ReviewThe western journal of emergency medicine2026
US Emergency Department Use and Operations Amid Natural Disasters: A Narrative Review.
Review in The western journal of emergency medicine, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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0 citing papers in PubMed.
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Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
In the United States from 2014-2024, an average of 18.2 national disasters per year caused over a billion dollars in inflation-adjusted damage, compared with 3.3 national disasters per year during the 1980s. The increased frequency and intensity of severe weather phenomena-attributed by climate science experts to climate change-have raised concerns about national emergency preparedness. One aspect of emergency preparedness is the functioning of emergency departments (ED). In this narrative review, we examine patterns of ED use and operations amid natural disasters in the US, with a special focus on vulnerable populations. The review highlights studies comparing ED use patterns between periods of disaster and non-disaster for specific disaster types, including hurricanes, wildfires, floods, winter storms, and earthquakes, as well as studies that identify disaster-mediated changes in ED visits among specific populations, including the elderly, individuals experiencing homelessness, children and youth with special health care needs, and individuals with chronic medical and psychiatric conditions. Finally, we highlight the challenges posed to EDs by these disasters, including crowding, resource scarcity, and operational strain, and proposed steps to strengthen ED preparedness for climate-related disasters.
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