by WASHINGTON (AP) – Most American adults who have experienced large floods in the last five years think that climate change was at least a partial cause, according to the poll that was carried out earlier this year, before the deadly floods in Texas.
But although Americans largely believed that the federal government should play an important role in preparing and responding to natural disasters, an analysis of recent AP-Norc surveys shows less consensus about whether the government should be involved in combating climate change to try to prevent extreme weather to get worse.
The polls of the Associated Press-Norc Center for Public Affairs Research were carried out in February and June, before catastrophic floods in Texas killed more than 100 people during the fourth July holiday weekend and miss others missing. The polls showed that Americans generally had a high level of confidence in the National Weather Service and their local weather report, and most of them found the federal government a central role in warning Americans in weather conditions.
That trust could now be undermined because civil servants are confronted with control over flood preparations and the timing of warnings and evacuations. Although meteorologists warn that people can make bad storms worse caused by humans, it is unclear whether the general views on climate change and the government’s role are changed in the fight against it.
Many have experienced recent major floods
About 2 in 10 Americans said they had experienced great floods in recent years, according to the polls polling. And among them about 7 in 10 said that climate change was at least a partial cause of the recent weather events they had experienced.
That is in line with the share of Americans that has been hit by a heavy weather, including extreme heat, drought, hurricanes or extreme cold.
Those who lived in the northeast and the south were more likely to say that they had been personally struck by large floods in recent years.
Most see a role for the government in following weather conditions
About 7 in 10 Americans are of the opinion that the federal government should play an “important role” in following weather conditions and warn people about them, according to AP-NORC-Polling from June.
That includes approximately 8 out of 10 Democrats, compared to about two -thirds of the Republicans.
About 8 in 10 Americans want the government to assist affected communities and help with reconstruction efforts, according to the June poll. But there was less agreement about whether the government should fight climate change to try to prevent extremely getting worse again.
A little more than half, 56%of American adults say that the government must play a key role in combating climate change to try to prevent extremely to deteriorate again. Scientists have said that climate change led to frequent and more extreme changes in weather patterns. About 8 out of 10 Democrats say that the government must play an important role in combating climate change compared to around 3 in 10 Republicans.
Trust in the National Weather Service was high for the floods
After the disaster, the National Weather Service and local officials did not agree on who ultimately was the fault of the lack of consciousness about the seriousness of the flood.
The AP-NORC-Polling showed that Americans placed a relatively high level of trust in the National Weather Service and their local weather report before the floods of Texas. About 4 in 10 American adults said in the survey in June that they were “extreme” or “very” confident in the National Weather Service or their local weather provider. Another 4 in 10 were about “somewhat confident” in the National Weather Service or their local weather report.
Trust in the Federal Emergency Management Office was lower. Before the floods, only about 2 in 10 American adults said that they were “extreme” or “very” confident in FEMA, while about 4 in 10 said they were “somewhat” confident.
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