Political rhetoric may impact your hurricane preparedness

Friday, September 11, 2020 - 13:30 in Mathematics & Economics

Evacuees from Hurricane Irene being housed in the Maryland National Guard's Fifth Regiment Armory in Baltimore, MD. (The National Guard/)In many ways, it feels like Americans increasingly live in two different realities. Now, it seems like this is true even in a situation as immediately consequential as a hurricane. People of different political affiliations living in the same city appear to be disagreeing on what was once non-partisan: storm severity.That’s according to a new study published in Science Advances. Researchers found that conservative commentators downplaying the threat of Hurricane Irma in 2017 appear to have had a direct effect on Trump voters' likelihood of evacuating.In early September 2017, Rush Limbaugh told the listeners of his popular radio show that hurricanes are “never as strong as they’re reported,” and that tropical storm warnings were part of advancing the “climate change agenda.” This statement was followed by echoes from other commentators, including...

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