Table 2.

Characteristics of Counties by Proximity to Hurricane Path

County Characteristic	County in Hurricane Path	County Near Hurricane Path	County Remote from Hurricane Path
Total number of FEMA-designated disaster counties for the 7 hurricanes	48	316	421
Number (%) of counties in study	21 (44)	184 (58)	139 (33)
Total population of in FEMA-designated disaster counties for the 7 hurricanes	15,571,789	73,671,930	38,737,408
Total (%) population in counties in study	13,354,505 (86)	53,974,967 (73)	21,307,790 (55)
Total number of EDs in FEMA-designated disaster counties for the 7 hurricanes	183	776	769
Number (%) of EDs in study	114 (62)	488 (63)	302 (39)
Rate per 10,000 population of ED visits in 4 weeks prior to hurricane	80.0	79.5	88.3
Counties labeled storm ready, %	43	52	65
Mean maximum sustained wind speed, mph	90	--	--
Mean minimum central pressure, millibars	953	--	--
County had flood or flash flood, %	67	68	52
County had storm surge tide, %	52	13	8

Abbreviations: ED, emergency department; FEMA, Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Source: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project, State Emergency Department Databases and State Inpatient Databases, 11 states, 2005–2016, and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Best Track data for Hurricanes Dennis (Florida; 2005), Wilma (Florida; 2005), Gustav (Florida; 2008), Irene (Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Rhode Island, and Vermont; 2011), Isaac (Florida; 2012), Sandy (Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, and Rhode Island; 2012), and Matthew (Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina; 2016).