Spurlock Taylin, Sewell Kelly, Sugg Maggie M, Runkle Jennifer D, Mercado Rodrigo, Tyson Jennifer Schroeder, Russell Jamie
Department of Geography & Planning, Appalachian State University, Boone, NC, USA.
North Carolina Institute of Climate Studies, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA.
Int J Disaster Risk Reduct. 2023 Sep;95. doi: 10.1016/j.ijdrr.2023.103844. Epub 2023 Jul 10.
Extreme weather events endanger critical health infrastructure, and many individuals rely on infrastructure to meet their basic needs, such as heat, water, and medical devices. The purpose of this study is to identify spatially explicit at-risk populations for power outages due to these extreme weather events. To accomplish this, we used the HHS emPOWER Emergency Planning Dataset, which was created to help public health authorities plan for and address the needs of communities. Using Geographic Information Systems (GIS), we overlay emPOWER data with the frequency of extreme weather events, including wildfires, hurricanes, tornadoes, and ice storms. Through our analysis, we identified vulnerable areas for high rates of disasters and electricity-dependent durable medical equipment (DME) to be located in communities along the coast. We also found a higher concentration of DME in rural areas compared to urban areas. In addition, we found least privileged economic locations are disproportionately vulnerable to power outages in the southeastern United States due to their high concentration of DME individuals. These results will inform public health officials where to target interventions to ensure continuity of care for vulnerable populations during power outages at the community level.
极端天气事件危及关键的卫生基础设施，许多人依靠基础设施来满足其基本需求，如取暖、用水和医疗设备。本研究的目的是确定因这些极端天气事件而面临停电风险的空间明确的高危人群。为实现这一目标，我们使用了美国卫生与公众服务部（HHS）的“增强应急规划数据集”（emPOWER），该数据集旨在帮助公共卫生当局规划并满足社区需求。利用地理信息系统（GIS），我们将emPOWER数据与极端天气事件的发生频率进行叠加，这些极端天气事件包括野火、飓风、龙卷风及冰暴。通过分析，我们确定了灾害发生率高且依赖电力的耐用医疗设备（DME）易受影响的区域位于沿海社区。我们还发现，农村地区的DME浓度高于城市地区。此外，我们发现，美国东南部经济条件最差的地区由于DME使用者高度集中，在停电时格外脆弱。这些结果将为公共卫生官员提供信息，使其了解在社区层面停电期间应在何处进行干预，以确保为弱势群体提供持续护理。
