I blame Bush for this headline

[Tiger in Spain 0]

Results from national poll on hurricane preparedness

Some results from a Mason-Dixon poll on hurricane preparedness. The May 10-15 telephone poll of 1,100 people in 18 states on the Atlantic and Gulf coasts has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

Hurricane risk:

- 53 percent don't feel vulnerable to a hurricane or related tornadoes or flooding.

- 16 percent said they might not or would not evacuate if ordered to do so.

- 39 percent believe the 2007 Atlantic hurricane season will be about the same or less active than last year.

Hurricane knowledge:

- 78 percent did not know that storm surge posed the greatest potential for a large loss of life, and can cause deaths as far as 20 miles inland.

- 96 percent did not know that garage doors are the structural component most likely to fail during a hurricane.

- 25 percent did not know that standard homeowners insurance policies do not cover flooding.

- 54 percent believed tornadoes only occur within 3 miles of a hurricane's eye. In reality, a hurricane can spawn tornadoes hundreds of miles from its eye.

- 79 percent did not know that storm intensity is the least reliable forecasting projection, and so may not understand that a Category 1 storm can strengthen to a major hurricane by landfall.

- 45 percent believed masking tape would help keep windows from shattering.

- 61 percent have no hurricane survival kit.

- Of those who do pack survival kits, 82 percent pack candles or kerosene lamps - fire hazards.

Home preparedness:

- 88 percent have not taken any steps to fortify their homes.

- 20 percent believed it was the government's job to provide food, water and shelter in the first few days after a storm.

- 25 percent did not know that standard homeowner's insurance policies don't cover flooding.

- 41 percent weren't sure if their policies covered damage caused by wind-driven rain.

Source: Mason-Dixon Polling & Research Inc.

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[DKW 86 7,440]

Problem with the poll is that the people taking the poll may be well ashore and not NEED a hurricane kit, etc nor have ever experienced long power outages or whatever. I have watched the mechanics of polls after a Southern Opinion Research Poll was sssooo ridiculously off base in the 1990s.

You can make a poll say anything and you can get anyone to answer any question the way you want by manipulating the question criteria. Also, the poll population in this poll could be WAY off from what you expect it to be.

[drewau02 0]

Just from a human perspective, I'm inclined to believe that poll. There are just so many aspects of a hurricane whether it be your insurance coverage, hurricane survival kits, the governments responsibility, etc. that so many people are ignorant about. Even those who live on the gulf coast are probably not as prepared as they should be, do not know that the storm surge is the most deadly aspect of a hurricane, do not know that garage doors will most likely fall first during a hurricane, etc. I remember growing up in Pensacola Florida at an early age. Hurricanes weren't discussed daily. There were no preparation drills in schools. We didn't discuss hurricanes any more than we did tornadoes and earthquakes in science class. The only time when people discussed hurricanes was during hurricane season. And even then, the only aspect of a hurricane discussed was when to get the hell out of dodge and head north. It's just one of those things in life that people don't discuss that much until it affects them directly. Just my opinion.