TL;DR
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A study in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society examined North Carolina Medicare beneficiaries aged 65 and older who used electricity-dependent medical equipment during Hurricanes Matthew and Florence. County-level disaster declarations showed no significant immediate changes after either storm, while flood-extent analyses found stronger associations between flooding and hospitalizations and deaths; Black participants had worse short- and long-term outcomes as flood severity increased.
A study published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society found that hurricane flooding was associated with hospitalizations and deaths among North Carolina Medicare beneficiaries aged 65 and older who relied on electricity-dependent medical devices. The research examined Hurricanes Matthew and Florence and found that results varied by how exposure was measured: county disaster declarations showed no significant immediate changes, while detailed flood mapping showed stronger and more consistent associations with adverse outcomes.
The researchers assessed health outcomes among older adults using equipment such as ventilators, respirators and dialysis machines. They examined immediate effects and outcomes over the year after each hurricane, using Medicare data alongside two measures of storm exposure. One was county-level Federal Emergency Management Agency presidential disaster declarations; the other was the North Carolina Flood Extent Archive, a higher-resolution record of flooding.
Using disaster declarations, the team found no significant immediate change in hospitalizations or deaths after either hurricane. It did find sustained increases in both outcomes over the year following Hurricane Matthew. When investigators analyzed exposure using flood-extent data, the associations between hurricane exposure and hospitalizations and deaths were stronger and more consistent, according to the report.
The study also reported differences by race: as flooding severity increased, Black individuals experienced worse short- and long-term outcomes. The source summary does not provide effect sizes or detailed estimates, so the magnitude of those differences cannot be stated here. The paper, titled “Assessing the effects of hurricane hazards on hospitalization or death among older adults using electricity-dependent medical devices,” was published in 2026, with DOI 10.1111/jgs.70757.
Flood Exposure and Older Patients
The findings focus attention on a group whose medical care may depend on a reliable power supply and access to health services. Hurricanes can bring flooding and disruptions, and the study’s results suggest that the location and severity of flooding may matter when assessing health risks for older adults using powered equipment. The research measures associations, however; it does not establish that a particular outage or interruption caused any individual hospitalization or death.
The contrast between county disaster declarations and more detailed flood mapping also has practical relevance. A county-level designation may not describe how severely specific communities were flooded. The stronger associations in the flood-extent analysis indicate that finer-grained hazard data may help identify affected populations for disaster planning and further research. The reported differences by race add another reason to examine whether preparedness and recovery resources reach communities facing greater exposure or barriers to care.
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Two North Carolina Hurricanes
The analysis covered older Medicare beneficiaries in North Carolina who used electricity-dependent medical equipment during Hurricane Matthew in 2016 and Hurricane Florence in 2018. Rather than relying on a single measure of exposure, the investigators compared county-level federal disaster declarations with the state’s flood-extent archive. The report describes the latter as a higher-resolution source, allowing exposure to be assessed in greater detail than at county scale.
The work was published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. Senior author Jennifer L. Lund, of the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health, said the research followed two years of linking hurricane hazard and health care utilization data in North Carolina while engaging communities affected by storms. The article presents the study as a foundation for examining hurricane and flood impacts on medically vulnerable groups more broadly.
“Over the past two years, our team has linked hurricane hazard and health care utilization data in North Carolina while working with impacted communities to shape this research.”
— Jennifer L. Lund, senior author and researcher at the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health
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Limits of the Available Findings
The provided report summary does not include participant counts, effect sizes, confidence intervals or detailed results for each storm, so it is not possible to quantify the increase in risk or compare the storms precisely. It also does not explain which specific pathways—such as power loss, disrupted transport, reduced access to dialysis or other care—account for the observed associations.
The findings are based on older Medicare beneficiaries in one state and two hurricanes. They should not be read as proof that flooding directly caused each outcome, or as evidence that every person using powered medical equipment faced the same risk. The summary also does not give enough detail to determine how the reported racial differences relate to individual exposure, access to resources or other factors.
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Broader Research and Preparedness
Lund said the team aims to study hurricane and flood effects among medically vulnerable populations more broadly and to work with community organizations and local and state agencies on disaster preparedness and planning. The report does not announce a timetable for follow-up studies or specific policy changes.
Further research could clarify which disruptions are linked to adverse outcomes, how risks differ across communities and whether finer-scale flood information can support practical planning. For now, the published findings provide evidence of an association in the North Carolina population studied, while the size and causes of the observed risks remain unresolved.
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Key Questions
Who was included in the study?
The researchers studied North Carolina Medicare beneficiaries aged 65 and older who used electricity-dependent medical equipment.
Which hurricanes did researchers examine?
The analysis covered Hurricane Matthew in 2016 and Hurricane Florence in 2018.
Did the study find immediate increases after both hurricanes?
No significant immediate changes in hospitalizations or deaths were found using county-level disaster declarations. The study did report sustained increases over the year after Matthew, while higher-resolution flood data showed stronger and more consistent associations across the analyses.
What did the study report about racial differences?
As flooding severity increased, Black individuals experienced worse short- and long-term outcomes, according to the report. The supplied summary does not provide effect sizes or enough detail to explain the reasons for the differences.
Does the study prove flooding caused the hospitalizations and deaths?
No. It reports associations between hurricane exposure, flooding and health outcomes. The available summary does not establish that flooding or power interruptions directly caused individual cases.
Source: rss
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