World Theory: US Media Exposes Disadvantaged and Poor Communities in American History as More Fatal When Faced with Extreme Weather | Storms | Communities

On August 18th, China Daily reported that in the United States, extreme weather such as hurricanes have become even more deadly and have disproportionately affected the most vulnerable communities in society. The Washington Post reported on the 16th that the majority of storm fatalities occurred in hurricanes after 2004, and 90% of all deaths occurred in more vulnerable county-level groups in American society, including the elderly, indigenous people, African Americans, and brown people. Hurricane Dora has contributed to the recent spread of wildfires on Maui Island in Hawaii, USA, resulting in losses second only to Hurricane Iniki in 1992.

According to a report by National Public Radio on the 16th, several months after Hurricane Maria ravaged the overseas territory of Puerto Rico in 2017, the Governor of Puerto Rico announced an official death toll of 64. For those who have experienced this storm and scientists across the United States, this number seems unbelievably low, as they had originally estimated it to be 15 to 65 times higher.

Screenshot of report from National Public Radio in the United States

The latest research published on August 16th in the journal Scientific Progress directly addresses these issues. This study investigated 179 storms that have occurred in the United States over the past 32 years and found that in the month and month following the storm, the death toll exceeded 18000, far exceeding official statistics.

It is reported that over 90% of the victims caused by the storm come from impoverished or historically disadvantaged communities. The first author of the study, Robbie Parks, an environmental epidemiologist at Columbia University in the United States, said that this highlights a key point: "The attacks of cyclones are random, but their effects are not random. They are largely dominated by social structures. The additional deaths estimated after tropical cyclones disproportionately occur in the most vulnerable areas of American society."

The team of biostatistician Raul Cruz of Indiana University also found that the number of deaths from heart disease, diabetes and Alzheimer's disease increased significantly in the months after Hurricane Maria. He said that under normal circumstances, this situation can be controlled. But if left unresolved, they can become dangerous or even deadly, and after a devastating storm, this is a difficult or impossible task to accomplish.

For people from historically disadvantaged and impoverished communities, "when a storm strikes and knocks you down, it may prevent you from obtaining the necessary preventive treatment," Cruz said. In addition, hurricanes may also disrupt electricity, transportation, and access to food or shelter, exacerbating potential illnesses.

Screenshot of a report by The Washington Post

The article points out that over 80% of storm related deaths in the United States occurred in the latter half of the researchers' study period, from 2004 to 2019. Among them, Hurricane Katrina in 2005 was the deadliest, causing a total of 1491 deaths. Next are Hurricane Emma in 2017 and Hurricane Sandy in 2012. Climate change has intensified hurricanes, and the risks of floods and wind disasters have also increased. By 2100, the likelihood of two major storms like Katrina and Harvey making landfall within a few weeks will increase, which is unheard of today.

Social inequality is also an important factor. Broward County, Florida has the wealthiest and poorest communities in the state. Research shows that after Hurricane Matthew in 2016, deaths were concentrated in impoverished communities in the county. Parks said, "The rich have airplanes, the rich have a second home, and they can evacuate."

On August 8, 2023 local time, in North Carolina, USA, after a fierce storm, residents cleared collapsed trees on the ground.

Parks said that identifying those at risk more clearly can highlight how to better assist vulnerable groups in disasters. He said, "These are all things that society can change. Strengthening building structures better and utilizing more resources to help people evacuate safely and making evacuation the 'norm' would also be helpful. We can choose how to allocate resources to protect the most vulnerable groups."

Scott Zeger, a biostatistician at Johns Hopkins University in the United States, hopes that institutions like the CDC will begin using this study to provide a more comprehensive analysis of storm related deaths. He said, "Research like this should become a means for us to monitor in the future."

In addition, according to Stanford University News, besides hurricanes, this year's high temperatures have made people around the world feel the reality of global warming firsthand. Matt Strello, a professor of emergency medicine at Stanford University School of Medicine and a researcher at Stanford University's Center for Global Health Innovation, said that the risks faced by different communities in the United States are not the same, with children, the elderly, economically disadvantaged individuals, and those without shelter being more susceptible to the effects of high temperatures. Therefore, impoverished communities, public housing, and areas designated as red lines with significantly higher temperatures should also be given priority consideration.

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