A new report shows that extreme weather events are even deadlier than they appear on their surface.
The long-term health issues caused by hurricanes and tropical storms can generate between 7,000 and 11,000 more deaths over a span of 15 years following each major storm, according to the study published in the journal Nature.
The economic and social upheaval caused by major storms creates a great deal of added stress on those who reside in their path, the study says. And that added stress has far reaching health effects that can stretch more than a decade after each storm dissipates.
According to the research, tropical cyclones are responsible for between 3.2% and 5.1% of all deaths recorded in the contiguous 48 states of the U.S. each year, which translates to between 55,280 and 88.080 deaths annually.
Cancer, heart disease and other chronic conditions can all be exacerbated by the stress of rebuilding in the wake of major storm damage.
The paper asserts that while the 501 storms studied for the research accounted for an average of 24 direct deaths, those storms “indirectly accelerated the death of between 7,170 and 11,430 more individuals.