Abstract
The findings of a real-time survey of the risk perceptions and preparatory actions of
residents in the Middle-Atlantic states as Hurricane Sandy approached the coast in October of
2012 are reported. The data reflect a sample of 538 coastal residents—mostly single-family
homeowners—from southeastern Virginia to the New Jersey suburbs of New York. The data
suggest that while there was universal awareness of the threat that Sandy posed and almost all
took some preparatory action, there was also widespread confusion about the nature of warnings
issued about Sandy, and preparation that was insufficient for the threat Sandy posed. For
example, as short as 6 hours before landfall and after tropical-storm force winds had been
affecting the coast for a number of hours, 40% of respondents mistakenly believed they were
under a hurricane watch (instead of a hurricane-force wind warning). Likewise, most coastal
residents misconstrued the primary threat of Sandy as coming from wind rather than water.
Protective actions that would be seen as costly were limited. For example, only 37% of
homeowners with removable storm shutters put them up, and 54% of residents whose homes
were within a block of a body of water indicated that they owned flood insurance policies