Counties most at risk of environmental hazards are losing higher income migrants to lower risk areas, which decreases their resilience

When looking at environmental hazards, migration tends to be focused on as a result of disasters, rather than a contributor to community vulnerability. Using data from across the U.S. on hazards and county-to-county migration, J. Matthew Shumway finds that counties most at risk of experiencing severe and/or frequent environmental hazards are losing both people and income as a result of migration. He writes that counties with lower hazard levels are attracting migrants with higher incomes from those with higher hazard levels, and that this is decreasing their resilience to cope with hazards.