Table 1.

Relative public health impacts of selected extreme weather events. Source: Modified from [7].

Public Health Impact	Storms	Floods	Heat	Drought	Wildfire
Number of deaths	Few	Few, but can be many in flash floods	Moderate to high	Few	Few to moderate
Number of severe injuries	Few	Few	Moderate to many cases of heat stroke	Unlikely	Few to moderate
Worsening of existing chronic illnesses	Widespread	Focal to widespread	Widespread	Widespread	Focal to widespread
Increased pests and vectors	Widespread	Widespread	Unlikely	Possible	Unlikely
Risk of an epidemic	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely
Food scarcity	Uncommon	Uncommon	Unlikely	Common	Possible
Loss of clean water	Widespread	Focal to widespread	Unlikely	Widespread	Focal
Loss of sanitation	Widespread	Focal to widespread	Unlikely	Likely among displaced populations	Likely among displaced populations
Loss and/or damage of health care systems	Widespread	Focal to widespread	Unlikely	Unlikely	Focal
Loss of shelter	Widespread	Focal to widespread	Focal to widespread	Focal to widespread	Focal
Permanent migration	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Likely	Unlikely