Civilians under fire: evacuation behaviour in north Israel during the Second Lebanon War |
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| Authors: | David Gidron Kobi Peleg Dena Jaffe Gili Shenhar |
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| Institution: | 1. Senior Researcher at the Israel National Center for Trauma and Emergency Medicine Research, Gertner Institute for Epidemiology and Health Policy Research, Israel;2. PhD, MPH is Director of the Israel National Center for Trauma and Emergency Medicine Research, Gertner Institute for Epidemiology and Health Policy Research and Head of the Disaster Medicine Department and Chair of the Master Program for Emergency and Disaster Management, School of Public Health, Tel‐Aviv University, Israel;3. PhD is Senior Researcher at the Israel National Center for Trauma and Emergency Medicine Research, Gertner Institute for Epidemiology and Health Policy Research, Israel;4. EMBA is Senior Researcher at the Israel National Center for Trauma and Emergency Medicine Research, Gertner Institute for Epidemiology and Health Policy Research and Coordinator of the Master Program for Emergency and Disaster Management, School of Public Health, Tel‐Aviv University, Israel. |
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| Abstract: | This paper seeks to understand evacuation behaviour in a case of spontaneous evacuation. During the Second Lebanon War of 2006, more than one‐third of residents in north Israel spontaneously evacuated—the remainder stayed in situ. Using a telephone survey of 665 respondents residing in north Israel, we were able to characterise the behaviour of evacuees and non‐evacuees. The main reasons cited for evacuating were fear of injury to self or family, the effect on children, inability to remain in a protective space, and family pressure. The main reasons cited for remaining at home were no suitable alternative, did not perceive a high level of danger, had to go to work, and there is no place like home. There were no significant differences with regard to most socio‐demographic characteristics of the population. These findings should aid emergency managers in preparing the population for a future emergency and in engaging in effective dialogue with the population during an emergency on the evacuation option. |
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| Keywords: | decision‐making population Second Lebanon War spontaneous evacuation Israel |
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