Date of Award

January 2025

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Public Health (MPH)

Department

School of Public Health

First Advisor

Jeannette R. Ickovics

Abstract

Background and Objectives: Hurricane Helene devastated entire towns across the Southern and Appalachian U.S. Following the hurricane, people who lived in impacted regions were derided for their perceived failures in evacuating. Utilizing Bernard Weiner’s attribution theory of social motivation, this study sought to analyze potential implications of regional stereotypes on how people blamed or supported disaster victims. Primary objectives were to: (1) to analyze content regarding residents’ decisions to evacuate or not evacuate during the storm, (2) to document attributions of blame or support and how those experiencing the disaster and outside observers responded to these attributions, and (3) to evaluate potential implications of regional stereotypes based on race, class, and education. Research Design and Methods: A reflexive content analysis was conducted to analyze Hurricane Helene-related TikTok videos (n = 111) and comments (n = 2220), posted from Sept. 26th to Oct. 8th, 2024. Reflexive content analysis emphasizes a researcher-oriented approach to qualitative content analysis. Videos were inductively coded for point of view and content. Comments were coded in Dedoose for perspectives on why people did or did not evacuate and how outsiders responded. A secondary collection consisting of 24 videos and 585 comments identified via the author’s personal account was also analyzed to provide further commentary. Results: Of the 111 videos coded in the main collection, the majority of videos showed either first person experience (n = 59; 53%) or witness commentary (n = 29; 26%). Video content was primarily focused on the immediate impacts of the disaster, including evacuation (n = 85; 77%), loss or damage (n = 59; 53%), and health impacts (n = 49; 44%), as well as expressions of and appeals to empathy (n = 46; 42%). Across the categories, many comments were supportive. However, some content celebrated or mocked the devastation faced by Hurricane Helene survivors. When examining the content for attributions directly related to wealth, education, race, or Southern stereotypes, the study identified attributions of blame deriding those impacted as stupid, ill-prepared, or irresponsible. In the videos, wealth was coded the most for attributions of support (n = 13) and education for attributions of blame (n = 6). In comments, wealth was coded the most for both support (n = 37) and blame (n = 25). Some disaster victims and outsiders perceived the attributions of blame as related to stereotypes of the South as racist, backwards, and ignorant. Numerous factors were identified that impact people’s decision and abilities to evacuate, including cost of evacuation, lack of warning, having to work, and others. Discussion and Implications: Social perceptions of disasters influence the amount of assistance people believe disaster victims should receive. Due to climate change, more people will experience an increase in frequency and severity of climate disasters. This study adds to the understanding of why people may not evacuate, how people perceive disaster victims, and how those impacted feel compelled to respond.

Comments

This thesis is restricted to Yale network users only. It will be made publicly available on 06/16/2026

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