A majority of Floridians have the same level of concern despite what forecasters say could be an Atlantic hurricane season.
Those were the findings of a survey conducted by AAA.
AAA on Thursday released the , which asked questions regarding severe weather by state.
Questions concerned matters over severe weather and natural disaster preparation, and residents were surveyed using a proprietary online research panel.
A total of 5,000 residents in The Auto Club Group territory completed the survey, which was weighted by age and gender within each state.
RELATED:
Results showed that a majority of Floridians have the same level of concern as last hurricane season, while only 29% are more concerned.
While most Floridians said they would evacuate during a hurricane if they were warned, the majority of Floridians (64%) said the lowest category that they would evacuate from would be a Category 4 hurricane.
In addition, 27% of Florida residents answered that they would ignore evacuation warnings.
The most common response to why Florida residents would not evacuate in the case of a hurricane was believing that the storm would turn away from their direction.
RELATED:
“Staying in the path of a potentially deadly storm is just not worth the risk,” AAA spokesman Mark Jenkins said in a newsrelease. “Take steps now to develop an evacuation plan for your family and pets.”
About a quarter of Florida residents (23%) said they do not make any preparations for hurricane season, while the majority answered that they have bought supplies such as flashlights, toiletries and batteries.
A high percentage also answered that they have bought extra food and water.
Most Floridians (57%) believe that they are only somewhat prepared for hurricane season and that they will only make the necessary preparations if a hurricane is approaching their area.
According to AAA, survey results had a maximum margin of error of ± 1.4% points, and for individual states besides North Dakota, the maximum margin of error was ± 4.9% points.
Copyright 2024 WUSF Public Media - WUSF 89.7