NCAS-M Fellow Collecting Data in St. Thomas and Puerto Rico

NCAS-M Fellow and HU Doctoral Student, Cassandra Jean, is in St. Thomas and Puerto Rico collecting data for her dissertation and NERTO with the National Weather Service (NWS). She is examining the response and recovery decisions of residents of St. Thomas and Puerto Rico to the risks and impacts of Hurricanes Irma and Maria.

The 2017 hurricane season brought massive destruction, displacement, and chaos to thousands of people (Blake & Zelinsky, 2018; Pasch, Penny, & Berg, 2018). Cassandra is joined by her NCAS-M advisor, Dr. Terri Adams.

The data collected will provide important information to the NWS office and other NOAA affiliates and inform emergency and decision support personnel to help improve mitigation efforts.

Dates of data collection

May 30th – 31st  St. Thomas
June 1st – 3rd      Puerto Rico

Methods of data collection:

  • Interviews
  • Self-administered surveys
  • Focus groups