Hispanic Disaster Preparedness in the United States, 2017: Examining the Association with Residential Characteristics

Samantha Friedman
University at Albany, SUNY

Elizabeth Fussell
Brown University

Mayuko Nakatsuka
University at Albany, SUNY

Recai Yucel
Temple University

The number of highly destructive disasters is increasing in regions of the United States where the Hispanic population is growing fastest. Up-to-date studies of disaster preparedness are needed that include housing measures and other factors that may account for differences in disaster preparedness between Hispanics and other racial and ethnic groups. This study fills this gap in the literature by using data from the 2017 American Housing Survey, which includes a topical module on disaster planning along with the core measures of housing and neighborhood characteristics, including housing tenure. The results reveal that Hispanics are generally less prepared than non-Hispanic Whites regarding resource- and action-based measures, with a few exceptions. Hispanics, Blacks, and Asians are significantly more likely than Whites to have at least 3 gallons of water per person, and Hispanics and Blacks are significantly more likely than Whites and Asians to have flood insurance. The findings show that housing and residential characteristics are consistently significant in predicting preparedness— controlling for other relevant variables—although they do not attenuate the disadvantages that Hispanics and Blacks face in their disaster preparedness relative to Whites. Future research would benefit from further exploration of the linkage between racial and ethnic inequalities in housing and neighborhood characteristics and household disaster preparedness.