AGED CITIZENS IN THE WARNING PHASE OF DISASTERS - REEXAMINING THE EVIDENCE

While there is a strong consistent empirical literature on older citiz ens in the recovery period of disasters, there is much less research o n how the elderly respond to disaster warnings. Furthermore, there are conflicting findings among these studies, some characterizing the eld erly as noncompliant and less likely to cooperate with authorities, wh ile others find the elderly no less responsive than other age groups. The current article reviews the literature in this area and tries to s ort out conflicting findings in terms of the timing of the research an d methodological considerations. Data are analyzed from nine disasters -representing flood events, volcanic eruptions, and hazardous material s emergencies-which show citizens over sixty-five years old no less li kely to comply with disaster warnings.