for families to make. This decision could affect their wellbeing in the long run and would
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