This study examined how comprehensively the Bolin and Trainer (1978) model of recovery reflects the recovery process of individuals and households. A review of the literature since 1978 suggested that various revisions and additions were warranted, but additional research was needed to examine these elements collectively. Rubin and Rubin’s (2012) Responsive Interviewing Model was employed to collect and analyze data related to the recovery process of individuals impacted by Hurricane/Superstorm Sandy to determine whether an updated model was appropriate. Interviews with twenty-one respondents representing non-governmental organizations involved in Sandy-related recovery efforts revealed the need for a revised model reflecting key aspects of the original model, revisions suggested by the literature, and a new addition based on the data collected through this study. A Revised Bolin and Trainer Model of Individual and Household Recovery was suggested and implications for the discipline and practice of emergency management discussed.

Hurricane Sandy struck the New York City-New Jersey region on October 29, 2012, with severe consequences to the transportation network, including both the road network and the transit system. This study used survey data from nearly 400 commuters in the New York City Metropolitan Area to determine the transportation disruptions and socio-demographic characteristics associated with travel changes and their duration for the home-to-work commute after Hurricane Sandy. Multi-variable binary logit modeling was used to examine mode shifting, cancelling the trip to work, route changing, and modifying departure time. Transit commuters were more likely to change modes, cancel the trip, and depart earlier. Women were less likely to change modes or depart later. Carpool restrictions encouraged mode changing and earlier departures. Delays/crowding increased the probability of route changes, canceled trips, and earlier departures. Durations of commute travel changes were modeled with accelerated failure time approaches (Weibull distribution). New Jersey Transit disruptions prolonged the time to return to the normal working schedule, telecommuting time, and the time of commuting patterns alterations. Gasoline purchase restrictions extended commuting delays and the duration of alteration of normal commute patterns but decreased the duration of the change of working schedule and location. The mode used under normal commute conditions did not have an impact on the duration of the changes, even though it has a significant impact on the selected changes. The results underline the need for policy makers to account for mode-specific populations and lower income commuters during post-disaster recovery periods. / Master of Science

Hurricane Sandy hit New York City on October 29, 2012 and greatly disrupted transportation systems, power systems, work, and schools. This research used survey data from 397 respondents in the NYC Metropolitan Area to develop an agent-based model for capturing commuter behavior and adaptation after the disruption. Six different recovery scenarios were tested to find which systems are more critical to recover first to promote a faster return to productivity. Important factors in the restoration timelines depends on the normal commuting pattern of people in that area. In the NYC Metropolitan Area, transit is one of the common modes of transportation; therefore, it was found that the subway/rail system recovery is the top factor in returning to productivity. When the subway/rail system recovers earlier (with the associated power), more people are able to travel to work and be productive. The second important factor is school and daycare closure (with the associated power and water systems). Parents cannot travel unless they can find a caregiver for their children, even if the transportation system is functional. Therefore, policy makers should consider daycare and school condition as one of the important factors in recovery planning. The next most effective scenario is power restoration. Telework is a good substitute for the physical movement of people to work. By teleworking, people are productive while they skip using the disrupted transportation system. To telework, people need power and communication systems. Therefore, accelerating power restoration and encouraging companies to let their employees' telework can promote a faster return to productivity. Finally, the restoration of major crossings like bridges and tunnels is effective in the recovery process. / Master of Science / Natural and man-made disasters, cause massive destruction of property annually and disrupt the normal economic productivity of an area. Although the occurrence of these disasters cannot be controlled, society can minimize the effects with post-disaster recovery strategies. Hurricane Sandy hit New York City on October 29, 2012 and greatly disrupted transportation systems, power systems, work, and schools. In this research, commuter behavior and adaptation after the hurricane were captured by using a survey data that asked questions from people living in NYC metropolitan area about their commuting behavior before and after Hurricane Sandy. An agent-based model was developed and six different recovery strategies were tested in order to find effective factors in returning people to normal productive life faster. In the NYC Metropolitan Area, transit is one of the common modes of transportation; therefore, it was found that the subway/rail system recovery is the top factor in returning to productivity. The next important factor is school and daycare closure. Parents are responsible for their children, therefore; they may not travel to work when school and daycares are closed. The third important factor is power restoration. To telework, people need power and communication systems. By teleworking, people are productive while they skip using the disrupted transportation system. The final important factor is the restoration of major crossings like bridges and tunnels.

