As the climate changes, California will experience more dangerous and frequent heat waves, incidents of toxic wildfire smoke, and flooding from heavy precipitation events. During these hazards, public health advice often centers around encouraging people to stay home or stay inside. This is not always easy or possible for the over 110,000 people in California living unsheltered, who are at particular risk of serious acute and chronic health impacts from these events. This project will seek to understand the challenges that arise with current harm mitigation strategies (e.g., evacuation orders, clean air and cooling centers, etc.) and provide recommendations for best practices for organizations and policymakers focused on assisting unsheltered individuals to improve communication about, reduce risk from, and prevent health impacts from extreme heat, wildfire smoke, and flash flooding.
Report Information
CCCA5-CNRA-CCRP-P13
Lead Principal Investigator: Sophia M. Charan
Lead Organization: RAND Corporation