According to a recent U.S. poll, 3.4 million persons (1.4% of the adult population) in the country were forced to leave their homes because of severe weather events in 2022. Census Bureau data shows.
These conclusions, which were drawn from the 68,500 replies to the Bureau’s Jan. 4-16 Household Pulse Survey, are significantly higher than estimates from the International Displacement Monitoring Centre, which states that from 2008 to 2021, an average of 800,000 Americans were displaced annually, including the 1.7 million who, according to the Center, were uprooted by Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria in 2017.
Hurricanes caused about half of the people relocated in 2022 to be compelled to abandon their homes. While 40% of individuals who were evacuated went back to their homes within a week, 12% stayed away for longer than six months, and 16% never did. The percentage of disabled persons who are permanently relocated by disasters is much higher.
According to the Census survey, low-income households (those making under $25,000 annually) were compelled to leave their homes twice as frequently as the general public, and 4% of LGBT persons were compelled to leave their homes, compared to 1.2% of cisgender, straight people.
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According to E&E News:
According to data from the Census Bureau, there were disaster-related evictions in every state in 2022, including 29 states where there were no big disasters involving FEMA.
Nearly 370,000 persons in Louisiana—11 percent of the state’s adult population—were displaced by a disaster in 2022. That is by far the greatest rate of any state, considerably exceeding Florida, which came in second with 5% of adults being moved.
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Despite significant damage from Hurricanes Laura in 2020 and Ida in 2021, Louisiana did not face a severe disaster in 2022. Hurricane Ian, one of the most damaging storms in American history, struck Florida in 2022.
