When a hurricane or wildfire levels a community, overdose deaths rise – and the most socially vulnerable are hit hardest. What decades of FEMA disaster data reveal
When a hurricane or wildfire devastates a community, what happens afterward to substance use and overdose deaths? Professor Mike Vuolo is leading an NIH-funded study using decades of FEMA disaster data. Early findings show that overall and drug-specific overdoses – opioids, cocaine, and psychostimulants – are higher in a given county during months when a disaster is present than in months when none is. The effect of community social vulnerability on overdoses is also stronger during disasters. Together, these findings demonstrate that targeted disaster response is necessary to lessen the impact on overdoses.