An Evaluation of How East Carolina Students and Staff Coped With Hurricane Floyd

<br>This research investigated the impacts of Hurricane Floyd on the staff of East Carolina University (ECU), which is located in the town of Greenville, North Carolina. Greenville is situated along the banks of the Tar River, which, like many of the region's waterways, flooded for an extended period in the aftermath of the hurricane, inundating hundreds of homes. Specifically, this study focuses first on the nature and extent of damage suffered by particular groups of staff persons. What was the role of race and class in shaping the impact of the flood? And how did levels of preparedness (defined as insurance coverage; previous experience with hurricanes; longevity of residence in eastern North Carolina; and perception of risk) mediate such impacts on particular groups of individuals? Second, we examined recovery assistance and community response to the flood. What was the role of race and class in shaping patterns of assistance, both institutional and voluntary? How much and what forms of assistance did people receive? How were these connected to people's networks of information and support? How effective were various government and institutional agencies in providing assistance? And how did individuals and community groups and organizations intervene to provide assistance to those affected?</br> <br>The research method involved a survey that was distributed via campus mail to a randomly selected sample of 1100 non-faculty staff persons at ECU, which represents about half of the non-faculty staff. The survey was administered in early January 2000. Three hundred twenty-two, or 29%, of the surveys were returned. Faculty were not included in the sample, but because of the way in which the ECU Human Resources Office categorizes staff persons, unit (department) heads were included. Our rationale for selecting ECU staff as the focus of this impact study is two-fold. First, ECU's staff encompasses a wide range of occupations and levels of household income. Second, since ECU is one of largest employers in the region, its staff constitutes a significant subgroup of the general population. Although the sample of the population used within this research is relatively small, it does allow us to consider how people within the flood zone were affected according to both their class and race and, as such, lends insight into how the larger community in the region was impacted by this particular event.</br&gt