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Study links hurricanes to higher death rates for nearly 15 years after a storm

New research reveals hurricanes and tropical storms in the United States cause a surge of deaths for nearly 15 years after a storm hits.

Official government statistics record only the number of individuals killed during these storms, which are together called "tropical cyclones." Usually, these direct deaths, which average 24 per storm in official estimates, occur through drowning or some other type of trauma. But the new analysis, published October 2 in Nature, reveals a larger, hidden death toll in hurricanes' aftermath.

"In any given month, people are dying earlier than they would have if the storm hadn't hit their community," said senior study author Solomon Hsiang, a professor of environmental social sciences at the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability.

"A big storm will hit, and there's all these cascades of effects where cities are rebuilding or households are displaced or social networks are broken. These cascades have serious consequences for public health."

Hsiang and lead study author Rachel Young estimate an average U.S. tropical cyclone indirectly causes 7,000 to 11,000 excess deaths. All told, they estimate tropical storms since 1930 have contributed to between 3.6 million and 5.2 million deaths in the U.S.—more than all deaths nationwide from motor vehicle accidents, infectious diseases, or battle deaths in wars during the same period. Official government statistics put the total death toll from these storms at about 10,000 people.