INFLUENCES ON THE PRIORITY, ADOPTION, AND EFFECTIVENESS OF LOCAL COASTAL STORM HAZARD MITIGATION (HURRICANES)

As coastal populations continue to increase, so also does the extent to which the human lives and property are placed at risk to hurricanes and coastal storms. This dissertation develops a causal model to explain variation in the local priority of storm hazard reduction, and the adoption and perceived effectiveness of mitigation programs. Data is obtained from a mail survey of all Gulf and Atlantic coast localities which contain "V-zones" (Velocity zones) as designated under the National Flood Insurance Program. Relevant literature is reviewed and a series of hypotheses are developed concerning the influence of various environmental, political, economic and other variables.; The development of the causal model proceeds in stages with priority of storm hazard reduction serving as the first dependent variable. Among the strongest variables found to exercise a statistically-significant positive influence on priority were: recreation/tourist economy, the percent of the jurisdiction located in the coastal floodplain, recent storm history, the probability of a hurricane strike, National Flood Insurance Program status and years of participation, and state mitigation activity. A strong private property ethos, the percent of the jurisdiction floodplain already developed, and the absence of political-supportive groups were found to negatively influence the priority of hazard reduction.; A second analytical stage of the model examined influences on the adoption of mitigation programs. The adoption of development management was found to be positively influenced by a number of factors including median home value, recreation/tourism economy, population size, the priority of strong hazard reduction, number of years of participation in the National Flood Insurance Program, and recent storm history. Strong private property ethos was again found to exhibit a negative influence.; A third state of model examined influences on the perceived overall effectiveness of existing mitigation programs. Development management was the only mitigation approach (among three primary approaches) found to exhibit a statistically-significant positive influence on overall effectiveness. The availability of non-hazardous development sites and the priority of storm hazard reduction were also found to exercise a positive influence on overall effectiveness. Recent storm history, location on a barrier island and opposition by development interests, on the other hand, exhibited negative influences on overall effectiveness. The final chapter of this dissertation examines the implications of these findings for planners and policymakers interested in promoting and facilitating coastal storm hazard mitigation, and the use of development management measures in particular.