When Weather Emergencies Hit: A Campus Survey of University Employees

Background: On January 28^th, 2014 Birmingham, Alabama forecasters were predicting a “dusting” of snow, with little or no anticipated effects on travel or daily operations. Instead, the Birmingham area received up to 2” of snow during the middle of the business day, with freezing precipitation forming an ice layer under snow. Almost immediately schools and businesses simultaneously dismissed students and employees, resulting in a treacherous gridlock on streets. In a city of over one million people hundreds were forced to abandon their cars and walk to home or hotels, stay at work or shelter in place. The city remained in gridlock for days as temperatures stayed low enough to keep the snow and ice from melting.

As the largest employer in Alabama, UAB was particularly impacted by this event, finding faculty, students and staff stranded in offices and buildings for days. Without the usual warning of potential hazardous weather people were caught unprepared, bringing to light the issue of personal preparedness in work environments. Preparedness behaviors are best viewed within the framework of personal concerns, however little research has been conducted on concerns of employees and ways that they access information in emergency situations.

The current study has the following objectives:

1.         Identify primary and secondary concerns of persons faced with emergency situations at the workplace and understand the complexity of concerns as it relates to protective behavior such as sheltering in place.

2.         Gain insight to the ways persons utilize communication and social media in emergency situations.

Methods: This presentation reviews data collected from a mixed-methods survey of faculty and staff employed at UAB during the 2014 storm. Participants (N=294) were recruited by school Deans and Directors to complete surveys via Survey Monkey. Participants provided information on avenues of emergency information and communication, primary and secondary concerns, caregiving responsibilities and reflections about the experience. Quantitative data was analyzed utilizing SPSS. Qualitative data was coded for themes using Survey Monkey analytic tools and categorized.

Results: This presentation highlights results and provides recommendations to inform intervention development for personal preparedness, communications and emergency management. Of the 294 participants, 35% were full time faculty and 37% were full time staff members, with 75% being on campus at the time of the event. Participants reported that they were the primary caregiver for older adults (5%), school-age children (28%), and pets (43%). Personal concerns ranged from concern about getting home and to dependents (57%), personal safety (18%) and ability to get to pets (10%). In addition, heavy dependence on social media was discussed for receiving and communicating information. Qualitative data in the form of personal narratives supported expressed concerns.

Conclusion and Implications: While Universities are often at the epicenter of natural disasters, little has been explored about how such events impact faculty and staff. This study provides insight in to concerns and responsibilities of persons stranded during events, offering information to guide Administrators in planning for emergencies.