An estimated 10% of the world's population lives in low-lying coastal regions, which are vulnerable to storm surge and waves capable of causing loss of lives and billions of dollars in damage to coastal infrastructure. Among the most vulnerable coastlines are barrier islands, which often act as the first line of defense against storms for the mainland coast. In this dissertation, the physical damage to a developed barrier island (Bay Head, NJ, USA) caused by erosion during Hurricane Sandy (2012) is evaluated using the numerical model, XBeach. Three main objectives of this work are to evaluate the wave-force reducing capabilities of a buried seawall, the effects of bay surge on morphological change and the effectiveness of adaptation strategies to rising sea levels. According to simulation results, a buried seawall located beneath the nourished dunes in Bay Head reduced wave attack by a factor of 1.7 compared to locations without a seawall. The structure also prevented major erosion by blocking bay surge from inundating dunes from the backside, as observed in locations not fronted with a seawall. Altering the timing and magnitude of bay storm surge, the buried seawall continued to protect the island from catastrophic erosion under all conditions except for a substantial increase in bay surge. However, in the absence of a seawall, the morpho- logical response was highly dependent on bay surge levels with respect to ocean side surge. Compared to the damage sustained by the island during Hurricane Sandy, greater erosion was observed on the island for an increase in bay surge magnitude or when peak bay surge occurred after peak ocean surge. Considering sea level rise, which affects bay and ocean surge levels, adaptation strategies were evaluated on the protection afforded to the dune system and backbarrier. Of the sea level rise scenarios and adaptation strategies considered, raising the dune and beach protected the island under moderate rises in sea level, but exacerbated backbarrier erosion for the most extreme scenario. Although an extreme strategy, raising the island is the only option considered that protected the island from catastrophic erosion under low, moderate and extreme sea level rise. / Ph. D.

HIV screening is recommended to destigmatize the condition, prevent partner transmission, and postpone AIDS progression. However, determinants associated with implementation of opt-out HIV screening are not well understood. The purpose of the study was to examine determinants that predicted odds of HIV screening for persons impacted by Hurricane Sandy, and how these factors differed according to demographic characteristics, geographical attributes, health-related quality of life score, access-to-care, and health insurance status. The social ecologic model provided the framework for this multilevel cross-sectional study that included New Jersey data from the Behavior Risk Factor Surveillance System. Bivariate chi-square, simple logistic regression, and adjusted multivariate and weighted logistic regression analyses were performed to estimate HIV screening odds. Findings indicated a significant odds ratio with access to care post- Hurricane Sandy and HIV screening (odds ratio = 1.74, 95% CI = 1.38-2.21). The positive social change implications may include assisting people to develop realistic plans for HIV screening, improving understanding of HIV screening determinants, and raising awareness of the risk factors related with access to medical care post-Hurricane Sandy.

In this thesis work, I examine the use and adoption of online communication media by 840 fire and police departments that were affected by the 2012 Hurricane Sandy. I began by exploring how and why these fire and police departments used (or did not use) online media to communicate with the public during Hurricane Sandy. Results show that fire and police departments used online media during Hurricane Sandy to give timely and relevant information to the public about things such as evacuations, damages, weather, and cleanup and to engage in two-way communications with their constituents. In their messages, fire and police departments sought to make the information provided more credible by referencing, rebroadcasting, and recommending other authoritative entities. Though some departments saw online media as a useful and effective means of communication with members of the public, other departments found them difficult to use given the challenging circumstances of Hurricane Sandy such as flooding and power outages. Next, I explore how a large-scale disaster event like Hurricane Sandy affects online media adoption by affected fire and police departments. I found an increase in online activity over Facebook, Twitter, and Nixle by the affected fire and police departments compared to before Hurricane Sandy. However, it is unclear whether this increase in online activity can be attributed to Hurricane Sandy or a natural increase over time.

Within risk communication, much is understood about pre-event warning related to evacuation and sheltering; however risk communication during the return-entry phase when ending evacuations has been largely under-studied in the disaster literature. Understanding of the return-entry risk communication process is important because returning early or prior to issuance of the all-clear message can make returnees susceptible to post-disaster risks, and also hamper post-disaster activities such as debris removal, traffic management, utility restoration and damage assessments. Guided by the Warning Components Framework and the Theory of Motivated Information Management, this dissertation focuses on risk communication as it pertains to organizational behavior during the return-entry process by examining how local emergency management organizations develop, disseminate and monitor return-entry messages. The data is collected through semi-structured telephone interviews with local emergency management organizations that managed return-entry following Hurricane Sandy. The findings of the study indicate that local emergency management organizations required information on post-disaster threats, damages, and utility and infrastructure condition in order to develop return-entry strategy for their community. Organizations improvised to their existing risk communication measures by adopting creative ways for information dissemination to the evacuees. They also utilized active and passive approach to monitor public response to the return-entry messages.

