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Comparative Study
. 2008 Dec 17:7:64.
doi: 10.1186/1476-072X-7-64.

Spatial patterns of natural hazards mortality in the United States

Kevin A Borden  1 , Susan L Cutter
Affiliations
Comparative Study

Spatial patterns of natural hazards mortality in the United States

Kevin A Borden et al. Int J Health Geogr. .

Abstract

Background: Studies on natural hazard mortality are most often hazard-specific (e.g. floods, earthquakes, heat), event specific (e.g. Hurricane Katrina), or lack adequate temporal or geographic coverage. This makes it difficult to assess mortality from natural hazards in any systematic way. This paper examines the spatial patterns of natural hazard mortality at the county-level for the U.S. from 1970-2004 using a combination of geographical and epidemiological methods.

Results: Chronic everyday hazards such as severe weather (summer and winter) and heat account for the majority of natural hazard fatalities. The regions most prone to deaths from natural hazards are the South and intermountain west, but sub-regional county-level mortality patterns show more variability. There is a distinct urban/rural component to the county patterns as well as a coastal trend. Significant clusters of high mortality are in the lower Mississippi Valley, upper Great Plains, and Mountain West, with additional areas in west Texas, and the panhandle of Florida, Significant clusters of low mortality are in the Midwest and urbanized Northeast.

Conclusion: There is no consistent source of hazard mortality data, yet improvements in existing databases can produce quality data that can be incorporated into spatial epidemiological studies as demonstrated in this paper. It is important to view natural hazard mortality through a geographic lens so as to better inform the public living in such hazard prone areas, but more importantly to inform local emergency practitioners who must plan for and respond to disasters in their community.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Natural hazard deaths by event type.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Hazard induced mortality by FEMA region 1970 – 2004. *SMRs use Year 2000 as Standard Population.
Figure 3
Figure 3
County-level hazard induced mortality 1970 – 2004. *SMRs use Year 2000 as Standard Population. **SMRs calculated using empirical bayes procedure and log transformed. Map colors based on , by Cynthia A. Brewer, Penn State.
Figure 4
Figure 4
County-level SMR clusters (A) and significance levels (B) from hazard induced mortality 1970 – 2004. Map colors based on , by Cynthia A. Brewer, Penn State.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Comparison of deaths by hazard type using Thacker et al. 2008 (A) and SHELDUS (B).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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