H.R. 4563 — Fixing Gaps in Hurricane Preparedness Act

This section directs the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), in consultation with the Director of the National Science Foundation, to carry out research and development to improve understanding of how the public receives, interprets, responds to, and values hurricane forecasts and warnings. The research and development must include (1) a comprehensive review of existing knowledge on public responses, covering factors such as model connections, emergency manager use, past experiences, source credibility, demographic variations (including elderly, disabled, and other vulnerable populations), language barriers, and geographic differences; (2) identification of data gaps; (3) social and behavioral research to address those gaps and inform forecast updates; (4) evaluation of the economic value of extending tropical cyclone warning lead times; (5) baseline assessments of affected populations; (6) retrospective assessments of past forecasts; (7) prospective assessments of potential improvements; (8) cost-benefit analyses of improvement alternatives; (9) risk assessments for elderly populations pre-, during, and post-storm; (10) policies for data collection, archiving, and stewardship on community responses; and (11) integration of results into hurricane products, information, and services. Additionally, within 180 days, the Administrator must seek an agreement with an entity to conduct a pilot study in hurricane-prone areas using mixed methods (e.g., surveys, focus groups, interviews) to assess public preparedness, including disaster supplies, evacuation decisions, trust in information sources, language access, and barriers to evacuation; the study's methodology must be publicly available on the NOAA website.