Atlantic hurricane season is in full swing. Kirk was a little snack that even reached Spain by storm. But without a doubt, the phenomenon that has hit the planet hardest is Hurricane Milton. Passing through Florida, at least 16 people were killed and property losses were almost countless. Its approach was noticed, so the population was warned to stay away from the coast. However, there were people who ignored the evacuation. Actually, Tik Tok It was full of influencers sharing in real time what it was like to survive a hurricane.
In their case, it seems like they did it for likes. But there were many other people who, without telling about their situation, They didn’t run away either. before Hurricane Milton arrived. What is the reason?
This question is not new. Similar incidents have occurred with other major hurricanes. That’s why last year a researcher at the University of Colorado Boulder’s Natural Hazards Center Carson McPherson-Krutskydecided to review publications that analyze this phenomenon. The work, now also described in the article for Talkwas part of a project by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the US Natural Hazards Center. It concludes that there are three predominant causes.
Reasons for Those Who Didn’t Escape Hurricane Milton
In his research, McPherson found three main reasons why many people ignore hurricane evacuation alerts.
The first reason is purely economical. This requires transportation, money, a new home, or even, in some cases, having to miss work, which can mean financially. In fact, it is clear that there are companies that do not want to close or allow their employees to take sick days or days off.
Sometimes measures are provided to the population, but even then there are clear differences between people of different economic levels. For example, the expert cites a very sad case that occurred in 2005 with Hurricane Katrina. This year, evacuation buses were provided to residents of the most affected cities. However, the buses departed from locations far from many homes, and a significant proportion of the people living there did not own a car. They were unable to get to the bus and the hurricane left them behind. trail of deaths. Many people died in flooded houses from which they had no money to escape.
On the other hand, Macpherson refers to pets and elderly people with health problems. It is more difficult to travel with them and, logically, just as we do not leave behind a sick family member, almost no one wants to do the same with their pets. They are also part of the family. For this reason, there are studies that show that people who have pets are significantly more less chance of escaping in the face of events such as Hurricane Milton.
Finally, Macpherson refers to risk perception. There are studies that report that women and minorities take hurricane risk more seriously. Therefore, they are more likely to heed evacuation warnings. Be careful, this does not mean women are more afraid. Taking risks seriously is not about being afraid, but about being realistic.
Other reasons
We saw that the fact that many people do not have a car prevents them from continuing to evacuate and risks dying at home. However, if too many people have cars It can also be dangerous.
There have been instances of traffic jams that have left people running out of fuel or unable to travel far enough to escape risk areas. As a result, the hurricane finds them in the middle of the road, completely at its mercy.
The Case of Hurricane Milton and TikTok
TikTok videos recorded during Hurricane Milton do not best describe the conditions resulting from Hurricane Milton. Talk. However, there are two reasons that may be associated with some videos.
For example, some TikTok posts show that users who decided to brave Hurricane Milton live with a dog. This doesn’t mean your pet is the main reason to stay. There are those who consider acquiring followers an enriching or positive experience. And this brings us to the last reason.
Risk perception. These are people so obsessed with showing off their lives on social media that they don’t even realize the danger they are putting themselves in by staying and waiting for a hurricane. Sometimes digital life makes us forget about real life and, above all, about what nature does not understand. engagement no statistics. Hurricane Milton doesn’t care why you stayed and waited for him. He will equally destroy everything in his path.
Source: Hiper Textual
