Weather

Floridians don't seem overly concerned about a predicted active hurricane season

WUSF | By Savannah Rude

Published June 3, 2024 at 9:35 AM EDT

As it moved north into the Gulf of Mexico, Idalia intensified into a powerful hurricane.

A majority of Floridians have the same level of concern despite what forecasters say could be an extremely active Atlantic hurricane season.

Those were the findings of a survey conducted by AAA.

AAA on Thursday released the 2024 Q2 AAA Consumer Pulse Survey, which asked questions regarding severe weather by state.

Questions concerned matters over severe weather and natural disaster preparation, and residents were surveyed using a proprietary online research panel.

A total of 5,000 residents in The Auto Club Group territory completed the survey, which was weighted by age and gender within each state.

Results showed that a majority of Floridians have the same level of concern as last hurricane season, while only 29% are more concerned.

While most Floridians said they would evacuate during a hurricane if they were warned, the majority of Floridians (64%) said the lowest category that they would evacuate from would be a Category 4 hurricane.

In addition, 27% of Florida residents answered that they would ignore evacuation warnings.

The most common response to why Florida residents would not evacuate in the case of a hurricane was believing that the storm would turn away from their direction.

“Staying in the path of a potentially deadly storm is just not worth the risk,” AAA spokesman Mark Jenkins said in a newsrelease. “Take steps now to develop an evacuation plan for your family and pets.”

About a quarter of Florida residents (23%) said they do not make any preparations for hurricane season, while the majority answered that they have bought supplies such as flashlights, toiletries and batteries.

A high percentage also answered that they have bought extra food and water.

Most Floridians (57%) believe that they are only somewhat prepared for hurricane season and that they will only make the necessary preparations if a hurricane is approaching their area.

According to AAA, survey results had a maximum margin of error of ± 1.4% points, and for individual states besides North Dakota, the maximum margin of error was ± 4.9% points.