Carbon monoxide poisoning: NPR

Forecasters say that it will probably be the season of Atlantic hurricanes, which will start on June 1 busier than usual. After visiting the National Hurricane Center in Miami, the new head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Deanne Criswell, had a press release.

“Last year was a record season,” she said. “We don’t know what this season will be like. But it only takes one storm.”

There were 30 named storms last year, the most ever. Twelve storms hit the mainland in the continental United States last year, another record. The most powerful, Hurricane Laura, produced a 17-foot storm surge, the highest ever recorded in Louisiana. National Hurricane Center Director Ken Graham believes accurate forecasting and urgent, clear messages have helped keep deaths to a minimum.

If you remember the words we used, “unbearable,” we don’t take it lightly. [there was] not a single death in Hurricane Laura’s storm surge, ”Graham said.

Although there were no deaths from the storms, 28 people died from Laura, and almost all of them after the hurricane passed. The storm destroyed the power grid in southwestern Louisiana, leaving communities without electricity for weeks. Fourteen deaths were caused by carbon monoxide poisoning due to the unsafe use of emergency generators.

At a news conference the day after the storm, Lake Charles Police Chief Shawn Caldwell said five deaths had occurred in one household. He had a message for everyone who uses the generator.

“Guys, keep him away from home,” Caldwell said. “Don’t put it near a covered awning, porch or garage. Tie it to a tree if it’s not in the yard. But don’t let the generator cost you your life.”

Forecasters have been warning people for years that hurricane floods pose the greatest danger to coastal residents, accounting for 90% of deaths. The storm continues to pose the greatest danger to lives and property in the hurricane.

But NHC Director Graham says it is becoming clear that forecasters and emergency managers need to pay more attention to post-storm threats, including improper use of generators.

“Since 2017, we have had 14 hurricane landings. There have been five major hurricanes. And we have had seven deaths due to storm surges,” he says. “So in the last four years, we’ve lost more people to carbon monoxide poisoning after a storm than we need to because of storm surges.”

At least 39 people have died after the hurricane from carbon monoxide poisoning since 2017.

As hurricane forecasting has improved, people living near the coast are now getting earlier and more accurate information on how to prepare safely. This has helped reduce the number of deaths from direct causes such as floods and strong winds.

Ed Rappaport, deputy director of the National Hurricane Center, says the percentage of people dying from indirect causes, such as heart attacks, car accidents, electric shock and carbon monoxide, has risen as a result. He discovered in a study he conducted a few years ago indirect causes were responsible for nearly half of hurricane deaths.

In some storms, like Hurricane Maria that hit Puerto Rico in 2017, Rappaport says that percentage is much higher. The death toll there is still disputed, but is believed to be in the range of 3,000 dead.

“It seems that most deaths will be indirect,” Rappaport says. “Most deaths … seem to be related to the aftermath of the storm, the recovery period, long periods without electricity.”

There is irony in all of this, he says. Asking the public to prepare for a storm or evacuation, although necessary, carries its own risks.

“In the long run, there is no doubt that we are contributing to a safer society,” Rappaport said. “But there are these secondary, conflicting aspects that we need to address.”

The National Hurricane Center, through its messaging and field operations, focuses on generator safety to reduce post-hurricane deaths. The problem is that few people pay attention to the Hurricane Center’s warnings after the storm passes.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has its own generator safety campaign. The federal agency says everyone using the generator should have carbon monoxide alarms with spare batteries at all levels of the house. But in the study, the commission found that in the vast majority of homes with carbon monoxide deaths, alarms were not present. And in homes with fatalities where there were alarms, researchers say that in most cases they did not advertise because the batteries did not work.

One of the keys to reducing indirect hurricane deaths could be to improve power grids and other infrastructure. The Biden administration recently announced it was sending $ 1 billion to help communities become more resilient and recover faster from hurricanes and other extreme weather events.