U.S. Death Map: Where and How Nature Kills Most

HOLLY NOTE: It's important to remember this study and "death map" as it has been dubbed, only addresses the number of people who actually die in natural disasters. A whole lot of misery, injury and property loss has struck areas rated at lower risk. Check this NOAA graphic, which shows the number of BILLION dollar disasters by state. Some states sync up with the "death map" while others sustained major catastrophes without the fatalities. For example, the "death map" shows Florida isn't that bad, yet NOAA's map reveals it is worst-rated for natural disasters. Additionally, 7 catastrophic events hit Florida ranging in losses of $2 - $40 billion dollars, yet the "death map" shows them as safe places to live. One of the best recent examples of this skewed picture is the massive floods that inundated Iowa, Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana, Missouri, Arkansas and Ohio this spring. Relatively few people died (18) in this massive billion-dollar disaster. However, in Mississippi alone nearly 1,000,000 acres of crops were under water and all of these states saw homes and businesses severely damaged if not destroyed. This "death map" also doesn't address potential risk. Just this year, scientists sounded the alarm again about the likelihood of devastating earthquakes both in California and the New Madrid areas where a new government report warns that 44 million people in the New Madrid region are at risk. (When is government ever this outspoken about disaster?) If quakes weren't a concern, why did California undergo the nation's largest earthquake drill involving over 5 million people? New studies show that the chances of a destructive Pacific NW quake have risen and the odds are high for big California quakes. Should the Hayward Fault rupture, analysts fear it could bring $235 billion losses. Just as importantly, this map doesn't show (nor is it designed to reveal) a county's positive side – what resources it has to draw on, what are its pluses and strengths. Especially in times of disaster, it's important to know where is the freshest water, the cleanest air, the most crime-free regions, as well as distance from nuclear reactors, active volcanoes, biodefense labs, and numerous other areas of concern. Find out your county's strengths and weaknesses.

December 17, 2008
By Jeanna Bryner
Live Science

A new map plotting deaths resulting from forces of nature reveals where Mother Nature is most likely to kill you.

Graphic: A new "death map," which plots deaths resulting from forces of nature, shows that everyday hazards such as winter and summer weather heat account for the majority of natural hazard deaths in the U.S. (S. Cutter / Univ. of S.C.)

People living in the South along the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts have a higher likelihood of dying from a natural hazard compared to residents of the Great Lakes area and urbanized Northeast.

And while intense hurricanes and tornadoes steal headlines for their intense winds and overall destruction, the new map shows what other previous studies have found, that everyday hazards, such as severe winter and summer weather, and heat account for the majority of natural hazard deaths in the United States.

"This work will enable research and emergency management practitioners to examine hazard deaths through a geographic lens," said researcher Susan Cutter of the University of South Carolina, Columbia. "Using this as a tool to identify areas with higher than average hazard deaths can justify allocation of resources to these areas with the goal of reducing loss of life."

Graphic: Through 2007, the U.S. has sustained 78 weather-related disasters over the past 28 years in which overall damages/costs reached or exceeded $1 billion. The total losses for the 78 events exceed $600 billion. When the 2008 statistics are tallied, the amounts are expected to raise significantly. (NOAA)

Cutter and Kevin Borden, also of the University of South Carolina, Columbia, analyzed nationwide data from 1970 to 2004.

In addition to the South having high mortality from natural hazards, other risky areas included the northern Great Plains region where heat and drought were the biggest killers and the Rocky Mountain region (Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado, Utah and New Mexico) with winter weather and floods as top killers.

The south-central United States is also a dangerous area, with floods and tornadoes posing the greatest threats.

Cutter and Borden found that of the natural hazards, some were more deadly than others over the years, including: