NEWS

New survey reveals extent of ice storm woes among N.C. residents

CHAPEL HILL -- Most North Carolina households in the path of December's ice storm might have been shivering in the dark, but at least most of them could talk to cross-town friends and relatives about it.

That's among the findings of a new survey by the Howard W. Odum Institute for Research in Social Science at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and RTI International. Researchers telephoned 457 households in the 36 counties included in North Carolina's application for federal disaster relief to assess the impact of the ice storm.

"We hope our findings will provide decision-makers in business and government and citizens in general with a more complete knowledge of the storm consequences," said Dr. Kenneth Bollen, director of the UNC institute. "This, in turn, should enable communities to better prepare for the next ice storm or hurricane."

Nearly 80 percent of the households in the 36 ice storm counties lost power, survey results showed. About 58 percent lost heat, but only about one out of four of the households reported losing telephone service. Roughly one out of five households went without water. Although only about 55 percent of those with wells were without water, of those households that did lose water, most - nearly 92 percent -- rely on wells for their water supply. Most households that lost one of these services did so for two or more days.

"People are very resourceful," Bollen said. "While four of five households lost power and 58 percent lost heating, two-thirds of all those surveyed had alternative ways to heat at least some part of their household. On the other hand, if we look only at those who lost the use of their primary heating system, about 38 percent had no alternative way of heating at least part of the house. That's especially critical for very young children and for frail or medically fragile adults."

Among the households that reported losing electric power, slightly less than one out of three of them also reported losing their telephone service. (Households with only cordless phones would not be

able to use them without electric service - even if they did not lose telephone service or service had been restored.) While only 14 percent had access to a back-up generator, two-thirds of those surveyed had alternative ways of heating their household. Slightly more than 80 percent of those with other sources of heat relied on gas or wood fireplaces or kerosene heaters.

Overall, researchers said, these results show the great extent to which households in the ice storm area were affected by the storm. The overwhelming majority lost power; a clear majority lost heat; and significant percentages of households lost phone service or water access.

The survey touched on a variety of topics related to the ice storm such as perceptions of power companies' response to the ice storm, its impact on families and work, and how residents coped in its aftermath. Findings on these and other topics will be released after further analysis. Survey respondents were randomly selected from households in the 36 counties affected by the ice storm, reaching as far west as McDowell and Rutherford counties and as far east as Halifax and Edgecombe counties. Most were clustered along the Interstate 85 corridor. The survey was conducted between Dec. 21-29. The margin of error is 4.7 percentage points.

UNC's Odum Institute, founded in 1924, maintains one of the nation's largest archives of polling and census data and supports social science research at Carolina through statistical and survey consulting, short courses and colloquia, and a state-of-the-art computing lab.

RTI International, an independent, nonprofit organization, is dedicated to conducting research that improves the human condition. With a staff of more than 2,050 people, RTI offers innovative research and development and a full spectrum of multidisciplinary services in health and pharmaceuticals, advanced technology, survey and statistics, education and training, social and economic development, and environment.

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Web Links: Odum Institute, http://www.odum.unc.edu. RTI International, http://www.rti.org

Note: Bollen can be reached at (919) 843-5990 or bollen@email.unc.edu. Leousis can be reached at (919) 966-2350 or leousis@email.unc.edu

News Services contacts: Mike McFarland, (919) 962-8593, mike_mcfarland@unc.edu, and Karen Moon (broadcast), (919) 962-8595, karen_moon@unc.edu.