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Weather-wise, the days after a hurricane tears through are often gorgeous: sunny, cloudless, calm. But the risks aren’t over once the flooding recedes and the wind is no longer hurling debris. Heat can pose a serious, even fatal risk, particularly for workers cleaning up after the disaster, according to new research from the University of Georgia and published by the peer-reviewed journal GeoHealth. And climate change is increasing the danger — making the storms more frequent and intense and making the post-storm conditions more unbearable.
The authors of the new study say the danger of heat is often overlooked. Much of the U.S.’s hurricane season is during the summer, and the hardest-hit places are typically in the sweltering South, meaning it can often be dangerously hot in the aftermath of a storm.
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