Duty, Self-Reliance, and Distrust: Motivations of Zero Responders After Hurricane Ian

This study examines the motivations driving “zero responders,” ordinary residents who act during disasters when formal emergency systems are delayed, inaccessible, or policy-constrained from operating—during Hurricane Ian's 2022 landfall in Florida. Drawing on surveys (n = 181), interviews (n = 30), and social media data (n = 236), the analysis identifies three primary motivators: a strong sense of duty and neighborly care, recognition of overwhelmed government capacity, and distrust in government institutions. While most participants described helping as a moral or communal obligation, others framed their actions as quiet resistance to perceived institutional failure, reflecting broader cultural and political dynamics shaping disaster behavior. By extending the definition of the zero responder beyond immediate, ad hoc assistance to include residents who anticipate response gaps, self-activate, and accept risks that formal agencies are prohibited from taking, this study positions zero responding as both a form of pragmatic self-reliance and, at times, oppositional action rooted in skepticism toward state performance. The findings contribute to disaster research by reframing zero responders as central to the disaster response ecosystem and sociological actors whose behaviors express both solidarity and tension with the state, offering insights for disaster management strategies that strengthen coordination between formal responders and grassroots actors.