Women respond quicker to natural disasters than men: Study

New York : Women are quicker to take cover or prepare to evacuate during an emergency, but often have trouble convincing the men in their life to do so, a new study suggests.

"We also found that there are many barriers that disadvantage women in the event of a disaster, leaving them behind when it comes to decision-making and potentially slowing down their recovery," said study lead author Melissa Villarreal from the University of Colorado Boulder in the US.

For the study, the researchers analysed in-depth interviews with 33 women and 10 men across two Texas towns.

Some were from Granbury, which in 2013 was hit by an EF-4 tornado that killed six people and cut a mile-wide swathe of destruction, damaging 600 homes.

Others were from West, where an explosion at a fertilizer company that same year killed 15 people and destroyed 100 homes.