“You feel like you going to die:” The intersection of mass incarceration and climate disasters

Incarceration is increasingly harmful for health due to climate hazards and the lack of policies to protect people who are incarcerated from flooding, hurricanes, and extreme temperatures. Yet, these overlapping crises have received limited attention. We assessed the experience of being incarcerated during hurricanes in Houston, Texas, an area repeatedly impacted by climate events. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 18 individuals accessing syringe exchange services in Houston, Texas. We then created templated summaries and matrices to conduct rapid qualitative analysis, an action-oriented approach to qualitative data analysis. All participants had direct experience with climate disasters, most while incarcerated. Disasters often forced multiple people into small cells without power or potable water. Facility infrastructure worsened these experiences due to being partially underground and lacking adequate temperature control. Disasters highlighted individuals’ reliance on guards which contributed to high levels of uncertainty. Individuals were disproportionately impacted by hurricanes following community re-entry due to being unhoused, not being able to afford evacuation, and having work disrupted. Overall, hurricanes and other disasters imposed additional trauma on individuals living in stressful, unpredictable environments. Work at the intersection of the criminal legal system and health must consider how the climate crisis affects this relationship. • Most individuals were incarcerated during at least one climate disaster. • Conditions of confinement were both poor and uncertain during disasters. • Disasters heightened tensions with and reliance on carceral staff.