HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. — Researchers at the University of South Florida want to hear from you as they gather information about Hurricanes Helene and Milton. They have an online survey available, and your responses could help officials better prepare for future hurricanes.
The survey has a series of questions that researchers are using to learn more about what influenced people to evacuate or stay put during the hurricanes.
WATCH USF researchers need your help to better prepare for future hurricanes
We spoke to Cassie O’Connor, a PHD student part of this research team. She said they have already received thousands of responses, and each one provides insight into what led people to evacuate or not.
“A lot of people tend to make decisions based on the Saffir-Simpson wind scale, which is the wind speeds in the hurricane. So a lot of people make decisions on that and not as much based on flooding and storm surge,” O’Connor said.
She said that it has proven to be dangerous, and we saw it firsthand with the back-to-back hurricanes in the Fall of 2024.
“We saw with Helene and Milton all the storm surge… All the surge that inundated the area, storm surge could flood buildings more than wind can affect them,” O’Connor said.
The survey is open until June 15. The information will be analyzed and shared with emergency crews and officials to improve storm communication and better protect communities.
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