Analysis of post-disaster damage and disruptive impacts on the operating status of small businesses after Hurricane Katrina

Sandra Sydnor (), Linda Niehm, Yoon Lee, Maria Marshall and Holly Schrank
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Sandra Sydnor: Purdue University
Linda Niehm: Iowa State University
Yoon Lee: Utah State University
Holly Schrank: Purdue University

Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, 2017, vol. 85, issue 3, No 16, 1637-1663

Abstract: Abstract When small businesses are impacted by natural hazard events, hazard and sociological researchers may have access to collect data from a sample of open businesses, in hopes of distilling lessons that might help reduce vulnerability to future disasters. Lessons from demised businesses might be more useful in reducing business closure for increasing business sustainability to disasters. Using interviews from a random sample of 371 open and 126 closed businesses’ experiences with Hurricane Katrina, discrete choice methods examine the relationship between the impact of post-disaster damage, loss of lifelines, types of delays in reopening, and cascading damages on business continuity. This unique sample offers the opportunity to determine whether damage to operating businesses was different than that of demised businesses. Respondents provided pre-Katrina data up through the last interviews in 2013. Results demonstrate that damage may have a short-term effect on operating status; it was associated with immediate demise but had much less effect on longer-term recovery. Additionally, it is evident that there is one path to failure. Businesses that did reopen, but later closed, may have been impacted by a cascade of both exogenous and endogenous shocks.

Keywords: Disaster impacts; Exogenous shock; Natural disaster; Physical damage; Recovery; Small business (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (17)

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DOI: 10.1007/s11069-016-2652-y

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