Surviving Two Disasters

Abstract

Respondents ( N = 414) studied after a California earthquake were recontacted 4 years later to determine if their prior experience with a disaster impaired or enhanced their ability to deal with a second natural disaster—a slow-onset El Niño weather pattern. Analyses addressed whether being emotionally injured in one disaster influences the extent to which one prepares for a future disaster, whether emotional injuries experienced in one disaster predispose individuals to emotional injury in a subsequent disaster, and whether other disaster-related parameters (physical injury and property damage) are similarly associated across two disasters. Emotional injury both facilitated preparedness, in terms of number of hazard-mitigation activities performed, and predisposed to a subsequent emotional injury. An unexpected finding emerged showing that emotional injury increased the chance of reporting damage in a second disaster—a relationship that was maintained after controlling for emotional injury in the second disaster. The impact of self-reported emotional injury in two sequential disasters on what might be considered a more objective outcome—property damage in the second disaster—underscores the need for a comprehensive assessment of disaster reactions in postdisaster research and across disasters, when possible.