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Survey Says Coastal Residents Underestimate Power of Severe Weather in Connecticut

Wikimedia Commons
Satellite image of Hurricane Irene making landfall in New York City.

Residents on Connecticut's coast continue to underestimate the economic and physical dangers posed by severe weather, according to a new survey out of Yale.

Destructive storms like Hurricane Irene and Sandy inflicted hundreds of millions of dollars in damage to Connecticut's coastline. But a new study of more than 1,100 houses along the state's coast says its residents still don't understand the dangers of these storms.

About half of those surveyed didn't think the damage from storms like Sandy and Irene would be as bad as it was. It also found nearly three quarters of coastal residents had never seen an evacuation map and that only about one-third of them had evacuated to avoid a storm since the beginning of 2009.

The Yale Project on Climate Change Communication, which conducted the research, said the findings will be important for emergency officials who are still struggling to effectively communicate the risks posed by high-powered tropical storms and hurricanes.

Meanwhile, the U.S. National Climate Assessment says the risk of coastal flooding in Connecticut continues to grow.

Patrick Skahill is a reporter and digital editor at Connecticut Public. Prior to becoming a reporter, he was the founding producer of Connecticut Public Radio's The Colin McEnroe Show, which began in 2009. Patrick's reporting has appeared on NPR's Morning Edition, Here & Now, and All Things Considered. He has also reported for the Marketplace Morning Report. He can be reached at pskahill@ctpublic.org.

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SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.