Assessing Natural Disaster Risks for Incarcerated Individuals in the GulfCoast of the United States

This paper aims to examine whether correctional facilities in the Gulf Coast are located in census tracts that are at risk for hurricanes, coastal flooding, riverine flooding, and extreme heat. Furthermore, this paper also disaggregates data on correctional facilities to account for subgroups (women, juveniles, ICE detainees, degree of facility overcrowding) that are likely to increase vulnerability to natural disasters in correctional settings. The primary sources of data for this project were National Risk Index (NRI) maps produced by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and Heat and Heat-related Illness (HHI) maps published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Extreme temperature is the greatest natural disaster risk for incarcerated individuals in the region, but there are variations in risk for facilities aimed at detaining subgroups. Facilities that house ICE detainees or women are at greater risk for riverine flooding than hurricanes. Almost half (45.7%) of facilities that are in census tracts deemed high risk for hurricanes are designated solely for juvenile detention. These results highlight that overall correctional facilities in the region are persistently located in areas at risk for natural disasters, and that facilities aimed at detaining subgroups experience differential natural disaster risk.