William Atkins
Wednesday, 17 December 2008 22:31
Science -
Climate
Page 2 of 3
The
New Scientist article also states the people living in the South are more likely than are people in other parts of the United States to die from the effects of the weather.
Cutter and Borden found that extreme summer weather and cold winter weather are more dangerous than earthquakes, hurricanes, and wildfires.
Specifically, the researchers found that severe weather, both in summer (such as extreme hot temperatures) and winter (such as extreme cold) account for most of the deaths from natural disasters.
People in the Midwest are generally living in the safest area when it comes to the likelihood of death from natural disasters.
People in the South and the Western Plains (intermountain west) are at the greatest risk overall from dying as the result of such disasters.
They state,
“The regions most prone to deaths from natural hazards are the South and intermountain west, but sub-regional county-level mortality patterns show more variability.”
In addition, people in large cities are safest from natural disasters than people in smaller cities and rural areas.
Page three provides statistics by the research team, along with conclusions from Cutter and Borden with respect to the use of these statistics.
