Hurricane Hazards: Perceptions of New Homeowners in the Lowere Keys

Abstract

The concerns of newcomers to a hazard-prone area to such hazards is of considerable interest to geographers and planners. In the mid 1970's it was estimated that over 75 percent of the population on the Atlantic and Gulf coast had never experienced a major hurricane (Herbert and Taylor. 1975, p. 9). This coastal population subsequently grew rapidly,² and now Baker (1979a) estimates that less than 10 percent of the coastal residents have experienced a major hurricane. Thus it is not surprising that “With the rapid buildup of population in coastal areas, concerns are growing that hurricane disasters involving thousands of casualties may be in the nation's not-so-distant future" (Baker, 1979b, p. 9).