- Issue Brief
- Technical Notes
Background
Severe weather events are those that can cause damage to life and personal property (1). They include localized events such as thunderstorms with high winds or hail, tornadoes, and flash floods, or regional events such as hurricanes and winter storms (1,2). In the U.S., approximately 10,000 severe thunderstorms (3) and 1,200 tornadoes (4) occur each year. Flash flooding can result from these storms, sometimes developing within minutes (5). Events such as these put people at risk for both injury and death, as well as damage to personal property. Flash flooding is the leading cause of death resulting from thunderstorms and kills about 140 people in the U.S. per year (3). Tornadoes form in severe thunderstorms and cause a nationwide average of 80 deaths and 1,500 injuries per year. Some populations that are especially vulnerable to experiencing adverse effects of severe storms and flooding include racial minorities, those with low income (6), and elderly populations (7).
The incidence and aftermath of severe weather events in the U.S. underscore the necessity of household preparedness for such events. There is a need to understand current levels of preparedness, identify populations who are most vulnerable to severe weather events, and identify barriers to preparedness to inform preparedness efforts nationwide. To meet these needs, in May 2024, we conducted a national survey of 6,223 U.S. adults to assess household preparedness for emergencies. Our survey focused on preparedness for severe storms, flooding, and extended power outages.
Methods
In May 2024, Heluna Health conducted a representative panel survey of adults living in the United States, including all 50 states and the District of Columbia in the survey. After applying data quality screening criteria, a total of 6,223 survey responses were included in the analytic dataset, and post-stratification weights were applied so that sample demographics would match the nationwide distribution. Weights were based on population characteristics collected for age group, sex, race (White, Black/African American, Asian), Hispanic ethnicity, household income, rural zip code status, and U.S. Census geographic region. These population characteristics were drawn from the 2022 American Community Survey (ACS) 1-year estimates, except for urban/rural status, which was drawn from the 5-year estimates. For the following races, weighting was based on the proportion found in the survey sample due to very small proportions for each, to avoid creating extreme weights based on a small sample size: American Indian or Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, and Middle Eastern or North African. We constructed 95% confidence intervals using population-weighted estimates, which were used to provide ranges within which we would expect true population estimates to fall, and to identify significant differences in estimates across demographic groups. We also used population-weighted multivariable logistic regression models to calculate odds ratios for preparedness. We controlled for multiple demographic characteristics based on their associations with the exposure and outcome in our models, to control for potential confounding.
Acknowledgements
We would like to acknowledge the Altarum Institute, which collaborated with Heluna Health on the design of the survey and data collection. We also thank the panel survey participants.
References
- National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Severe Storms and Extreme Events – Data Table. https://www.climate.gov/maps-data/dataset/severe-storms-and-extreme-events-data-table. Accessed August 7, 2024.
- National Weather Service. Severe Weather Definitions. https://www.weather.gov/bgm/severedefinitions. Accessed August 8, 2024.
- National Weather Service. Thunderstorm Hazards. https://www.weather.gov/key/tstmhazards#. Accessed August 7, 2024.
- National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration National Severe Storms Laboratory. Severe Weather 101 – Tornadoes.
https://www.nssl.noaa.gov/education/svrwx101/tornadoes/. Accessed August 7, 2024. - National Weather Service. Severe Weather Awareness Week-Flash Flood Safety. https://www.weather.gov/shv/awarenessweek_severe_flashflood. Accessed August 8, 2024.
- EPA. Climate change and social vulnerability in the United States: A focus on six impacts. EPA 430-R-21-003. 2021;10:1.
- National Center for Healthy Housing. Emergency Preparedness and Response: Hurricanes. At Risk Populations. https://nchh.org/information-and-evidence/learn-about-healthy-housing/emergencies/hurricanes/at-risk-populations/. Accessed August 15, 2024.
