Human and pet-related risk factors for household evacuation failure duringa natural disaster

This study characterized risk factors for household evacuation failure. A r andom digit dial telephone survey was conducted of 397 households in Yuba C ounty, California, in July 1997, 6 months after residents had been under ev acuation notice due to flooding. Case households failed to evacuate, wherea s control households evacuated. The cumulative incidence of household evacu ation failure was 19.4%. Fewer households with children (25.8%) failed to e vacuate than households without children (45,9%, p < 0.01), More households with pets (20.9%) than households without pets failed to evacuate (16.3%, p = 0.11). With multivariate logistic regression, the risk of household eva cuation failure was lower in households with children (odds ratio = 0,4, 95 % confidence interval: 0,2, 0.8) compared with households without children. The risk of household evacuation failure increased in pet-owning household s without children (odds ratio = 1.3, 95% confidence interval: 1.1, 1.5) co mpared with pet-owning households with children; the more pets a household owned, the higher the risk of household evacuation failure was. Impediments to pet evacuation, including owning multiple pets, owning outdoor dogs, or not having a cat carrier, explained why many households that owned pets fa iled to evacuate. Predisaster planning should place a high priority on faci litating pet evacuation through predisaster education of pet owners and eme rgency management personnel.