20% of US counties are both socially vulnerable & highly exposed to natural disasters
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By Avery Ellfeldt, E&E News on October 2, 2023


Climate change is expected to exacerbate social inequality in the United States and put millions of people at risk of severe financial distress, according to a new report from the Treasury Department.

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Using county-level climate projections through 2045, the Treasury Department determined that about half of all U.S. counties face “elevated exposure” to one or multiple climate hazards including wildfire, extreme heat and flooding.

Treasury officials then overlaid that information with data about each county’s “social vulnerability,” which takes in account more than a dozen factors including poverty, health conditions, race and ethnicity.

The result: About 1 in 5 U.S. counties are both socially vulnerable and highly exposed to natural disasters.

It’s a combination that has the potential to “compound existing inequities and cause disproportionate financial strain,”


https://www.scientificamerican.com/artic...ealth-gap/
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