RAPID: Assessing Urgent Time Use Dynamics Among Time-Poor Populations in Preparation for Hurricane Helene and Milton

The objective of this Grants for Rapid Response Research (RAPID) project is to collect ephemeral data on time use during hurricane preparedness, targeting areas affected by the consecutive hurricanes Helene and Milton in Florida. The back-to-back events underline compounded stress and time demand resulting from ongoing adjustments to daily routines.

The primary hypothesis is that time poverty — a significant but often overlooked social vulnerability — limits flexibility and discretionary time necessary for effective disaster preparations. The project seeks to understand how individual characteristics — such as employment and family responsibilities - influence time management and stress levels.

The ultimate goal is to enhance disaster management strategies to better meet the needs of diverse populations.

The project empirically evaluates the uniform hurricane warning period's effectiveness, particularly for time-poor populations. It conducts a geographically targeted survey through mixed methods and employs a combined cluster and stratified sampling. A set of research questions are formulated and investigated, including, 1) how individuals allocate their time from the initial awareness of hurricane warning to landfall; and 2) how various factors like time poverty, employment role, family responsibilities (e.g. childcare or eldercare), and geographic risk exposure influence the time pressure experienced during hurricane preparations.

The new data enrich the American Time Use Survey, which currently lacks specific details on time use during extreme events, and expand empirical knowledge on the impacts of time poverty on disaster preparations. By identifying effective time management strategies, the research informs future improvements to America's Alert & Warning Infrastructure, ensuring the systems and policies are attuned to the varying abilities of populations in response to threats.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.