The Unequal Impact of Disasters: Assessing the Interplay Between Social Vulnerability, Public Assistance, Flood Insurance, and Migration in the U.S

Abstract

Extreme weather events, such as hurricanes with intense rainfall and storm surges, are posing increasing challenges to local communities worldwide. These hazards not only result in substantial property damage but also lead to significant population displacement. Federal disaster assistance programs are crucial for providing financial support for disaster response and recovery, but the allocation of these resources often unequal due to the complex interplay of environmental, social, and institutional factors. Relying on datasets collected from diverse sources, this study employs a structural equation model to explore the complex relationships between disaster damage (DD), social vulnerability (SV), public disaster assistance (PDA), the national flood insurance (NFI), and population migration (PM) across counties in the contiguous US. Our findings reveal that communities with lower SV tend to experience higher levels of DD across US counties. SV is negatively associated with PM, PDA, and NFI, both directly and indirectly. Furthermore, PDA is positively linked to PM, whereas DD has a direct negative effect on PM but an indirect positive effect through PDA.