Spatial patterns of natural hazards mortality in the United States

Borden, Kevin A.; Cutter, Susan L.

doi:10.1186/1476-072x-7-64

Cited by 181 publications

(123 citation statements)

References 51 publications

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“…Heat stress is already a leading cause of fatalities from natural phenomena (11,12). While fatalities appear associated with warm nights (13), hot days alter the lifestyles and work productivity of those living at low latitudes (14).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

An adaptability limit to climate change due to heat stress

Sherwood

Huber

2010

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

850

647

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Despite the uncertainty in future climate-change impacts, it is often assumed that humans would be able to adapt to any possible warming. Here we argue that heat stress imposes a robust upper limit to such adaptation. Peak heat stress, quantified by the wetbulb temperature T W , is surprisingly similar across diverse climates today. T W never exceeds 31°C. Any exceedence of 35°C for extended periods should induce hyperthermia in humans and other mammals, as dissipation of metabolic heat becomes impossible. While this never happens now, it would begin to occur with global-mean warming of about 7°C, calling the habitability of some regions into question. With 11-12°C warming, such regions would spread to encompass the majority of the human population as currently distributed. Eventual warmings of 12°C are possible from fossil fuel burning. One implication is that recent estimates of the costs of unmitigated climate change are too low unless the range of possible warming can somehow be narrowed. Heat stress also may help explain trends in the mammalian fossil record.climate impacts | global warming | mammalian physiology | paleoclimate

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mentioning

confidence: 99%

An adaptability limit to climate change due to heat stress

Sherwood

Huber

2010

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

850

647

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“…and society. Societal impacts tend to be quantified only in terms of injuries and fatalities without considering effects such as loss in quality of life, changes in social capital, and so forth [28][29][30]. To further complicate loss estimations, many of these measurements overlap making it difficult to avoid double-counting [18,31,32].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Unsustainable Trend of Natural Hazard Losses in the United States

Borden²,

et al. 2011

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Abstract:In the United States, direct losses from natural hazards are on the rise with hurricanes, flooding, and severe storms contributing about three quarters of the total damages. While losses from severe storms have been stable over the past fifty years, hurricane and flood losses have tripled. Per capita losses are also increasing showing that impacts outpace population growth with high per capita losses occurring largely in the Southeast and Midwest. If the loss escalation of the past two decades continues into the future, then direct losses of $300 to $400 billion within a single decade are possible. In order to reverse this trend, sustainable development, vulnerability reduction, and hazard mitigation must become priorities and current loss reduction efforts need to be evaluated and re-assessed in terms of their effectiveness. These conclusions are drawn from the analysis of spatial and temporal trends in direct losses from natural hazards using SHELDUS TM data from 1960 through 2009. Loss data are adjusted for inflation, population, and wealth to capture both trends in total losses and per capita losses. The loss data are then compared to disaster-related federal government and private insurance expenditures.

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“…The threat of extreme heat to human health is a real and pressing concern. Despite significant protective technological advances (e.g., forecasting meteorological events, increased access to air conditioning) to reduce exposure to high temperatures, extreme heat remains the leading cause of death related to natural disasters in the U.S. (Borden and Cutter 2008). Due to projected climate change, current and future populations face challenges in maintaining the dynamic relationship between natural systems and human health.…”

Section: Climate Change Extreme Heat Sustainable Living and Human mentioning

confidence: 99%

Internet-Based Heat Evaluation and Assessment Tool (I-HEAT): Feasibility Analysis of a Visualization and Decision-support Tool for Extreme Heat Preparedness in Detroit, Michigan

Sampson

Conlon²,

Rommel³

et al. 2014

Michigan Journal of Sustainability

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Observed and expected changes in global and regional climates pose significant challenges to local decision makers tasked with identifying, preparing for, and responding to impacts on human populations. In particular, extreme heat is expected to increase in duration and intensity in Midwestern U.S. cities in this century. Because of the increased availability of climatic and demographic data at fine spatial scales (regional and neighborhood levels, respectively) (Walsh et al. 2014;Bhaduri et al. 2007), data-driven applications for identification of intra-urban vulnerability to temperature and climate are becoming possible. As one example, the InternetBased Heat Evaluation and Assessment Tool (I-HEAT) integrates multi-scale re-74 Michigan Journal of Sustainability motely sensed environmental imagery with demographic and health data for Detroit, Michigan in a web-based mapping software. Few published feasibility studies document how these tools are made usable for and evaluated by the end-users leading heat preparedness efforts in the U.S., such as emergency managers, public health practitioners, and sustainability coordinators. In this paper, we describe our process for presenting I-HEAT to a diverse group of 28 end-users in Southeast Michigan during a day-long workshop, where we collected feedback through surveys and focus groups on the tool's real-world application and utility. We present the findings of these surveys and focus groups, highlighting the strengths and limitations of the tool and the additional innovative applications identified by workshop participants. By sharing the process and findings of our feasibility study, we inform future development, implementation, and evaluation for I-HEAT and similar tools that may be critical in assisting local decision makers in their sustainability and climate planning efforts.

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Spatial patterns of natural hazards mortality in the United States

Cited by 181 publications

References 51 publications

An adaptability limit to climate change due to heat stress

An adaptability limit to climate change due to heat stress

The Unsustainable Trend of Natural Hazard Losses in the United States

Internet-Based Heat Evaluation and Assessment Tool (I-HEAT): Feasibility Analysis of a Visualization and Decision-support Tool for Extreme Heat Preparedness in Detroit, Michigan

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