Multi-hazard risk in socially vulnerable communities across the United States
Society’s most vulnerable communities bear the burdens of a multitude of environmental shocks and stressors, which are increasingly likely to occur simultaneously or in quick succession. However, our understanding of where environmental risks accumulate across the United States and how determinants...
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| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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IOP Publishing
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Environmental Research Letters |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ad9ec7 |
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| _version_ | 1841549938463342592 |
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| author | Leslie Sanchez Paul R Armsworth Jasmine E Bruno Sebastian Espinoza Kathleen Galvin Varsha Vijay Travis Warziniack |
| author_facet | Leslie Sanchez Paul R Armsworth Jasmine E Bruno Sebastian Espinoza Kathleen Galvin Varsha Vijay Travis Warziniack |
| author_sort | Leslie Sanchez |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Society’s most vulnerable communities bear the burdens of a multitude of environmental shocks and stressors, which are increasingly likely to occur simultaneously or in quick succession. However, our understanding of where environmental risks accumulate across the United States and how determinants of multi-hazard risk vary within the country remains incomplete. This study offers a more comprehensive understanding of the national scope and underlying drivers of compounding environmental risks from five hazards (water shortage, air pollution, wildfire, flooding, and impaired water quality) in socially vulnerable communities in the contiguous United States. By pairing census tract-level Social Vulnerability Index data from the Centers for Disease Control with hazard exposure data, we find that over 11 percent of the population—37 million people—is at high risk from multiple hazards. We find that multi-hazard risk disproportionately accumulates in the most vulnerable communities and therefore constitutes an environmental injustice. Nationally, socioeconomically vulnerable populations (e.g., low-income households and those lacking health insurance) are inequitably exposed to multiple severe hazards. However, the specific combinations of demographic and environmental drivers of risk accumulation vary across regions. While the widespread nature of environmental risk accumulation indicates that reducing multi-hazard risk will likely require comprehensive rather than piecemeal approaches, results also highlight the need for context-specific interventions. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-8397c8005fc84ce4b15073552b4d06e9 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1748-9326 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Environmental Research Letters |
| spelling | doaj-art-8397c8005fc84ce4b15073552b4d06e92025-01-10T12:04:45ZengIOP PublishingEnvironmental Research Letters1748-93262025-01-0120202400810.1088/1748-9326/ad9ec7Multi-hazard risk in socially vulnerable communities across the United StatesLeslie Sanchez0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0947-9535Paul R Armsworth1Jasmine E Bruno2Sebastian Espinoza3https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4465-1222Kathleen Galvin4https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9003-8365Varsha Vijay5https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2665-7866Travis Warziniack6Rocky Mountain Research Station, U.S. Forest Service , Fort Collins, CO, United States of AmericaEcology & Evolutionary Biology, University of Tennessee , Knoxville, TN, United States of AmericaFoundation for Food & Agriculture Research (FFAR) , Washington, DC, United States of AmericaEcology & Evolutionary Biology, University of Tennessee , Knoxville, TN, United States of AmericaDepartment of Anthropology, Colorado State University , Fort Collins, CO, United States of AmericaScience Based Targets Network , New York, NY, United States of AmericaRocky Mountain Research Station, U.S. Forest Service , Fort Collins, CO, United States of AmericaSociety’s most vulnerable communities bear the burdens of a multitude of environmental shocks and stressors, which are increasingly likely to occur simultaneously or in quick succession. However, our understanding of where environmental risks accumulate across the United States and how determinants of multi-hazard risk vary within the country remains incomplete. This study offers a more comprehensive understanding of the national scope and underlying drivers of compounding environmental risks from five hazards (water shortage, air pollution, wildfire, flooding, and impaired water quality) in socially vulnerable communities in the contiguous United States. By pairing census tract-level Social Vulnerability Index data from the Centers for Disease Control with hazard exposure data, we find that over 11 percent of the population—37 million people—is at high risk from multiple hazards. We find that multi-hazard risk disproportionately accumulates in the most vulnerable communities and therefore constitutes an environmental injustice. Nationally, socioeconomically vulnerable populations (e.g., low-income households and those lacking health insurance) are inequitably exposed to multiple severe hazards. However, the specific combinations of demographic and environmental drivers of risk accumulation vary across regions. While the widespread nature of environmental risk accumulation indicates that reducing multi-hazard risk will likely require comprehensive rather than piecemeal approaches, results also highlight the need for context-specific interventions.https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ad9ec7environmental justicesocial vulnerabilitymulti-hazard risk |
| spellingShingle | Leslie Sanchez Paul R Armsworth Jasmine E Bruno Sebastian Espinoza Kathleen Galvin Varsha Vijay Travis Warziniack Multi-hazard risk in socially vulnerable communities across the United States Environmental Research Letters environmental justice social vulnerability multi-hazard risk |
| title | Multi-hazard risk in socially vulnerable communities across the United States |
| title_full | Multi-hazard risk in socially vulnerable communities across the United States |
| title_fullStr | Multi-hazard risk in socially vulnerable communities across the United States |
| title_full_unstemmed | Multi-hazard risk in socially vulnerable communities across the United States |
| title_short | Multi-hazard risk in socially vulnerable communities across the United States |
| title_sort | multi hazard risk in socially vulnerable communities across the united states |
| topic | environmental justice social vulnerability multi-hazard risk |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ad9ec7 |
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