Associate Professor Tian Tang, Ph.D., from the Askew School of Public Administration, was the lead author of “Resilience in Complex Disasters: Florida’s Hurricane Preparedness, Response, and Recovery Amid COVID-19,” published in the International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction. The following summary was written by Rachel Lechwar (M.S. Communication Science and Disorders ’26).
Florida State University Associate Professor of Public Administration, Tian Tang, Ph.D., was the lead author of “Resilience in Complex Disasters: Florida’s Hurricane Preparedness, Response, and Recovery Amid COVID-19,” published in the International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction. The article examines emerging challenges and strategies governmental and nonprofit agencies implemented during the hurricane-pandemic compound disasters of the 2020 and 2021 hurricane seasons.
Dr. Tang led a research team that included Tian Luo, a Ph.D. student at FSU’s Askew School of Public Administration and Policy and a member of the Sustainability and Governance Lab, and Harper Walton, an undergraduate majoring in Russian and Eastern European Studies and Political Science.
Dr. Tang and her team found that social distancing during COVID-19 strained human and financial resources for hurricane preparedness, response, and recovery. The increased remote work exacerbated the negative impacts of Florida’s existing urban-rural digital divide. IT challenges impeded inter-agency collaboration and external funding for rural communities, further amplifying disparities in hurricane response and recovery.
“This study contributes to both the scholarship and practices of managing complex disasters,” Dr. Tang said. “We offer insights into the interconnected challenges of multiple disasters and strategies to address them, which provide practical guidance to coastal communities to improve future preparedness and response efforts in hurricane-pandemic situations.”
Dr. Tang used qualitative data collected from interviews with key government officials or managers involved in the emergency management of federal, state, local, and nonprofit agencies in Florida. A total of 22 semi-structured interviews were conducted online during Fall 2020 and Winter 2021, allowing interviewees to reflect on two hurricane seasons spanning the early and mid-pandemic periods.
Dr. Tang would like future research to include comparative case studies using samples from other hurricane-prone states or regions across the United States. While her research is situated in one of the most hurricane-prone states, she believes it is essential to recognize that challenges in other states may differ due to variations in socioeconomic and political contexts.
To learn more about Dr. Tang and her work, click here. To learn about the Askew School of Public Administration, click here.