Toxic Fear: Climate, Contamination, and Worries about Future Flooding in Coastal Industrial Communities

Tropical storms and flooding can compromise industrial infrastructures and other land-based hazards in ways that contaminate nearby communities. This study uses novel data from the Houston Area Survey to investigate racial and ethnic disparities in reports of such contamination in metropolitan Houston during Hurricane Harvey and its influence on residents’ long-term worries about future flooding. Results indicate that among those negatively impacted by the largest rainfall event in US history, residents of color were more certain their communities were contaminated by nearby sites and facilities. Results also indicate that such reports are among the strongest and most consistent predictors of heightened worry about future flooding, not just in general but also for specific threats to one’s health, home, and community. Implications for coastal industrial communities and social inequities in ecoanxieties linked to natural-technical, or natech, and disasters are discussed.