Drug-related deaths increase after hurricanes and tropical storms, study finds
Feb 22nd 2026
A Columbia Mailman School study of U.S. county data from 1988 to 2019 found higher rates of psychoactive drug-related deaths for months after tropical cyclone exposure, with the largest impacts among younger people and in wealthier White communities.
- Each additional tropical cyclone-exposed day was linked to a 3.84 percent rise in psychoactive drug-related death rates in the month of exposure and a 3.76 percent rise the following month, with a 2.39 percent increase three months later.
- People aged 15 to 29 experienced the largest relative increase, with each additional exposed day tied to a 30 percent rise in death rates in the month of exposure.
- Effects were stronger in higher-income majority White communities and were largely null or sometimes reduced in lower-income communities of color.
- The study used county-level death records, Census population data, and NOAA wind field modeling from 1988 to 2019, defining exposure as days with sustained winds of at least 34 knots.
- Authors estimate 1,235 excess psychoactive drug-related deaths across the 31-year period and recommend integrating substance use and mental health services into disaster preparedness and response.