"Americans are flocking to U.S. regions most threatened by climate change"

Question

In the past few decades, but especially post-pandemic, natural disaster-prone areas have seen substantial population growth. The populations of high-risk counties are growing at a faster pace than low-risk counties, as seen in the growth of regions such as Tampa, Florida, and Asheville, North Carolina, which have both recently been hit by a surge of destructive hurricanes.

Answer 1

Yes, the overall trend of Americans moving to natural disaster areas is correct. This claim is supported by reputable secondary sources such as this article by Econonofact as well as by the Washington Post. Additionally, the author of the article Aimee Picchi has a long history of authentic journalism, including being named a National Press Foundation fellow. T sources Picchi references throughout the article, such as the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, all are unbiased and accurate sources. 

The only note I would make is that the content of this article is better understood with greater context. Yes, there is a greater trend overall of Americans moving to higher-risk natural disaster areas, however these areas can vary dramatically in terms of how high that risk is, as well as how frequent these disasters are. In addition, not all high-risk areas are seeing a rise in population (see the Econo article).

Comments

I think this was a great fact-check for this claim. You used ample sources and I agree that while there may be trends of people moving to regions that do see natural disasters/climate change effects, causation can't be drawn there. As stated, not every high-risk region has seen a population uptick.

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You did a good job with this fact check! I really like how you backed up your points with unbiased evidence from different sources, including the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, which adds credibility. It's interesting to see that even though a lot of people are moving to high-risk areas due to natural disasters, not all these places are experiencing population growth.

Answer 2

This statement is true. In the article, St. Petersburg, Florida is a topic of conversation as its population has grown by 39% in the last 24 years (https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/TMAPOP). In addition, the economists referred to in the article who claimed that high-risk counties have grown at a rate thats 3% faster than lower-risk counties have been verified which supports the claim that these areas are more likely to be threatened by climate change(https://docs.iza.org/dp15982.pdf). The research that is referenced in the article is backed up by linking the sources of their origins such as the University of Vermont's study that states such as WA and AZ are at a higher wildfire risk rate (https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/human-dynamics/articles/10.3389/fhumd.2022.886545/full). However, the article does not go into detail about why American's are migrating to these new areas, it just has the research to back up the increase in population trends. Those who are quoted on their decision to move have also not had their identities verified. So yes, the claim that American's are climate migrates does have the evidence to support it by economists and other research. However, the cause of the migrations has very little verification.

Answer 3

Your claim that "Americans are flocking to U.S. regions most threatened by climate change" is true, and can be supported with evidence from many sources. There has been a general trend of Americans moving to the South and to the West because of high costs in many northern and coastal cities, lifestyle preferences, family and friends, but rarely ever with the thought of their effect on climate change in mind. In a New York Times article it states a couple states where this fact is true. The article provides information on Florida which "regularly gets raked by Atlantic hurricanes", Arizona which is "one of the country’s fastest-growing large cities for years" and "also one of the hottest", and even California which is prone to wildfires in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada range. Jeffrey Schlegelmilch, director of the National Center for Disaster Preparedness at Columbia’s Climate School says, “The more that people are moving into areas exposed to hazards" and this trend is already made disasters worse and more costly in some areas. In California specifically, high housing costs have made it extremely difficult for people to live, but as people move deeper into wildfire zones the chance for them to become more frequent rises. 

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/09/30/climate/americans-moving-hurricane-wildfire-risk.html?login=email&auth=login-email