Hurricanes Helene and Milton have raised a number of new concerns this fall: record-breaking storm surges in Florida, unprecedented flooding in North Carolina, hundreds of deaths across six states. But for many Americans in the Southeast, the hurricanes have also exacerbated existing health problems.
In North Carolina, 27 counties have been placed under major disaster declarations in the wake of Hurricane Helene. Approximately 577,000 of the counties’ residents—more than one-fifth of their combined population—have “high social vulnerability” to natural disasters, according to an October 11 report from the U.S. Census Bureau.
The Census Bureau measures social vulnerability across 10 factors, including poverty, disability, advanced age and lack of health insurance coverage. An analysis of North Carolina’s counties under disaster warnings (excluding the populous Mecklenburg County) found that nearly 16 percent of residents have a disability, and nearly 22 percent are aged 65 or older.
Plus, more than one-third of these counties are predominately rural, complicating relief efforts. Nearly a month after Helene made landfall, approximately 5,000 customers in western North Carolina remain without power, according to a Monday news release from Governor Roy Cooper. Some roads are still closed due to damage, while others are reserved for “essential traffic” only: utility, construction and supply vehicles.
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These factors have already led to adverse health outcomes for some populations, Dr. Marquita Lyons-Smith told Newsweek. As director of the nursing program at North Carolina Central University, Lyons-Smith is in contact with frontline workers at hospitals throughout the western part of the state.
Rural populations have always had a harder time accessing health care but have become further isolated since the storm, Lyons-Smith said. Community health centers could no longer provide…
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