The Disruptive Effects of Hurricanes on School Operations and Reopening
Publication: Natural Hazards Review
Volume 23, Issue 3
Abstract
The purpose of this work is to examine the immediate impacts of hurricanes on schools and document the competing priorities faced by educators as they return to their educational mission of serving students and assisting with communal recovery. The research team conducted 115 interviews with educators across 20 school districts after Hurricane Matthew in North Carolina and Hurricane Harvey in Texas. After the hurricanes, respondents described disruptions in the form of operational, personal, and displacement. Educators adapted to their shifting responsibilities by taking on new roles in managing school property, volunteering in the community, and managing relief efforts. This paper addresses a gap in the literature on the immediate impacts of hurricanes on schools by studying two storms in different states, which enables more transferable conclusions to be drawn than in prior studies. When helping schools make disaster plans, educators and emergency planners should address the anticipated disruptions, account for shifting responsibilities, and enable clear communication during the disaster and recovery process.
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Data Availability Statement
All data and codes that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
Acknowledgments
The authors thank the district and school personnel from regions impacted by Hurricanes Matthew and Harvey and state education agencies for providing their time and insight to inform the contents of this report. Members graciously shared their stories at the local, regional, state, and federal levels. They provided us with relevant information that can help address the needs of schools and students after a hurricane. We are also thankful for the support from the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, the Texas Education Agency, the North Carolina Governor’s Office, North Carolina Emergency Management, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Odum Institute for Research in Social Science, and the National Science Foundation for funding this work. Mrs. Elizabeth DAmico, Mrs. Nicolle Stewart, and Mrs. Cintia Kristin Charmaine Bortot from the Education Policy Initiative at Carolina, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, were assets to the study. Mrs. DAmico and Mrs. Stewart assisted with the overall organization of the project, while Mrs. Bortot supported the research through data analysis. Mr. Rex Long and Mr. Joseph Shields were also assets to this project and represented Gibson Consultant Group in Austin, Texas. Mr. Shields guided protocol development, gaining access to educators in Texas, and collecting data. Mr. Long was responsible for collecting data from educators, analyzing results, and organizing final products.
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Published In
Natural Hazards Review
Volume 23 • Issue 3 • August 2022
Copyright
© 2022 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Dec 16, 2020
Accepted: Apr 1, 2022
Published online: Jun 8, 2022
Published in print: Aug 1, 2022
Discussion open until: Nov 8, 2022
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