Concurrent disasters: Perceived administrative burdens and household coping capacities

• Published date: 01 September 2023
• Author: Alka Sapat,Diana Mitsova,Karen D. Sweeting,Ann‐Margaret Esnard,Monica Escaleras
• Date: 01 September 2023
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/puar.13637

SYMPOSIUM ARTICLE

Concurrent disasters: Perceived administrative burdens

and household coping capacities

Alka Sapat

1

| Diana Mitsova

2

| Karen D. Sweeting

3

| Ann-Margaret Esnard

4

|

Monica Escaleras

5

1

Professor, School of Public Administration,

Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton,

Florida, USA

2

Professor and John DeGrove Eminent Scholar

Chair in Growth Management and

Development, Department of Urban and

Regional Planning, Florida Atlantic University,

Boca Raton, Florida, USA

3

Assistant Professor, Department of Political

Science, University of Rhode Island, Kingston,

Rhode Island, USA

4

Distinguished University Professor, Department

of Public Management & Policy and Associate

Dean for Research and Strategic Initiatives,

Andrew Young School of Policy Studies, Atlanta,

Georgia, USA

5

Professor, Department of Economics, Florida

Atlantic University, Boca Raton, Florida, USA

Correspondence

Alka Sapat, School of Public Administration,

Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, FL, USA.

Email: asapat@fau.edu

Abstract

Weather-related disasters during the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated the vulner-

abilities of individuals and households, and concurrent disasters are becoming

more of the norm as we face more extreme weather patterns. This study seeks to

extend administrative burden scholarship to better understand the administrative

burdens (real and perceived) that a citizen experiences when applying for disaster

assistance while facing concurrent disasters. Using logistic regression analysis and

Generalized Structural Equation Modeling, we analyze primary survey data from

households in five Texas counties that were impacted by the 2021 Winter Storm

Uri. Our findings indicate that learning, compliance, and psychological costs,

disaster-related damages, and infrastructure losses, coping with concurrent disas-

ters during the pandemic, and social vulnerability factors, such as age and the lack

of insurance increase administrative burdens and difficulties for disaster aid appli-

cants. Practical implications include recommendations to more effectively address

concurrent disasters and reduce associated administrative burdens and inequities

in disaster assistance programs.

Evidence for practice

•Communities, households, and individuals will need government assistance to

recover, reduce disparities in recovery, and strengthen communities when fac-

ing concurrent disasters.

•Variations in coping capacities, social vulnerabilities, and damages and losses

suffered due to hazardous events can make it difficult for disaster survivors to

apply for assistance.

•Government agencies at the nexus of emergency management and public

health that administer assistance programs should address the administrative

burdens experienced by citizens who have been adversely impacted by concur-

rent disasters.

•Emergency managers need to collaborate with public health professionals to

ensure socially equitable disaster assistance processes for older populations,

who are more likely to have health challenges.

INTRODUCTION

Weather-related disasters during the height of the

COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated the vulnerabilities of indi-

viduals and households. Rebuilding and recovering from

the damages wrought by disasters impose onerous bur-

dens on individuals and households to access and navigate

government resources to seek aid (Herd & Moynihan, 2018;

Madsen et al., 2022). Past scholarship has revealed that

government assistance and access to it are unequally allo-

cated based on the opaque nature of administrative bur-

dens or the costs that citizens encounter in applying for

assistance (Herd & Moynihan, 2018). These costs are greater

for socially vulnerable populations, including historically

marginalized persons with disabilities (Aizer, 2003;

Brodkin & Majmundar, 2010; Christensen et al., 2020;

Malmin, 2021; Moynihan et al., 2015; Peeters &

Widlak, 2018), and exacerbate social inequities for

Received: 13 April 2022 Revised: 24 February 2023 Accepted: 13 March 2023

DOI: 10.1111/puar.13637

1202 © 2023 American Society for Public Administration. Public Admin Rev. 2023;83:1202–1220.wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/puar

vulnerable citizens already experiencing other disaster-

related stress. While studies of administrative burden have

been growing, there have been virtually no primary data

collection-based studies of the administrative burdens

experienced by affected populations in applying for disaster

assistance. No studies to date as per the knowledge of the

authors have also been conducted about the difficulties of

applying for disaster assistance when experiencing multiple

hazards, such as a storm, during the SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19)

pandemic. Yet, understanding the impacts of administrative

burdens in applying for disaster assistance and how emer-

gency managers and agencies can address them to more

efficiently and equitably distribute assistance is critical to

individual, household, and community recovery.

