women are quicker to take cover or prepare to evacuate during an emergency, but often have trouble convincing the men in their life to do so, a new study suggests.
"We also found that there are many barriers that disadvantage women in the event of a disaster, leaving them behind when it comes to decision-making and potentially slowing down their recovery," said study lead author Melissa Villarreal from the University of Colorado Boulder in the US. For the study, the researchers analyzed in-depth interviews with 33 women and 10 men across two Texas towns.
Some were from Granbury, which in 2013 was hit by an EF-4 tornado that killed six people and cut a mile-wide swathe of destruction, damaging 600 homes. According to the researchers, eliminating the male head-of-household model is crucial for speeding overall household recovery.
