A new study finds that hurricanes the last few decades killed thousands more people than meteorologists calculate and a disproportionate number were poor, vulnerable and minorities.
A team of public health and storm experts calculates that from 1988 to 2019 more than 18,000 people likely died, mostly indirectly, because of hurricanes in the continental United States. That’s 13 times more than the 1,385 people that the federal government figures were directly killed by storms. Wednesday's study looks at more than people drowned or hit by debris.
It also sought to account for people who die from causes like heart attacks and infections before, during and after a storm.
Forecasters just increased the outlook for this year's hurricane season. See the latest numbers here.