Over the 1951-2009 time period, 47% of all tropical systems in the Atlantic Basin transitioned to post-tropical storms. These storms are capable of producing hurricaneforce winds, torrential, flooding rains and storm surge that floods coastal areas. This study adds to previous climatological work by completing a case-study of Hurricane Ike (2008) and examining how teleconnections such as the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO), the Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO), the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO) and the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) contribute to the strength of a transitioning post-tropical storm. T-tests performed show strong statistical relationships between an increase (decrease) in post-tropical storm frequency and warm PDO – La Niña (cold PDO – La Niña), cold PDO – ENSO neutral (warm PDO – ENSO neutral), and warm (cold) AMO conditions. Moreover, nearly significant results were found for the same increase (decrease) and La Niña seasons since (pre) 1980 and for cold (warm) PDO conditions. Modeling the MJO suggests that increased (decreased) relative humidity associated with the wet (dry) phase could increase (decrease) precipitation output from the storm and decrease (increase) forward speed of the storm, decreasing (increasing) wind speeds observed at the surface.

This is a study about disasters, vulnerability and power. With regards to social justice organizing a particular research problem guides the work, specifically that emancipatory projects are often initiated and steered by privileged actors who do not belong to the marginalized communities they wish to strengthen, yet the work is based on the belief that empowerment requires self-organizing from within. Through an ethnographic field study of social justice organizing in the wake of Hurricane Sandy in Rockaway, New York City, the thesis explores whether and how vulnerable groups were empowered within the Occupy Sandy network. It is a process study that traces outside activists attempts at empowering storm-affected residents over time, from the immediate relief phase to long-term organizing in the recovery phase. The activists aimed to put to practice three organizing ideals: inclusion, flexibility and horizontality, based on a belief that doing so would enhance empowerment. The analysis demonstrates that collaboration functioned better in the relief phase than in the long-term recovery phase. The same organizing ideals that seem to have created an empowering milieu for storm-affected residents in the relief phase became troublesome when relief turned to long-term recovery. The relief phase saw storm-affected people step up and take on leadership roles, whereas empowerment in the recovery phase was conditional on alignment with outside activists’ agendas. Internal tensions, conflicts and resistance from residents toward the outside organizers marked the recovery phase. It seems that length of collaborative projects is not the only factor for developing trust but so is complexity. The more complex the activities over which partners are to collaborate the less easy it is. Based on this we could further theorize that the more complex the work is the more challenging it is for privileged groups to give away control. The internal struggles of the organization partially explain the failures to influence an urban planning process that the organization attempted to impact, which connects the micro-processes with broader change processes toward transformation of vulnerability.

Floods affect millions of people each year, with increasing frequency in the past decades. Floods, as any other natural phenomena, do not take place in a vacuum. Their impacts are modulated by the socioeconomic environments they affect, which are far from homogeneous and oftentimes characterized by deep disparities and inequalities. Ensuring sustainable development in a world where climate change is forecasted to increase the frequency and severity of flooding requires a nuanced understanding of these interactions between natural and socioeconomic systems. This dissertation sheds light on the impacts of flooding on economic outcomes of interest in two contrasting settings. First, Chapters 1 and 2 focus on the effects of flooding as a natural disaster in a developed country, the United States. Using evidence from Hurricane Sandy in 2012, these chapters explore how different neighborhoods, with different characteristics, responded to flooding. They conclude that heterogeneous responses led to an increased polarization along property value, racial, and income lines among neighborhoods. Then, Chapter 3 investigates the effects of seasonal flooding in the Malian Sahel. Unlike the previous setting, flooding brings about positive outcomes in this context, as livelihoods in this arid region are heavily dependent on surface water for agriculture. This chapter shows that lower seasonal flooding increases infant mortality. Thus, it provides evidence on the sort of long-term consequences that could affect low-income households after suffering short-lived resources shocks. Overall, this dissertation contributes to our understanding of the heterogeneous impacts of flooding. Increased awareness of these impacts would be key to formulate successful post-flood responses and policies to ensure future sustainable development.