Fact of the week: Female hurricanes are deadlier than male hurricanes

Much has been written about subtle discrimination against women and gender bias in the most unlikely places. As we approach the three-year anniversary of Hurricane Sandy (Oct. 22–31, 2012) and the 10-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina last August, we want to share the results of a 2014 study published by the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, which found that people judge hurricane risks in the context of gender-based expectations.

The hurricane researchers hypothesized correctly that individuals assess their vulnerability to hurricanes and take actions based not only on objective indicators of hurricane severity but also on the gender of hurricanes. This pattern may emerge, they suggested, because individuals “systematically underestimate” their vulnerability to hurricanes with more feminine names, avoiding or delaying protective measures.

[Related: How Hurricane Sandy created the ‘perfect storm’]

Policymaking implications

As climate change forecasts anticipate that storms will increase in severity in the coming years, the researchers said, “Our findings have increasingly important implications for policymakers, media practitioners, and the general public concerning hurricane communication and preparedness.” According to the researchers, the findings also suggest that natural disasters, when given gendered names, can subtly influence behavior and expectations about storm damage as well as the level of preparedness necessary for a given storm. “Thus, although using human names for hurricanes has been thought by meteorologists to enhance the clarity and recall of storm information,” the researchers said, “This practice also taps into well-developed and widely held gender stereotypes, with unanticipated and potentially deadly consequences.”

The report also highlighted the importance of understanding the way that labels could influence responses to natural hazards and other events. Just think of “The Story of Ferdinand,” a children’s book by Munro Leaf, written in 1938 (and later the subject of a short cartoon by Walt Disney Studios). Ferdinand would rather smell the flowers than fight with his fellow bulls—not expected behavior for a bull.

“When hurricanes and other such events are tagged with specific yet arbitrary labels used for other categories (men/women, animals, flora),” researchers noted, “One may expect human responses to be influenced by the mental representations associated with those categories. … Thus, a storm named for a flower may seem less threatening than one named for a raptor.”

This study provides an opportunity for agents and brokers to speak with customers about the need to be prepared for all storms in every season. It may be even more important this winter given the Weather Channel’s policy of naming significant winter storms and blizzards. For the 2015-2016 season, the names range from Ajax to Zandor. Blizzard Bella, anyone?

[Related: Helping homeowners recover after natural disasters]