The North Atlantic hurricane season begins June 1 and lasts through November 30. The U.S. Census Bureau produces timely local data that are critical to emergency planning, preparedness and recovery efforts. Use these online resources for more information about affected area:
- OnTheMap
: Get up to the minute information on the path of the storm and economic data for affected areas.
- American Community Survey
: Provides local-level information on populations that may be vulnerable in an emergency, such as people with
disabilities
, without
transportation
or who live in
mobile homes
.
- Interactive Population Map
: Grab local 2010 Census data for affected areas with this interactive mapping tool.
- Quick Facts
: Provides easy access to facts about the people, business, and geography of the United States.
- Facts for Features
: This edition highlights the number of people living in areas that could be most affected by the 2013 hurricane season.
- Hot Reports
: Shows pertinent economic indicators, including data on housing, transportation and the labor force.
New features in the Census Bureau's OnTheMap application improve access to workforce and demographic statistics for emergency preparedness, response and recovery activities. The application automatically incorporates real-time data updates from the National Weather Service's National Hurricane Center, Department of Interior, Department of Agriculture, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Internet address is: <
http://onthemap.ces.census.gov/em.html
>.
New features include:
- New emergency event data: Addition of FEMA disaster declaration areas and National Weather Service snowfall probability forecasts
- More complete hurricane archives: Capture and archiving of all daily National Hurricane Center storm updates
- Expanded report content: Addition of 2010 Census demographic and housing characteristics, and 2010 jobs and worker statistics
- New analyses and visualizations: New reports with charting and thematic map overlays showing population and worker origin and destination distributions
- New interoperability: New tool for exporting event areas to use in OnTheMap or other GIS applications
- Updated interface and help documentation: Improved user interface speed and navigability, improved event searching, newly updated help documentation
Preparing for Emergencies Using Census Data
The growth in population of coastal areas illustrates the importance of emergency planning and preparedness for areas that are susceptible to inclement tropical conditions. The U.S. Census Bureau’s official
population estimates
, along with annually updated socioeconomic data from the
American Community Survey
, provide a detailed look at the nation’s growing coastal population. Emergency planners and community leaders can better assess the needs of coastal populations using census data.
Coastline Population Trends in the United States: 1960 to 2008
[PDF] — This historical report uses a combination of decennial census data and population estimates to examine population trends along the country’s saltwater edges — the nation’s coastline counties.
Between 1960 and 2008, the population in coastline counties along the Gulf of Mexico soared by 150 percent, more than double the rate of increase of the nation's population as a whole. This area is now home to nearly 14 million residents.
Eighty-seven million people, or 29 percent of the U.S. population, live in coastline counties, including more than 41 million in Atlantic and 32 million in Pacific counties. In 1960, only 47 million lived in coastline counties, an increase of 40 million.
Coastal Population Maps
>>
Additional information on coastal areas