Exploring Geospatial Tornado Risk Personalization with Sketch Mapping

Maps are often used to communicate tornado warning information, but there are few studies examining how individuals use mapped tornado warning information or think about their own risk geospatially. This is especially important given research that suggests many people lack complete geospatial awareness. To help increase our knowledge of the intersection of tornado risk perception and geospatial awareness, we conducted a cognitive sketch mapping activity with sixty-five individuals from seven counties in Mississippi and Alabama. The activity allowed researchers to examine how well participants understood their local geography as well as to ask about what geographic features influence their tornado risk perception. During the sketch mapping activity participants were asked to draw a map of their home county and label features such as the location of their home, surrounding counties, features that are typically labelled on maps of their county, and features that would help them know if a tornado was coming close to their home. They were also asked to indicate an area on the map they drew as well as on a printed county map where a tornado would make them want to take shelter. Some of the key findings regarding geographic awareness were that participants could correctly name and place only a few neighboring counties on their maps and that participants located their home location on average about 5 miles away from its actual location. Participant’s risk areas were drawn with an average orientation toward the southwest, a common direction from which tornadoes approach, and suggested they would take protective action when a tornado was within an average of fifteen miles of their home. Participants more frequently mentioned human landmarks and point locations than linear features such as roads or highways in helping them realize a tornado was coming close and these features were about miles away on average. Both distances showed a great deal of variation.