Fatalities in the United States Indirectly Associated with Atlantic Tropical Cyclones

Because there is a connection between direct deaths and forecast efficacy, and because it is relatively easy to determine if a death is direct, NHC and other organizations traditionally emphasize or cite only direct deaths in their reports on storm impacts. Jonkman and Kelman (2005) highlighted trauma, vehicle accidents, carbon monoxide poisoning, fires, electrocutions, and heart attacks as factors indirectly associated with fatalities in 13 flood events worldwide, including three U.S. tropical cyclones.