Health Impact in New York City during the Northeastern Blackout of 2003

Abstract

Objective. This study assessed the health effects of the 2003 Northeastern blackout, the largest one in history, on mortality and hospital admissions due to respiratory, cardiovascular, and renal diseases in New York City (NYC), and compared the disease patterns and sociodemographic profiles of cases during the blackout with those on control days.Method. We investigated the effects of the blackout on health using incidence rate ratios to compare the disease on blackout days (August 14 and 15, 2003) with those on normal and comparably hot days (controls). Normal days were defined as summer days (June-August) between the 25th and 75th percentiles of maximum temperature during 1991-2004. Comparably hot days were days with maximum temperatures in the same range as that of the blackout days. We evaluated the interactive effects of demographics and the blackout using a case-only design.Results. We found that mortality and respiratory hospital admissions in NYC increased significantly (two-to eightfold) during the blackout, but cardiovascular and renal hospitalizations did not. The most striking increases occurred among elderly, female, and chronic bronchitis admissions. We identified stronger effects during the blackout than on comparably hot days. In contrast to the pattern observed for comparably hot days, higher socioeconomic status groups were more likely to be hospitalized during the blackout.Conclusions. This study suggests that power outages may have important health impacts, even stronger than the effects of heat alone. The findings provide some direction for future emergency planning and public health preparedness.

Health Effects of Coastal Storms and Flooding in Urban Areas: A Review and Vulnerability Assessment

“…Risks include the failure of medical equipment and exposure to hot or cold ambient temperatures, possibly compounded by a lack of supplies or adequate staff in facilities that are not well prepared [22, 40]. Hospital admissions for respiratory conditions may also increase [41]. …”

Climate Change and Older Americans: State of the Science

“…In multistory residential buildings, loss of electricity disrupts the operation of elevators, which makes it more difficult, if not impossible, for older adults to obtain food, medications, and other supportive services (Frumkin 2002). Power outages can also affect the availability of telephone service, pumped water in high-rise buildings, and public transit (Klinenberg 2003; Lin et al 2011). …”

Lights Out

“…We found a much higher mortality than reported by the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, which counted six deaths directly attributable to the blackout (the majority from CO poisoning). 25 Although an earlier study graphically depicted mortality rates during the blackout, 6 there has been no analysis of the effects of a blackout on disease-related mortality risk, or estimates of excess deaths associated with the August 2003 New York blackout. We found that most excess deaths during the blackout were from disease-related causes.…”

“…Studies have reported increases in accidental deaths and injuries, including carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning, 3,4 food poisoning, 5 and hypothermia 3 during power outages, as well as increased respiratory hospitalizations. 6 Calls to emergency services 7 and poison control 8 can increase, although this may reflect the inability to contact primary health providers. 7 While one article showed graphically that mortality increased during the New York 2003 blackout, 6 to our knowledge, there has been no analysis of the effect of blackouts on total mortality, including non-accidental (i.e., disease-related) causes.…”

“…6 Calls to emergency services 7 and poison control 8 can increase, although this may reflect the inability to contact primary health providers. 7 While one article showed graphically that mortality increased during the New York 2003 blackout, 6 to our knowledge, there has been no analysis of the effect of blackouts on total mortality, including non-accidental (i.e., disease-related) causes. Furthermore, estimated death tolls for disasters (e.g., hurricanes) generally include only directly attributable deaths (e.g., drowning), 9,10 even though disasters often also cause power outages.…”