Hurricane Perceptions of Coastal Connecticut Residents

The report finds that most coastal Connecticut residents are ill-prepared for severe coastal storms, with significant gaps in evacuation zone awareness and a tendency to underestimate storm impacts. Survey data indicates that a majority of residents in high-risk Zone A would not evacuate for a Category 2 hurricane without official notice, and 70% of all coastal residents are unaware if their home is in an evacuation zone.

• A majority of coastal Connecticut residents are poorly prepared for severe storms, with low evacuation intent in the absence of official guidance. In Zone A, only 21% of residents would evacuate for a Category 2 hurricane without an official notice, while 58% would do so if advised by an official.
• There is a significant lack of awareness regarding official evacuation planning. 70% of coastal residents are either unsure or unaware that their home is located in an evacuation zone, and 74% have never seen a local evacuation map.
• Residents tend to underestimate the impact of storms; 52% stated that damage from previous storms exceeded their expectations, while only 19% found damage to be less than expected.
• Past evacuation behavior is relatively low. Only 31% of coastal residents evacuated at least once between 2009 and the survey period. For Superstorm Sandy, 22% of all coastal residents evacuated, with a higher rate of 27% in Zone A compared to 11% in Zone B.

APA

Yale Program on Climate Change Communication (2015). Hurricane Perceptions of Coastal Connecticut Residents. https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/publications/hurricane-perceptions-of-coastal-ct-residents/

Chicago

Yale Program on Climate Change Communication. Hurricane Perceptions of Coastal Connecticut Residents. 2015. https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/publications/hurricane-perceptions-of-coastal-ct-residents/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Yale Program on Climate Change Communication |title=Hurricane Perceptions of Coastal Connecticut Residents |date=25 March 2015 |url=https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/publications/hurricane-perceptions-of-coastal-ct-residents/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{yaleprogramonclimatechangecommunication2015hurricane, author = {{Yale Program on Climate Change Communication}}, title = {{Hurricane Perceptions of Coastal Connecticut Residents}}, institution = {Yale Program on Climate Change Communication}, year = {2015}, month = mar, url = {https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/publications/hurricane-perceptions-of-coastal-ct-residents/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }