Public Support for Disaster Risk Reduction: Evidence from The Bahamas Before and After Hurricane Dorian

Studies in public policy have suggested that disasters can potentially serve as “focusing events”, catalyzing significant changes to disaster risk reduction (DRR) policies and practices. How and why this effect does (or does not) ensue, and for how long, are less well understood. This article tests hypotheses about the nature and duration of the impact of a major hazard event on public support for DRR policies and their implementation. It does so by analyzing survey data collected in The Bahamas before and, crucially, at multiple intervals after a massive 2019 storm, the Category 5 Hurricane Dorian. Results suggest that experiencing a major hurricane boosts public support for DRR. This effect was observed one month after the event; support declined at three months but remained elevated for nearly two years afterwards. At the individual level, support for DRR was also strongly associated with the perception of future disaster risk—but was not associated with any measure of direct harm from the event. These findings support the notion that disasters may open “windows of opportunity” for improving policy implementation, in part by changing public opinion broadly and not just among those most acutely affected.