Authors Dr. John L.R et al (2015) studied hurricane risks alongside the U.S. Gulf Coast between 1950-2010. The breadth of their data set enabled them to note trends within the data. Their results demonstrate that caucasian, young adult, and “nonpoor populations” have shifted away from zones vulnerable to the deleterious affects of hurricane damage, while susceptible population groups including the elderly, BIPOC, and other disproportionately impacted individuals have, on average, were allocated closer to these high risk locations. However, for storm surge the opposite trend was observed as wealthier populations, while relatively supported by their assets in accounting for losses, own beachfront properties vulnerable to surges and sea level rise.
Importance of a long-term study:”tracking population changes by decade can sometimes mask larger short-term impacts of major storms”
Barnard College/Environmental Department-Sabin Center Project on Environmental Justice 