Natech or natural? An analysis of hazard perceptions, institutional trust, and future storm worry following Hurricane Ha
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Natech or natural? An analysis of hazard perceptions, institutional trust, and future storm worry following Hurricane Harvey Tim Slack1 · Vanessa Parks2 · Lynsay Ayer3 · Andrew M. Parker4 · Melissa L. Finucane4 · Rajeev Ramchand5 Received: 14 January 2020 / Accepted: 18 April 2020 / Published online: 30 April 2020 © Springer Nature B.V. 2020
Abstract Researchers have traditionally conceptualized hazards that give rise to disasters as “natural” or “technological.” An extensive literature has documented differential social consequences based on this distinction, including the emergence of corrosive community dynamics in the context of technological disasters. There is also growing recognition that many disasters can be conceptualized as “natech”—processes characterized by a combination of natural and technological hazards. On August 25, 2017, Hurricane Harvey made landfall along the central Texas Gulf Coast, causing catastrophic flooding and extensive releases of industrial toxins. We examined variation in institutional trust and future storm worry in the aftermath of Harvey, paying special attention to differences between those who viewed the disaster as being primarily natech and natural. Drawing on the Survey of Trauma, Resilience, and Opportunity in Neighborhoods in the Gulf, we analyzed two waves of cohort panel data collected from households on the Texas Gulf Coast in 2016 and 2018 (before and after Hurricane Harvey). Our findings showed that those who perceived Harvey as natech (compared to natural) were significantly more likely distrust major institutional actors and be worried about the impacts of future storms, even after accounting for pre-hurricane characteristics. Implications for community dynamics and future research are then discussed. Keywords Hurricane Harvey · Natech disaster · Institutional trust · Worry · Recreancy
* Tim Slack [email protected] 1
Department of Sociology, Louisiana State University, 126 Stubbs Hall, Baton Rouge, LA 70803, USA
2
University of Mississippi, University, MS, USA
3
RAND Corporation, Arlington, VA, USA
4
RAND Corporation, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
5
Bob Woodruff Foundation, New York, NY, USA
13
Vol.:(0123456789)
1208
Natural Hazards (2020) 102:1207–1224
1 Introduction On August 25, 2017, Hurricane Harvey, a Category 4 storm, made landfall on the central Texas Gulf Coast. According the National Hurricane Center (Blake and Zelinsky 2018), while the winds and storm surge were substantial, as would be expected from a storm of that category, even greater damage resulted from the hurricane stalling over the Texas coast for 4 days and dropping more than 60 inches of rain. The historic rainfall resulted in catastrophic flooding in the southeastern part of the state, including the Houston metropolitan area. Harvey now ranks as the second most costly hurricane in US history, behind only Hurricane Katrina in 2005. It is estimated that at least 68 people died from the direct effects of the storm—virtually all from freshwater flooding related to rainfall—and at least ano
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