While there has been progress in improving disaster

response, there are still major gaps in our understanding

and management of the multiple impacts of concurrent

disasters on affected populations and of the inequitable

burdens on households seeking government assistance.

This article aims to contribute to research on administrative

burdens and disasters in two ways. First, it seeks to address

gaps in prior research by extending theoretical under-

standings of administrative burdens to disaster assistance

programs and using primary data from citizens to under-

stand their experiences in navigating disaster assistance

applications. Disaster assistance programs are both similar

and different from other social service programs that have

been studied in past research. They are similar to social ser-

vice programs, in that they have eligibility criteria, require

matching and proof to meet requirements, and are

imbued with fraud concerns. However, compared with

other social service programs disasters can lead to sudden

and unexpected losses and infrastructure damages for

impacted populations, increased scarcity of resources, and

cognitive challenges (Christensen et al., 2020), rendering

affected citizens even more vulnerable. Politically, too,

disasters are different. While mitigation funding is often

politically unattractive and economically infeasible, higher

saliency levels and attendant media coverage after disas-

ters lead politicians to seek electoral support by promising

recovery funds to restore communities (Sapat et al., 2011).

Gaps between increased citizen expectations about quick

government assistance and slower bureaucratic responses

can ensue (Schneider, 1995). Emergency man agement

agencies face pressure to be responsive to citizen needs

while dogmatically following often archaic and confusing

bureaucratic guidelines to avoid fraud (Sapat et al., 2011,

p. 48). Accountability pressures can then lead to increased

administrative barriers for citizens. For instance, following

criticism about fraudulent claims after Hurricane Katrina in

2005, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)

reduced its approval of appeal claims for individual assis-

tance programs. As damages are a significant determinant

of FEMA aid, research has found that FEMA inspections

generate discrepancies and increased burdens based on

how eligibility, damages, and awards are determined

(Lamba-Nieves & Santiago-Bartolomei, 2022).

Second, this article contributes to the scholarly and

managerial understanding of administrative burdens

when households experience concurrent disasters. The

differentiating spatial and temporal characteristics of con-

current, cascading, and complex disasters have been

well-defined by various scholars, including Cutter (2018)

and Kruczkiewicz et al. (2021), as have the competencies

and capacities of emergency managers and other practi-

tioners in coastal communities with a long legacy of

responding to hurricanes and inland storms (Jerolleman

et al., 2021). For the purposes of our research, we describe

the concurrent exposure to storms and the COVID-19

pandemic as concurrent disasters. While the two are very

different types of disasters, both temporally and spatially,

dealing with a storm during a prolonged public health cri-

sis can increase stress levels and coping capacities, partic-

ularly for vulnerable households. The COVID-19 pandemic

and the cumulative, concurrent, and cascading impacts of

multiple weather-related disasters in 2020 and 2021 have

highlighted the need for more research and scholarship

about the administrative burdens (real and perceived)

faced by households applying for disaster assistance. The

reality is that disaster assistance processes have major

and long-term implications for household recovery, racial

equity (Bento & Elliott, 2021), future wealth generation

(Billings et al., 2022), and community recovery. Our

research topic, which is interdisciplinary in scope, aligns

with the continuing shift in public administration research

toward better incorporating social equity perspectives

and values and not simply outcomes that prioritize effi-

ciency and effectiveness (McDonald III et al., 2022).

Using the case of Winter Storm Uri that impacted

communities in Texas in February 2021 in the context of

the COVID-19 pandemic, we focus on three interrelated

research questions: (i) Did households experience any dif-

ficulties in applying for disaster assistance? (ii) Did learn-

ing, compliance, and psychological costs increase the

difficulties in applying for assistance? (iii) To what extent

did experiencing concurrent disasters affect the perceived

administrative burdens associated with applying for disas-

ter assistance? Which other factors affected household

experiences in applying for disaster assistance?

The article proceeds by providing an overview of

administrative burden theory and relevant themes from

prior scholarship. We discuss our study area and the Winter

Storm Uri next, followed by a discussion of disaster assis-

tance and the application process to provide context. A

section on our hypotheses, variables, data, and methodol-

ogy is followed by a discussion of our analysis. We con-

clude by discussing the policy implications of our findings.

THEORETICAL OVERVIEW: ADMINISTRATIVE

BURDENS

The concept of administrative burden has been defined

as an individual’s experience of policy implementation as

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