Abstract
As a natural and social disaster, Hurricane Katrina has changed how we view disaster experiences from a social, environmental, and demographic perspective. While much literature has concentrated upon descriptive population changes in the wake of the disaster, less attention has been directed toward how certain population characteristics have affected some Katrina evacuee’s ability to recover in the post-disaster period. This study utilizes a series of logistic regressions upon Current Population Survey data to lend inferential insight into how population groups prone to social and environmental vulnerability have been differentially enabled to return or not-return to their pre-disaster residence. The results validate descriptive findings that Black/African American and impoverished populations have less probability for return, though this relationship may not be as simple as initially supposed. Further, the results suggest that the increase in Hispanic populations in the area may in fact be a non-native one, and some popular conceptions of vulnerability may not seem to be applicable to the unique circumstances surrounding migration from the Gulf Coast. These findings suggest complexity in population relationships in the Gulf Coast not immediately apparent from descriptive level analysis and challenges for ongoing evaluation of the recovery and measurement of Hurricane Katrina-affected areas.
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Notes
Used here as labeled by Cutter (2003).
The CPS records race as 21 categories. Inclusive racial identification reflects any total or part identification of the race of interest. For example, Black or African American Inclusive would include those who identify only as Black, those who identify as Black and White, those who identify as Black/White/Asian, and so on. However, about 97% of respondents identified as “Black Only” or “White Only.”
Distinguished from the unemployed as those not in the labor force are either too young or not actively looking for employment due to retirement or disability.
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Stringfield, J.D. Higher ground: an exploratory analysis of characteristics affecting returning populations after Hurricane Katrina. Popul Environ 31, 43–63 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11111-009-0095-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11111-009-0095-z