Warning response and risk behavior in the Oak Grove - Birmingham, Alabama, tornado of 8 April 1998.

Bibliography: p. 21-24

On 8 April 1998, a long-track violent tornado killed 32 people and injured 300 in Jefferson County, Alabama, near Birmingham. Within one week of the disaster, field surveys were collected from persons residing or working within the damage area regarding their actions, and the actions of those in their care or company. Similar data were obtained for the fatalities. The purpose of the field operation was to collect spatial, demographic, behavioral, and attitudinal information from a sample of survivors, and to the fullest extent, for all victims. Morbidity and mortality data were analyzed for significant trends in warning access, source, compliance, and lead-time as well as shelter availability, cultural and architectural variable, hazard perception, and self-assessment of warning systems. Goals were to catalog significant differences between victim and survivor traits, to identify successful warning operations and media practices, and to characterize emergenct risk factors for death, injury, and damage. Major risk factors for death included living in a wooden house, a house with walls not anchored to the foundation, becoming airborne, and being elderly. Risk factors for survival included taking shelter below ground, having access to, and consulting televised warning information, being aware of the tornado watch, and familiarity with sources of weather information in general