Aging in Precarious Place: How Older Adults Navigate Disaster Recovery and Negotiate Climate Risk

Community-dwelling older adults comprise the largest segment of the older adult population. Overwhelmingly, this group wants to age independently in their homes. Among those age 60 and older, 75 percent have indicated they want to age in place (e.g., the ability to live in one’s home and community safely, independently, and comfortably) and intend to continue living in their current home for the remainder of their lives. Community-dwelling older adults frequently age in states that are susceptible to various disasters, such as hurricanes, heat waves, wildfires, blizzards, and flooding. Currently, one quarter of the 52 million Americans who are 65 or older live in the disaster-prone states of California, Florida, and Texas. As the size of the older adult population continues to expand in these high-risk states, more of this vulnerable age group will be at heightened risk of disaster exposure, and the related deleterious effects to their health and well-being. Despite their vulnerability, there has been little planning focused on providing community-dwelling older adults with the resources they need to prepare for and recover from climate-related disasters. Given this perfect storm of increasing climate risk and the greying of America, there is an urgent need to identify and promote the protective factors that shape the ability of older adults to recover from disasters and age in precarious place (i.e., areas that are prone to climate-related disasters).

This presentation will use Hurricane Ian as a case study to understand the social resources that older adults need to recover from disaster and age in precarious place. Hurricane Ian made landfall in southwest Florida as a Category 4 storm in September 2022. It was responsible for the direct and indirect deaths of 150 Floridians and caused over $112 billion in damage, making it the costliest hurricane in Florida’s history and the third-costliest in U.S. history. The Hurricane Ian: Aging in Precarious Place Study is a qualitative cohort that includes data from 73 in-depth interviews with older adults who were living in Southwest Florida at the time of the storm, and collected between September 2023 and November 2023. A majority of participants were randomly selected using address-based sampling (N=51) and recruited to complete an in-depth interview over zoom or the telephone. These interviews were supplemented using purposeful snowball sampling to recruit older adults who were highly impacted by Ian (N=22). To be eligible for the study, participants had to be 50 years and older; a resident of Lee or Collier County; and living in their residence for a minimum of 5 years at the time of the storm. These interviews serve as the baseline of a longitudinal study, as participants will be interviewed every 1-2 years to understand the recovery trajectories of older adults and the emerging resource needs related to aging in areas that are at-risk for climate hazards.

The coastal area of Southwest Florida is both highly-resourced and extremely conservative. Residents have embraced the acronym CAVE: Citizens Against Virtually Everything. The prevailing sentiment is that residents do not want local, state or federal government involved in any aspect of their lives and that they are as equally uninterested in having formal support services in their communities. Prior disaster research has demonstrated that recovery is not an individual endeavor. It often requires the assistance, support and guidance of friends, family, neighbors, and community organizations. The case of Hurricane Ian raises interesting questions regarding the types of resources that might be needed and appeal to older conservative populations who do not view climate change as the existential threat that younger and more liberal groups understand it to be.

This presentation will examine three themes that have so far been identified using a grounded theory approach: 1) homeowners insurance as a barrier to aging in place; 2) adult children as a key facilitator of older adult recovery; and, 3) a commitment to aging in precarious place. Hundreds of millions of dollars have been invested in physical infrastructure (e.g., levees, pumps, bridges, etc.) to combat the changing climate. However, this study’s initial themes raise interesting questions regarding the social infrastructure needs of communities that are at-risk for climate-related disasters. This presentation will conclude by addressing the types of local programming, community non-profits and public spaces that older adults need to be prepared for and recover from disasters. This becomes especially important when there is limited post-disaster recovery programming and minimal enthusiasm for climate mitigation policies in politically conservative states and communities.